June 2008

Spotlight on Staff: Olivia Kohler

By Jill Lindstrom

Olivia Kohler’s interest in the arts began very early. As a child, she would accompany her artist mother to exhibit openings, where she would “run around and steal cheese from the tables.” But, she says, “I never was much of an artist myself, so I decided to study art instead.” With a bachelor’s degree from University of Richmond and a master’s degree from American University—both in art history—Kohler is now in her third year as assistant curator of art at GW’s Luther W. Brady Art Gallery.

Q: What is the best part about your job?
A: I love putting up artwork and talking about it! We entertain all kinds of questions, from “What is this?” to “Why is this art?” and “Why did you decide to put this here?” Every day is different. There is so much happening between putting up a show, people coming in, having openings, meeting artists—you don’t know what the day will bring.

Q: Who are the artists you showcase?
A: We put on one student show a year. We also exhibit the work of local artists. To discover new artists in the area, we visit local shows. We also exhibit artists from Philadelphia and New York, and we’ve showcased nationally known artists, like Jules Olitski. We do a true mixture between local artists just coming on to the scene and very well established artists.

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: I laugh very easily! That comes in handy since we get very busy in the gallery sometimes, and it’s good to be able to laugh things off.

Q: What’s your favorite movie?
A: Apocalypse Now with Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen. I really like war movies, especially the World War II era. I love Flags of Our Fathers, and I have Letters from Iwo Jima in my Netflix que. On the other hand, I also like the classic Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.

Q: Have you lived abroad?
A: While in college, I studied in Scotland at the University of St. Andrews at the same time as Prince William. After he announced he was taking art history, the course suddenly experienced a major boom! He was in one of my classes, but I never talked to him. Well, maybe once I said, “excuse me” because he was blocking the row.

Q: Is there anything you regret doing or not doing?
A: I should have taken more fun classes in college—I started as a math major—although I did take tap dance, and I can still do the “time step.” I now have a list of things I want to do in my life, and I’m doing my best to check them off so that I don’t look back later and say, “I wish I would have done that.” I want to visit all 50 U.S. states and go snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. There are lots of travel-related items on my list but also silly things, like dressing up as Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady’s races scene for Halloween.

Q: What are your plans for the summer?
A: I will go to see my parents in Philadelphia a couple of times. I also to hope to visit a friend studying in London. I would love to go to the south of France and Italy. I’m an art history major, and I have never been to Italy! I’m thinking Rome, the Vatican Museum, Florence...

Q: So, when will you open up your own gallery?
A: Ha-ha, I don’t know if I want to. For the foreseeable future I picture myself here. There are so many opportunities at the Brady Gallery in almost every part of the business—from the hanging of artwork to the writing and research, talking with artists, making studio visits, even the development side of it. Lenore Miller, director of the University art galleries and chief curator, is introducing me to it all and giving me the chance to do it myself. It feels good that she has the confidence in my ability.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu