René Morales is an independent curator and researcher currently based in Chicago, Il. He is the
former James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA),
which he joined in 2022. His first exhibition for MCA, a major career survey of the work of Gary
Simmons titled Public Enemy, opened in June 2023 and traveled to Pérez Art Museum Miami
(PAMM), where he had previously served the role of Director of Curatorial Affairs and Chief Curator. At PAMM, Morales organized nearly 60 exhibitions including Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Surrounded Islands, 1980–83 (2018), Dara Friedman: Perfect Stranger (2017), Sarah Oppenheimer: S-281913 (2016), Susan Hiller: Lost and Found (2016), Marjetica Potrc: The
School of the Forest (2015), Nicolas Lobo: The Leisure Pit (2015), Global Positioning Systems:
Selections from the PAMM Collection (2014–15), Amelia Peláez: The Craft of Modernity, A Human Document: Selections from the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, and
Monika Sosnowska: Market (2013–14). Morales spearheaded the acquisition of over 300 works from the Sackner Archive for PAMM’s collection, with the support of the Knight Foundation. Other notable acquisitions for PAMM include major works by Helio Oiticica, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Danh Vo, Virginia Jaramillo, and Gabriel Orozco.
Morales is a 2019 recipient of the prestigious Center for Curatorial Leadership Fellowship and
has served as a juror for multiple prominent awards and grants, including the 2024 U.S. Pavilion
at the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Museum’s 2019 Bucksbaum Prize. He is a former member of the board of the City of Miami Art in Public Places program, as well as the Professional Advisory Committee of the Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places program. Prior
to joining PAMM, he worked at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, where he organized and co-organized several exhibitions, including Island
Nations: New Art from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Morales studied at Swarthmore College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in biopsychology and art history, and Brown University, where he received a Master of Arts in art history, focusing on the work of
Odilon Redon before completing pre-doctoral research on the work of Wifredo Lam, and later on
the work of Lygia Clark and Helio Oiticica.
former James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA),
which he joined in 2022. His first exhibition for MCA, a major career survey of the work of Gary
Simmons titled Public Enemy, opened in June 2023 and traveled to Pérez Art Museum Miami
(PAMM), where he had previously served the role of Director of Curatorial Affairs and Chief Curator. At PAMM, Morales organized nearly 60 exhibitions including Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Surrounded Islands, 1980–83 (2018), Dara Friedman: Perfect Stranger (2017), Sarah Oppenheimer: S-281913 (2016), Susan Hiller: Lost and Found (2016), Marjetica Potrc: The
School of the Forest (2015), Nicolas Lobo: The Leisure Pit (2015), Global Positioning Systems:
Selections from the PAMM Collection (2014–15), Amelia Peláez: The Craft of Modernity, A Human Document: Selections from the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, and
Monika Sosnowska: Market (2013–14). Morales spearheaded the acquisition of over 300 works from the Sackner Archive for PAMM’s collection, with the support of the Knight Foundation. Other notable acquisitions for PAMM include major works by Helio Oiticica, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Danh Vo, Virginia Jaramillo, and Gabriel Orozco.
Morales is a 2019 recipient of the prestigious Center for Curatorial Leadership Fellowship and
has served as a juror for multiple prominent awards and grants, including the 2024 U.S. Pavilion
at the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Museum’s 2019 Bucksbaum Prize. He is a former member of the board of the City of Miami Art in Public Places program, as well as the Professional Advisory Committee of the Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places program. Prior
to joining PAMM, he worked at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, where he organized and co-organized several exhibitions, including Island
Nations: New Art from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Morales studied at Swarthmore College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in biopsychology and art history, and Brown University, where he received a Master of Arts in art history, focusing on the work of
Odilon Redon before completing pre-doctoral research on the work of Wifredo Lam, and later on
the work of Lygia Clark and Helio Oiticica.