Biographie
Jennifer is a PhD Candidate in the department of Art History at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Professor Philip Sohm. She holds a MA in the history of decorative art, design, and curatorial studies from Parsons, New York, and a BA in foreign languages and art history, reflecting lifelong interests in the global exchange of things and ideas. She has worked as a Specialist, Researcher, Curator, and Executive Director in the visual and performing arts. Her past employers include: Christie’s (New York), The National Trust (UK), Waddesdon Manor (Rothschild Collections, UK), and The Philadelphia Museum of Art, among other art non-profits.
Her research
The thesis "Voltaire's Chair and Madame Lavoisier's Hat: Art and Self in the Eighteenth Century" examines five eighteenth-century European artworks perceived as decorative. These French and French-inspired case studies provide a framework in which to examine the intellectual contributions of "philosopher-artists" in the development of the Enlightenment self. In general terms, the project asks what does "the decorative" in France and its global, eighteenth-century networks reveal about the history of ideas.
Following the presentation of his research, there will be a discussion of the Canadian perspective on the definition of decorative arts and the nature of the doctorate in North America.
Modération : Tara Chapron et Élodie Vaudry