Olivia Lahs-Gonzales was appointed to the position of director of the Sheldon Art Galleries in St. Louis in October, 2001. At the Sheldon she curates exhibitions, directs educational programs, and assists in fundraising for six gallery spaces devoted to photography, architecture, jazz history, St. Louis artists and collections, children's art and all media. From 1992-2001 she worked at The Saint Louis Art Museum, most recently as Assistant Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs. She received her M.F.A. from Columbia College, Chicago, where she worked at the Museum of Contemporary Photography for three years as Curatorial Assistant and Education Manager. She received her B.A. Honors from West Surrey College of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey England. Lahs-Gonzales retains a specialization in photography, but has also published on prints, drawings, painting and sculpture. Publications and essays include Josephine Baker: Image and Icon (2006); Candida Höfer (2005) My Nature: Works with Paper by Kiki Smith (1999), Defining Eye: Women Photographers of the 20th Century (1997), and Photography in Modern Europe: The Spring 1996 Bulletin of The Saint Louis Art Museum, Currents: 63 -Peter Fraser: Ice and Water (1995), and Currents 81: Glenn Ligon (2000). Lahs-Gonzales also contributed the essay To Unseal the Deeper Nature to the book and exhibition Inge Morath, (1999), published by Prestel and the Kunsthalle, Vienna. She has taught the history of photography at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, where she was Adjunct Assistant Professor. Also a working photographer, Lahs-Gonzales has exhibited in St. Louis, Chicago, London, Taipei and Tokyo.
EDUCATION
1993 M.F.A., Columbia College Chicago / Photography, Art History, Museum Studies
1987 B.A. Honors, West Surrey College of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey England / Photography, Art History
EMPLOYMENT
November 2001- Present
Director, The Sheldon Art Galleries, St. Louis
3648 Washington Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63108
314.533.9900
Website: Sheldon Art Galleries
Aug 1998- December 1999
Acting Department Head: Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, The Saint Louis Art Museum
1992-2001
Assistant Curator, Department of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, The Saint Louis Art Museum
1996-1998
Adjunct Assistant Professor, The University of Missouri, St. Louis
1989-1992
The Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, Curatorial Assistant and Education Manager
1992
The Art Institute of Chicago, Photography Collections Exhibition Intern
(Dieter Appelt Exhibition)
1990
Chicago Historical Society, Summer Internship, Marketing Department
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Elected Board Member, Print Council of America (2003 -2005)
Commissioner, St. Louis City Commission for Heritage and Urban Design
Advisory Board, Center for Advanced Imaging, Meramec College
Regular Oracle attendee (Since 1993)
OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
2005 Wacks Scholarship Judge, Washington University in St. Louis
2003 Judge, AIA International Photography Contest
2001 Portfolio Reviewer, PhotoAmericas, Portland, Oregon
1998 Tenure Reviewer
1997 Juror, Department of Photography End of Year Juried Exhibition. Webster University
1997 Juror, The Golden Mean, Art St. Louis
1996-7 Adjunct Professor, History of Photography, University of Missouri Saint Louis
1996 Visiting Lecturer, St. Louis Camera Club
1995 Visiting Lecturer, Public Policy Research Center, UMSL - Subject: Manuel Alvarez Bravo
1995 Juror, Women Artists of Missouri, University of Missouri, Columbia
1995 Section Co-coordinator, Photography Section, Midwest Art History Association
1994-5 Advisor for Programming, Public Policy Research Center Gallery, University of
Missouri, St. Louis
1994 Portfolio Reviewer, Houston FotoFest
1994 Visiting Lecturer, St. Louis Artists Guild
1993 Tenure Reviewer
REPRESENTATION
Schmidt Contemporary Art, St, Louis (314) 575-2648
EXHIBITIONS
2006 (July) Flatfiles Group Show (Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis) (group)
2005 (June) Cultural Exchange Exhibition, National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taiwan (group)
2005 (March) Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Arts Desire Auction (group)
2004 (November) Ethical Society of St. Louis, New Work, (one-person)
2004 (August) Regional Arts Commission Gallery, Local Women and Exotic Places (group)
2004 Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Women Only (group)
2003 Philip Slein Gallery, Schmidt’s Picks (group)
2002 Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Art Cache (group)
2002 Innsbrook Gallery, New Work (one person)
2002 Meramec Art Gallery, Regarding Nature (group)
1999 The Mayor’s Office, St. Louis. (group)
1998 Hunt Gallery, Webster University, Exposure I (three person)
1998 Lemp Brewery, St. Louis, IN/FORM, (group)
1997 Martin Schweig Gallery, St. Louis, New Work (one-person)
1996 Bonsack Gallery, St. Louis, American Landscapes (one-person)
1995 R. Duane Reed, St. Louis Edenic Fictions - Insidious Realities (one-person)
1995 Fermilab Art Gallery, Edenic Fictions - Insidious Realities (one-person)
1994 Martin Schweig Gallery, Edenic Fictions - Insidious Realities (one-person)
1992 Columbia College Art Gallery, Master of Fine Art Thesis Exhibition
1992 Gallery 2 School of the Art Institute, College Art Association M.F.A. Exhibition
1991 Paper Press Gallery Chicago, Paper Press Fellowship Recipients
1991 Columbia College Art Gallery, Chicago, End of the Year Student Honor Exhibition
1990 Columbia College Art Gallery, Chicago End of the Year Student Honor Exhibition
1989 N.A.M.E. Gallery, Chicago, Assumption
1989 Hofner and Hofner Accountants Gallery, Wheaton, Illinois (one-person)
1988 Wheaton Family Services Center, Wheaton, Illinois (one person)
1988 West Chicago Public Library Gallery, West Chicago, Illinois (one person)
1988 Evanston Art Center, Evanston, Illinois Evanston and Vicinity, Photography '88
1988 The Photographer's Gallery, London Bachelor of Arts Degree Exhibition
1987 Touring Group Exhibition for Oxfam Charity, England
1986 The New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, England, Farnham
1986 Johnson Wax Kiln Gallery, Farnham, England, The People of Farnham
1985 Battersea Community Center Gallery, London, Women in Photography
1985 HTV Cardiff, Wales, Menorca Audio-Visual Presentation
REVIEWS AND PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK PUBLISHED
Riverfront Times, Sept-Oct, 2004, Exhibition Review
Riverfront Times, Dec. 17 – 23, 2003, Exhibition Review
St. Louis Post Dispatch, Mar. 2002, Exhibition Review
St. Louis Post Dispatch, June 1999, Exhibition Review
St. Louis Post Dispatch, Oct. 1997, Exhibition Review
