The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) announces that John Zeppetelli has been appointed Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art. The Montreal-born curator has previously served as Director and Chief Curator of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) in Montreal.
“John’s commitment to artistic excellence is matched by his desire to make contemporary art and ideas accessible to wide and diverse audiences. A highly regarded curator with a particular flair for the presentation of video art, John brings with him a global network of artists and collaborators, which promises to position the AGO and its contemporary program as a force to be reckoned with,” says Julian Cox, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, AGO. “These talents and his own deep curiosity will enrich the AGO as it expands its program in anticipation of the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery. We are pleased to welcome John to the AGO and to Toronto.”
The AGO’s collection of modern and contemporary art comprises more than 5,000 works spanning 1900 to the present, reflecting global developments in artistic practice across all media. In his new role Zeppetelli will lead the team as they prepare for the opening in 2027 of the Dani Reiss Modern & Contemporary Gallery. Designed to accommodate the museum’s growing modern and contemporary art collection, when complete, the expansion will add to the AGO an additional 40,000 sq. feet of flexible space, over five floors.
The Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art role has been an endowed position since 2015, thanks to the support of the late Carol and Morton Rapp, whose longstanding leadership, advocacy, and support, have been integral to the AGO’s programs and collection.
About John Zeppetelli
Born in Montreal, John Zeppetelli has extensive experience at public and private galleries in the US and UK in addition to curatorial and teaching roles in Quebec and Nova Scotia. As Director and Chief Curator at the Musée d’art contemporain (MAC) in Montreal, he led a large team and simultaneously curated many exhibitions. He also led the capital campaign for the renovation of MAC’s premises that is currently underway.
He has previously held curatorial roles with Phi Foundation for Contemporary Art (DHC/ART) in Montréal and Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, UK. Noted curatorial projects include Re-enactments (2008), Chronicles of a Disappearance (2012), Ragnar Kjartansson (2016), Mundos by Mexican artist Teresa Margolles (2017), Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything (2017), Terror Contagion by Forensic Architecture with Laura Poitras (2021), Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russia (2023) and Jeremy Shaw’s Phase Shifting Index (2023).
An award-winning filmmaker whose work has been screened internationally in festivals and galleries, John has curated media arts festivals in both Canada and Europe. He has lectured in Video Art at NSCAD University and at Concordia University, where he also ran the MFA Visiting Artist Program.
