Alex Baker
Title: Director
Artist Affiliation: Fleisher-Ollman Gallery
Baker most recently served as the senior curator, Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, where he curated Ranjani Shettar: Dewdrops and Sunshine (2011), Harrell Fletcher: The Sound We Make Together (Melbourne) (2010), and Ricky Swallow: The Bricoleur (2009), among other exhibitions. Amy Adams, the outgoing director, said of his hiring "John Ollman and I couldn't be happier that Alex is joining the gallery, as his curatorial interests are closely aligned with Fleisher/Ollman's. He has a deep connection to Philadelphia and we are confident that his knowledge, skills and passion will propel the gallery and our program to new and interesting places."
Prior to his appointment with the National Gallery of Victoria, Baker was the curator of contemporary art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and associate curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, where he organized exhibitions with artists including Robert Ryman, Ellen Harvey, Barry McGee, Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen, and Laylah Ali, among others. Indelible Market: Barry McGee, Stephen Powers, and Todd James, originally developed by Baker at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 2000, toured to the Venice Biennale in 2001. With Toby Kamps, he co-curated Space Is the Place, an exhibition about space travel and contemporary art, which toured through Independent Curators International (2007-2008).