Kirsi Peltomaki

Kirsi Peltomäki is a Professor of Art History at Oregon State University, affiliated with the School of Visual, Performing and Design Arts. She specializes in contemporary art history, focusing on experiential and participatory art forms such as sculpture, conceptual art, institutional critique, and installation art. Her research explores the intersections of art, institutional frameworks, and viewer engagement.

Education:

• MA and PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies, University of Rochester
• Graduate Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies, Susan B. Anthony Center for Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Rochester
• MFA in Art and Critical Studies, California Institute of the Arts
• Bachelor's in Fine Art, Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Finland

Research Interests:

Her work centers on late modernist sculpture, the experiential turn in architectural sculpture of the 1970s, and the social dimensions of art. She has published extensively on conceptual artist Michael Asher, including the monograph Situation Aesthetics (2010) and the edited volume Public Knowledge (2019). Her analyses emphasize how art constructs situational contexts that transform viewers and institutions.

Recent Publications:

Recent works include studies on architectural sculpture, institutional critique, and the sensory dimensions of art spaces. Key contributions explore how Asher’s site-specific installations interrogate art’s relationship to institutional structures.

Awards & Funding:

• Fulbright grant
• Henry Moore Institute fellowship
• Academy of Finland grants
• Multiple grants from Oregon State University

Teaching & Advising:

She teaches courses such as Modern Art (1900–1945), Directions in Contemporary Art, and Cultural Studies of the Museum. While no specific advisees are listed, her scholarly mentorship is reflected in her editorial and grant-funded research activities.