A brush with… Karen Archey, head of curatorial at Düsseldorf’s K20 and K21 museums

October Gallery Museum
Connecting People with Art since 1985
Karen Archey, the head of curatorial department at Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen © K20 K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen; Düsseldorf; photo: Andreas Endermann
If you could live with just one work of art, what would it be?
I’ve been obsessed with Alice Neel for a number of years. When I started at K20/K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had recently acquired a significant work by Neel (The
Great Society, 1965). The artwork I would acquire for the museum doesn’t always align with what I would want to live with, but in this case it’s true: Neel’s works are in equal turns expressive, arresting, and deeply politically charged.
Which cultural experience changed the way you see the world?
The Grand Tour of 2007 [when the Venice Biennale, the Art Basel art fair, Documenta in Kassel and Skulptur Projekte Münster, Germany, coincided in the same summer]. I was in my last year of university and I travelled from Venice to Basel to Kassel to Münster and looked at every piece of art on that tour. Took notes on literally everything. It became painfully apparent to me how art functions differently in an art fair (Basel), in comparison to a biennial (Venice) and which audiences and activities they anticipate—and where I fit and do not fit in.
Which writer or poet do you return to?
I read poetry during periods of life in which I am too exhausted to maintain focus to read novels for pleasure. In the last week or so I’ve re-read The Hermit by Laura Solomon, Maggie Nelson’s Bluets, Nate Klug’s Rude Woods (a modern translation of Virgil’s Eclogues), and Kate Colby’s I Mean. I have read some of these a dozen times.
What music or other audio are you listening to?
I am currently listening to Sheriff Labrador through earmuffs and ear plugs because I’m trying to work and be a parent at the same time.
What is art for?
I know the answer; I’m just keeping it for myself.
• Anne Truitt: Pioneer of Minimal Art, K20, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany, until 2 August
Art, says the acting chief curator and senior curator of photography at MoMA, is about considering what it means to be human
Senior curator at Australia’s Art Gallery of New South Wales discusses her podcast recommendations and her multi-genre music playlist
From a childhood trip to the Pyramids of Giza to the ‘Empire’ podcast, the curator shares her cultural influences
The curator tells us about her cultural influences, from Izumi Suzuki’s short stories to the Detroit house music of Theo Parrish
source

The October Gallery Museum places art in the community. Here are partner locations where you can have an art experience.
Some locations art is installed inside buildings and visits are during regular business hours. Other locations are by appointment only. Schools are not open to the public. In addition, we have many outdoor installations that you can enjoy around the clock. Check each location below for details. Tours are available upon request. 215-352-3114.
Here are some of our patrons that have donated art and art related items installed as part of our Art in the Community program. Thanks!
Watson and Sonia Brown
Stephanie Daniel
Chad Cortez Everett
Gail Gaines
Dr. Darryl J. Ford
Kelly R. Harrison
Deborah Kelly
Betty Ann D. Lawrence
David Lawrence
Leon McDuffie
Michael Muhammad
Jay R. Ogilvie
Marjorie H. Ogilvie
Junious Rhone, Sr.
Robin Rhone
Shirley Rhone
April Rice
Karen Roach
Monica Rocha
Steve Satell
Deborah Stephens
Staci Watson 
Stephanie R. West
Horace Wright

Sign Up Now
Art and art related items may be returned to October Gallery in good condition within twenty (20) days of the purchase for store credit ONLY – unless otherwise stated on an invoice.
Items on layaway or even items paid for will be held by the gallery for no more than ninety (90) days from the original sale date. Refund is in store credit ONLY – unless other stated on an invoice.

source