# Christopher Y. Lew
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{{Short description|American art curator and writer}}
'''Christopher Y. Lew''' is an American art curator and writer based in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).[{{cite web |last1=Pogrebin |first1=Robin |title=With New Urgency, Museums Cultivate Curators of Color |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/arts/design/museums-curators-diversity-employment.html |website=The New York Times |date=8 August 2018}}][{{cite web |title=Christopher Lew on Curating |url=https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/chris-y-lew-on-curating/ |website=thecreativeindependent.com}}] Lew is the former the Nancy and Fred Poses Curator at the [Whitney Museum of American Art](/source/Whitney_Museum_of_American_Art).[{{Cite web|url=https://whitney.org/exhibitions/pope-l|title=Pope.L: Instigation, Aspiration, Perspiration|website=whitney.org|language=en|access-date=2019-02-10}}]
==Career==
===Curating===
Before taking his job at the Whitney in 2014, Lew had held positions at [MoMA PS1](/source/MoMA_PS1) starting in 2006.[{{cite web |title=MoMA - Author: Christopher Y. Lew |url=https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/author/clew/ |website=www.moma.org}}] At MoMA PS1, he organized numerous exhibitions including ''Chim Pom'', [Clifford Owens](/source/Clifford_Owens): ''Anthology'', and [Nancy Grossman](/source/Nancy_Grossman): ''Heads'' (with [Klaus Biesenbach](/source/Klaus_Biesenbach)), as well as projects by Edgard Aragón, Rey Akdogan, Ilja Karilampi, [James Ferraro](/source/James_Ferraro), and [Caitlin Keogh](/source/Caitlin_Keogh).[{{Cite web|url=https://www.artforum.com/diary/michael-wilson-around-new-york-12201|title=Our Gay Apparel|website=www.artforum.com|date=16 December 2006 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-01}}][{{cite web |title=Christopher Y. Lew - post |url=https://post.at.moma.org/profiles/36-christopher-y-lew |website=post.at.moma.org}}] Additionally, Lew has curated exhibitions and programs in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) at other venues such as [Artists Space](/source/Artists_Space) and Aljira.[{{Cite web|url=https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/chris-y-lew-on-curating/|title=Christopher Lew on Curating|website=thecreativeindependent.com|access-date=2019-02-01}}] Prior to joining the museum, he worked as managing editor at [ArtAsiaPacific](/source/ArtAsiaPacific) and held positions at the [Aperture Foundation](/source/Aperture_Foundation) and the [Asian American Arts Centre](/source/Asian_American_Arts_Centre).[{{Cite web|url=http://artradarjournal.com/2014/07/11/whitney-museum-appoints-christopher-y-lew-as-associate-curator/|title=Whitney Museum appoints Christopher Y. Lew as associate curator {{!}} Art Radar|last=Radar|first=Art|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-02-01}}]
At the Whitney, Lew organized the first United States [solo exhibition](/source/solo_exhibition)s for emerging artists [Rachel Rose (artist)](/source/Rachel_Rose_(artist)) and [Jared Madere](/source/Jared_Madere). He also organized, with Curator Jay Sanders, the first U.S. theatrical presentation by New Theater. His other exhibitions at the Whitney include “[Sophia Al-Maria](/source/Sophia_Al-Maria): ''Black Friday''” (2016); “''Open Plan'': [Lucy Dodd](/source/Lucy_Dodd)” (2016); and the group show “''Mirror Cells''” (2016), co-organized with associate curator [Jane Panetta](/source/Jane_Panetta), and "[Eckhaus Latta](/source/Eckhaus_Latta): ''Possessed''" (2018), co-organized with Lauri London Freedman, the head of product development at the Whitney.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-whitney-eckhaus-latta-blurs-fashion-contemporary-art|title=At the Whitney, Eckhaus Latta Blurs the Line between Fashion and Contemporary Art|last=Cohen|first=Alina|date=2018-08-08|website=Artsy|language=en|access-date=2019-02-01}}][{{Cite web|url=https://whitney.org/exhibitions/eckhaus-latta|title=Eckhaus Latta: Possessed|website=whitney.org|language=en|access-date=2019-02-01}}][{{cite web |title=The Whitney Announces Curators for 2017 Biennial |url=https://whitney.org/2017-biennial-curators |website=whitney.org |language=en}}]
Christopher Y. Lew co-organized the 2017 [Whitney Biennial](/source/Whitney_Biennial), with [Mia Locks](/source/Mia_Locks).[{{cite web |last1=Russeth |first1=Andrew |title=Christopher Lew and Mia Locks Will Organize the 2017 Whitney Biennial |url=http://www.artnews.com/2015/11/04/christopher-lew-and-mia-locks-will-organize-the-2017-whitney-biennial/ |website=ARTnews |date=4 November 2015}}]
Lew curated [Kevin Beasley](/source/Kevin_Beasley)'s solo exhibition, “''A view of a landscape''”, the artist's first [solo exhibition](/source/solo_exhibition) at a New York museum, opening in late 2018.[{{cite web |last1=Loos |first1=Ted |title=Firing up Weird Science at the Whitney |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/arts/design/kevin-beasley-whitney-museum.html |website=The New York Times |date=12 December 2018}}][{{cite web |title=Kevin Beasley: A view of a landscape at Whitney Museum of American Art, December 15, 2018 – March 10, 2019 |url=https://artssummary.com/2018/12/16/kevin-beasley-a-view-of-a-landscape-at-whitney-museum-of-american-art-december-15-2018-march-10-2019/ |website=Arts Summary |language=en |date=16 December 2018}}]
In November, 2021, it was announced Lew was leaving the Whitney where he spent close to seven years as the Nancy and Fred Poses Curator.[{{Cite web|title=Curator Christopher Y. Lew Exits the Whitney|url=https://www.artforum.com/news/curator-christoper-y-lew-exits-the-whitney-87182|access-date=2021-12-24|website=www.artforum.com|date=15 November 2021 |language=en-US}}] In December 2021, it was announced Lew would be the inaugural chief artistic director of Horizon, a new nonprofit foundation and artist residency in Los Angeles.[{{Cite web|title=Former Whitney Curator Christopher Y. Lew to Lead New L.A. Art Foundation|url=https://www.artforum.com/news/former-whitney-curator-christopher-y-lew-to-lead-new-l-a-art-foundation-87418|access-date=2021-12-24|website=www.artforum.com|date=12 December 2021 |language=en-US}}] As a guest curator for the Whitney, he organized "''[https://whitney.org/exhibitions/josh-kline Josh Kline: Project for a New American Century]''" in 2023 which as the artist's first US museum solo show.[{{Cite news |date=2023-04-28 |title=Josh Kline's Survival Art for 21st-Century America (Published 2023) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/28/arts/design/kline-whitney-notebook-work-labor-art.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122162736/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/28/arts/design/kline-whitney-notebook-work-labor-art.html |archive-date=2024-11-22 |access-date=2024-12-15 |language=en}}]
===Writing===
Lew has written broadly for both art periodicals and mainstream news publications.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/christopher-y-lew|title=Christopher Y. Lew {{!}} HuffPost|website=www.huffingtonpost.com|access-date=2019-02-01}}]