Maria C. Gaztambide, PhD, is the
Executive Director and Chief Curator of Public Art of the University of Houston
System (Public Art UHS). She oversees exhibitions, commissions, acquisitions,
education, and public programs. Since joining the organization in 2018, she has
also led exhibitions and projects on artists including Marta Chilindrón,
Dorothy Hood, Rick Lowe, Jorge Pardo, Margo Sawyer, Shahzia Sikander, Leo
Villareal, and Andy Warhol.
Formerly, Gaztambide was the Associate Director of
the ICAA at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. At the MFAH, her work straddled
administration, research, publications, and long-term exhibition projects such
as Contesting Modernity: Informalism in Venezuela, 1955–1975; Adiós
Utopía: Dreams and Deception in Cuban Art since 1950; Contingent
Beauty: Contemporary Art from Latin America; Carlos Cruz-Diez: Color
in Space and Time; and Hélio Oiticica: The Body of Color.
Gaztambide publishes regularly on modern and contemporary art and recent book
publications include El Techo de la Ballena: Retro-Modernity in
Venezuela (University of Florida Press) and On Site: 50 Years
of Public Art at the University of Houston System (SCALA Arts &
Heritage, London), both from 2019. Originally from San Juan, she holds MA
degrees in Art History and Arts Administration, as well as an interdisciplinary
PhD in Latin American Studies from Tulane University.
