ZOE LUKOV

INDEPENDENT CURATOR ZOE LUKOV reinvents the rules with her nonprofit Art in Common, bringing contemporary artists to audiences well beyond the white cube. Based in Malibu, Lukov is no stranger to the curatorial echelons of biennials and art museums—but now, her goal is to situate art in public life.

Your career trajectory includes researching dance in Colombia on a Fulbright fellowship, working at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and assisting artistic director Franklin Sirmans ahead of the Prospect New Orleans triennial’s third edition, before eventually becoming chief curator at Faena Art in Miami.

When got hired by MOCA, Jeffrey Deitch was there. He ended up being my master’s program in understanding how to put exhibitions together, how to add to the canon of art history, and how to oppose it. My mom was also an art historian. She took me to openings and exhibitions, and art was a natural part of my life growing up. My curatorial practice definitely stems from a focus on the body, and I think that generally, when curate, there’s a focus on performance. But when there isn’t performance, there’s a lot of work that has to do with the body.