Leah Modigliani

{{short description|American artist}}

Leah Modigliani is an American and Canadian artist and art historian living in Philadelphia. Modigliani received an BFA in Studio Art from Concordia University in 1993, an MFA in Sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1993 and a PhD in Art History and Criticism from Stony Brook University in 2010.{{Cite web |url= https://temple.academia.edu/wwwleahmodiglianinet |title=Leah Modigliani, PhD |website=academia}} Modigliani is currently Associate Professor and Program Director of Visual Studies at Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia.{{Cite web |url=https://temple.academia.edu/wwwleahmodiglianinet |title=academia page of Leah Modigliani, Philadelphia-based artist, art historian, and art critic. |website=academia}}

Modigliani's work draws from multiple disciplines such as Visual Arts, Art History, Cultural Studies, and Critical Geography.{{Cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Bay-Area-3-show-peeks-into-artists-inner-worlds-2777187.php |title='Bay Area 3' show peeks into artists' inner worlds |first=Kenneth |last=Baker |date=October 30, 2002 |website=SFGate}} Her cultural productions refuse specialization, and she is equally noted for her accomplishments in the Visual Arts (sculpture, installation, and photography), academic scholarship and critical writing.

Modigliani's artwork has been exhibited at many galleries and museums including Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum (Philadelphia),{{Cite web |url=https://www.theartblog.org/2017/08/monumental-destruction-leah-modigliani-at-pafa/ |title=Monumental destruction, Leah Modigliani's lament at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |date=August 21, 2017 |website=Artblog}} Vox Populi (Philadelphia),{{Cite web |url=http://voxpopuligallery.org/exhibitions/leah-modigliani-april-27-1972/ |title=Vox Populi > Leah Modigliani – April 27, 1972 |first=Vox |last=Populi |website=Vox Populi}} Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), Colby College Museum of Art (Waterville, ME),{{Cite web |url=https://www.colby.edu/museum/exhibition/leah-modigliani-how-long-can-we-tolerate-this/ |title=Leah Modigliani: How Long Can We Tolerate This? | Colby College Museum of Art |website=Colby College}} the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Halifax),{{Cite web |url=https://www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca/exhibitions/arena-art-hockey |title=Arena: The Art of Hockey | Art Gallery of Nova Scotia |website=www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca}} and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (Toronto).{{Cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/hockey-scores-a-new-arena/article4196069/ |title=Hockey scores a new arena |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=12 October 2009 |last1=Humber |first1=Larry}} Her work is in the collections of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts{{Cite web |url=https://www.pafa.org/museum/collection-artist/leah-modigliani |title=Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |website=PAFA — Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts}} and the Whitney Museum of American Art.{{Cite web |url=https://whitney.org/artists/11983 |title=Leah Modigliani |website=whitney.org}}

Her critical writing can be found in academic journals and contemporary art magazines such as Mapping Meaning, the Journal,{{Cite web |url=http://www.mappingmeaning.org/the-journal-issues |title=Journal Issues |website=Mapping Meaning}} Prefix Photo,{{Cite web |url=https://www.artandeducation.net/announcements/107143/prefix-photo-issue-30available-now |title=Prefix Photo–issue 30available now — Announcements — Art & Education |website=www.artandeducation.net}} Artnet,{{Cite web |url=http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/modigliani/modigliani10-31-07.asp |title=Undone at Altria — artnet Magazine |website=www.artnet.com}} and C Magazine.{{Cite web |url=https://cmagazine.com/archive/search?q=modigliani |title=C Magazine / Search Results |website=C Magazine}} Her book, Engendering an avant-garde; the unsettled landscapes of Vancouver photo-conceptualism, was published by Manchester University Press's Rethinking Art's Histories series in 2018.{{Cite web |url=https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526101198 |title=Manchester University Press — Engendering an avant-garde |website=Manchester University Press}}

Modigliani's most recent book, "Counter-Revanchist Art in the Global City," published in 2023, explores the intersection of art, urban spaces, and social justice. This work examines how artists respond to and challenge urban revanchism through various forms of creative action, including building walls, blockades, and barricades. The book analyzes case studies from multiple countries, offering a global perspective on the role of art in addressing spatial conflicts in the 21st century.{{cite web |url=https://www.routledge.com/Counter-Revanchist-Art-in-the-Global-City-Walls-Blockades-and-Barricades-as-Repertoires-of-Creative-Action/Modigliani/p/book/9781032195148 |title=Counter-Revanchist Art in the Global City: Walls, Blockades, and Barricades as Repertoires of Creative Action |publisher=Routledge |access-date=2024-11-18}}