WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.- The Norton Museum of Art is introducing a Curator in Residence model designed to expand its curatorial capacity, deepen its contemporary collection strategy, and bring additional expertise and relationships into the institution.
The residency model allows the Norton to bring distinguished curatorial voices into the institution in a flexible way, broadening its connections with artists, collectors, galleries, and cultural networks that can help shape the growth of its contemporary collection. This transitional role will also provide leadership for the Contemporary Art Council and help ready the Norton to launch an international search for a staff Senior Curator in 2028.
René Morales — a seasoned curator who has held leadership positions at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago — has organized dozens of exhibitions including Gary Simmons: Public Enemy, Quisqueya Henríquez: The Center Can Be Everywhere, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Surrounded Islands, and Dara Friedman: Perfect Stranger. He has secured thousands of artworks for institutional collections, including works by Robert Morris, Carmen Herrera, Helio Oiticica, Tania Bruguera, Lawrence Weiner, Gabriel Orozco, Arthur Jafa, and over 400 objects from the Sackner Archive for Concrete and Visual Poetry. He will begin his residency as the Glenn W. & Cornelia T. Bailey Contemporary Curator in Residence this summer.
In this role Morales will steward strategic acquisitions for the Norton’s Collection, shaping, advancing, and executing the Museum’s vision for contemporary art from 1961 to the present. The move reflects a major transitional moment for Florida’s largest art museum as it looks ahead to its Foster + Partners Master Plan, which includes expanded gallery space, enhanced programming, and new opportunities to activate the Collection. In anticipation of this growth — and with a fully committed exhibition calendar through Spring 2028 — the Curator in Residence model offers a strategic approach to remaining nimble. By offering a targeted, short-term appointment with the Curator in Residence model, the Norton can immediately secure high-caliber talent with focused efforts on growing a dynamic contemporary collection as well as deepening collaboration with supporters and the Contemporary Art Council, all with an eye on the future.
“The Norton has always collected with the present in mind,” said Ghislain d’Humières, the Museum’s Kenneth C. Griffin Director and CEO. “This residency allows us to bring exceptional curatorial leadership and new relationships into the Museum at exactly the right time. It is a thoughtful way to strengthen our contemporary collection while continuing to grow with the community we serve.”
As the Contemporary Curator in Residence, Morales will lead the research, development, and presentation of acquisitions and select programs focused on established and emerging contemporary artists, ensuring alignment with the Museum’s Collection Development Strategy, institutional values, community engagement goals, and artistic excellence.
“René brings a proven history of building contemporary art collections and maintaining meaningful relationships with today’s leading artists,” said J. Rachel Gustafson, the Norton’s Chief Curatorial Officer. "Those connections do not happen overnight; it is René’s lifelong dedication to cultivating bonds with both artists and collectors that will ensure the continued, purposeful growth of the Norton’s contemporary collection.”
She also noted that Morales was raised in South Florida and built his curatorial career here, giving him a unique perspective on and investment in the state as it continues to emerge as a cultural destination.
Morales is currently the Senior Curatorial Fellow for the Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami, serving 120 resident artists, managing staff, and helping to develop long-term planning goals. He recently organized a retrospective of the work of Quisqueya Henríquez for the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and is organizing upcoming exhibitions with Dread Scott and Rael San Fratello at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
“I am thrilled to join the Norton Museum of Art, a place I’ve long admired, at such a dynamic moment in its trajectory,” Morales said. “I am particularly excited to collaborate with the Norton team to enhance the Museum’s already very strong Collection and to design meaningful, thought-provoking programs that inspire curiosity, conversation, and connection.”
Morales has organized about 60 exhibitions and directed the Artistic Division of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, overseeing the curatorial, education, registration, preparation, and curatorial affairs departments. He also directed the curatorial, registration, and preparation departments of the Pérez Art Museum Miami.
Morales has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation since September 2024. He holds a master’s degree in art history from Brown University.
The Glenn W. & Cornelia T. Bailey Senior Curator of Contemporary Art was permanently endowed in 2018 through the generosity of the Cornelia T. Bailey Charitable Trust.
