The San Diego Museum of Art has a new member of its curation team, the Balboa Park venue announced.
Rachel Jans joins as associate curator of modern and contemporary art, curating exhibitions, advising on acquisitions and conducting research. With more than 10 years of experience, she joins the institution from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she served as assistant curator of painting and sculpture.
Roxana Velásquez, the museum’s executive director and CEO, noted Jans’ extensive experience with German expressionism and art of the Americas.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rachel to the San Diego Museum of Art and believe that she will play a critical role in continuing to provide visitors with a cultural and thought-provoking experience at the museum,” Velásquez said.
In her previous role in the Bay Area, Jans contributed to the museum’s outdoor sculpture program and artist commissions while working closely with the collection of American and German art.
Jans has lectured at institutions around the world including the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Tate Modern, London. She has contributed essays to major catalogs from institutions including SFMOMA, Tate Modern, the Block Museum of Art and Northwestern University.
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to bring my passion for the arts to one of the region’s largest and most visited institutions,” Jans said. “I look forward to continuing to explore the ways contemporary artists draw on the past to challenge the present in my work at the San Diego Museum of Art.”
Originally from Portland, Ore., Jans has lived and worked in New York and Berlin, and holds a doctorate in art history from the University of Chicago. Her research there was supported by numerous awards including a Fulbright Fellowship, the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies at the Freie Universität and a Whiting Dissertation Fellowship.