Melanie Woody Nguyen, PhD
Assistant Professor of Art History
Melanie Woody Nguyen received her PhD in the study of contemporary art of the United States from the University of Maryland. Her research explores ecology, performance, race, and ideas of the human in postwar American art. She is currently working on a research project examining artists engaging with the social and ecological impacts of highways. Her research has been supported by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Association of Historians of American Art, and the Getty Research Institute.
Contact
Education
B.A. St. Louis University, 2013
M.A. University of Maryland, 2018
Ph.D. University of Maryland, 2024
Research interests: Contemporary, American and African American, and ecocritical art history, with a research focus on artists addressing environmental issues in performance art of the postwar period.
Research Projects
- "Meeting the World at High Noon: Maren Hassinger’s Object Performances.” Archives of American Art Journal 64, no. 2 (Fall 2025): 46-67.
- Review of Picture Ecology: Art and Ecocriticism in Planetary Perspective, by Karl Kusserow, ed., caa.reviews (August 28, 2024), doi: 10.3202/caa.reviews.2024.51, http://www.caareviews.org/reviews/4261.
- Selected object entries in Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: The Collection, edited by Stéphane Aquin and Anne Reeve. New York: Delmonico Books, 2022.
Exhibitions Organized
- Coralina Rodriguez Meyer: Mother Molds (University of Maryland Art Gallery, 2023)
- Here and Now: Recent Acquisitions, co-curated with Taras Matla (University of Maryland Art Gallery, 2023)
- Video in The Atrium: Cristina Lucas (University of Maryland Art Gallery, 2022)
News & Features
August 21, 2024
Rollins Museum of Art Announces Fall 2024 Exhibitions
The Rollins Museum of Art unveils six exhibitions for its fall season, which runs from September 14, 2024, to January 5, 2025.
July 29, 2024
Leading Change
For the past 10 years, the College’s Bonner Leaders Program has provided service-learning opportunities to students passionate about social issues and nonprofit work, creating positive change in the Rollins community and beyond.
January 19, 2024
Rollins Museum of Art Announces Winter 2024 Exhibitions
The Rollins Museum of Art unveils five exhibitions for its winter season, which runs from January 20 to May 12.