Christine Mehring

Christine Mehring is the Mary L. Block Professor of Art History and the College at the University of Chicago, holding additional roles as Associate Faculty in Visual Arts and Resource Faculty in Germanic Studies. Her research focuses on modern and contemporary art, particularly abstraction, postwar European art, and intersections between art and design. She has spearheaded major projects such as the Material Matters initiative and co-curated exhibitions like Monochrome Multitudes. Mehring’s work bridges academic and public engagement, including curating Jenny Holzer’s augmented reality project YOU BE MY ALLY, which won a 2021 Golden Muse Award. She has advised over 20 dissertations, with students securing roles at institutions like MoMA and the Art Institute of Chicago. Mehring’s leadership as Department Chair expanded curricula through initiatives like the Mellon-funded Chicago Objects Study Program and collaborations with the Art Institute and Northwestern University.

Her research explores themes like fluxus artist Wolf Vostell’s Concrete Traffic conservation and the Munich Olympics’ cultural impact. Funded by institutions including the Institute for Advanced Study and the Andy Warhol Foundation, her scholarship emphasizes materiality, global art histories, and public art’s role. Recent publications include studies on Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, and postwar art’s transnational dynamics. Mehring’s contributions to art history and curatorial practice reflect her commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and institutional innovation.