Glenn Phillips Appointed to Chief Curator at the Getty Research Institute

Getty announced today the appointment of Glenn Phillips to chief curator of the Getty Research Institute.

Mr. Phillips is currently the senior curator, head of exhibitions, and head of modern and contemporary collections at the Getty Research Institute.

As chief curator Mr. Phillips will work closely with the curatorial team to further the GRI’s mission to cultivate advanced knowledge of art and its varied histories by amplifying and enhancing the use of its collections, creating collecting strategies that respond to shifts in scholarship, and engaging new audiences.

“We are so happy to see Glenn take on the new position,” says Mary Miller, director of the Getty Research Institute. “Over the years he has demonstrated an exceptional ability to curate thoughtful, innovative exhibitions that engage both our visitors and the broader art community. We look forward to his continued contributions as he takes on this new role and helps shape the future of the Getty Research Institute.”

Mr. Phillips is a specialist in the history of curating and the international history of conceptual art, with a focus on video and performance art in Europe and the Americas.

“I’ve devoted nearly half of my life to building and caring for the extraordinary collections of the Getty Research Institute, and they will always astound and excite me,” says Mr. Phillips. “I admire the curators and staff of this institution so much, and I look forward to working with everyone to develop ambitious and meaningful projects that highlight the best research we can do.”

Mr. Phillips has been with Getty since 2002. Starting as a research associate in the former department of contemporary programs and research, he has held several roles, including senior project specialist and consulting curator, and acting head of the department. Glenn was appointed senior curator in 2021, serving as head of exhibitions and head of modern and contemporary collections at the Getty Research Institute. His acquisitions for the GRI include the archives of Eleanor Antin, Simone Forti, Mary Kelly, Allan Sekula, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Harald Szeemann, Harry Shunk and Janos Kender, and the video archives of the Long Beach Museum of Art and The Kitchen. His curatorial projects, often organized collaboratively, include Barbara T. Smith: The Way to Be (2023); Blondell Cummings: Dance as Moving Pictures (2021); Harald Szeemann: Museum of Obsessions (2018-19); Artists and Their Books (2018); Video Art in Latin America (2017); Yvonne Rainer: Dances and Films (2014) and It Happened at Pomona: Art at the Edge of Los Angeles, 1969-73 (2011-12). He is co-curator, with Kristen Collins and Nancy Turner, of three exhibitions currently on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum: Lumen: The Art and Science of Light, 800-1600; Lumen: Helen Pashgian; and Charles Ross: Spectrum 14.

Mr. Phillips earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Yale University.