A globe-trotting museum veteran with an archeology Ph.D. from Harvard will take over as the new Joseph de Heer Curator of Asian Art, the museum announced today.
Tianlong Jiao comes to Denver from San Francisco’s , where he served as the department head and curator of Chinese art. He begins his new position in September.
“Tianlong is an energetic and ambitious curator whose expertise and extensive connections in Asia will prove to be an invaluable asset to the museum and our public programs,” said Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the DAM, in a press release. “The scholarly depth of his experience with Asian art is impressive, and he will bring a new lens to our Pan Asian collection.”
Jiao arrives with built-in familiarity with Denver’s Asian collection, which includes objects from China, India, Japan, Korea and Nepal. In addition to curating international traveling exhibitions of Asian sculptures, textiles, photography, painting, and ceramics, Jiao has worked as chief curator of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum in Hong Kong and chairman of the anthropology department at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii.
His professional resume also includes writing or co-authoring six books and more than 70 academic papers, as well as lecturing around the world on connecting the form and function of art with its history.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642, jwenzel@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnwenzel
