Thelma, 2025, Oil on linen, 58” x 38”

In 2005, Thelma Golden became the executive director and chief curator for the Studio Museum in Harlem, where she had been the Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Programs since 2000.  Thelma began her career as a curatorial assistant at the Whitney Museum of American Art and became the Visual Arts Director at the Jamaica Arts Center in Queens, in 1989.  Thelma burst on the New York Art Scene in 1991 when she returned to the Whitney Museum of American Art as Director and Exhibitions Coordinator at the Whitney’s branch at Philip Morris. Thelma received fame and notoriety first as a co-curator of the 1993 Whitney Biennial that showcased overtly political art, including a significant number of female artists of color, whom up to this point were often excluded.  In 1994, Thelma curated a major show at the Whitney, “Black Male,” an exhibition that was both controversial and evocative.   This show, described as “brilliantly imagined” and “carefully envisioned” skyrocketed Thelma’s career as a “fearless and formidable” curator.  Thelma is known as a powerhouse, an art world icon as a champion of black artists.  Thelma Golden is a tour de-de-force.