Curated Conversations
Event Details
Whether aloof or affable, sleek or scruffy, we love our feline and canine companions, especially now, when they’re ever more present in our daily lives. Join Curatorial Assistant Christian Wurst and Blanton Fellow of European Art Chrissy Zappella for an exploration of and salute to some furry friends from the museum’s collection, plus a live Q&A. With special guests from Austin Pets Alive!
Enjoy our cocktail/mocktail suggestion for the event!
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About our Speakers
Christian and Jezebel
Christian Wurst joined in the Blanton in 2016 as the Curatorial Assistant for the Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs. He was the co-curator of ’Arte Sin Fronteras: Prints from the Self Help Graphics Studio’ (2019) and curator of ’Jeremy Blake: Winchester Trilogy’ (2019) and ’Line Form Color’ (2017). He also assisted Carter Foster, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, with ’Form into Spirit: Ellsworth Kelly’s ’Austin’’ (2018) and the ’Austin’ website and catalogue (2019). Prior to joining the Blanton in 2016, Christian held research positions at Dominique Lévy Gallery in New York, the Menil Collection for the ’Jasper Johns Drawing Catalogue Raisonné’ (2018), and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, for the exhibition ’Abstract Expressionism’ (2016). He earned his master’s degree in modern & contemporary American art at the University of Florida. He is also a proud dad to Jezebel, his 18-year-old cat.
Chrissy and Ella
World’s greatest dog, Isabella Donatella Zappella (Ella), tolerates the role of her mommy, Chrissy Zappella, as Blanton Fellow of European Painting and Sculpture. Before moving to Texas, the dynamic duo planted their six paws in Chicago, where Chrissy was a Mellon Curatorial Fellow at the Art Institute. Ella is also proud of her mommy’s time as a curatorial fellow at the Frick Collection and the National Gallery of Art, Washington as well her internship at Save Venice, Inc. Ella loved reading her mom’s first publication, which is upcoming in ’Studies in Iconography,’ entitled “The Implicating Gaze in Bronzino’s ’Portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici as Orpheus’.” Ella cannot wait for mommy to finish her doctorate at the University of Chicago! Although she loves hearing about mom’s dissertation, “Monochrome Painting and the ’Corpo della Compagnia’ in Andrea del Sarto’s Cloister of the Scalzo,” she hopes that mom will soon have more time to throw balls, chase squirrels, and rub her belly.
Feature Image Credit: [LEFT] James Morgan Dennis, ’Let’s Go (Scottie Dog)’ (detail), early 20th century, etching, 7 3/16 x 4 3/4 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of the children of L.M. Tonkin, G1966.2.271 [RIGHT] Otto Dix, ’Katze in Mohnfeld [Cat in Poppyfield]’ (detail), 1968, five-color lithograph, 27 3/16 x 22 3/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Charles and Dorothy Clark, 1986.202