Visiting Lecturer, History of Art & Architecture
she/her/hers
Althea Ruoppo specializes in modern and contemporary art of Europe and the United States, with a particular interest in assemblage practices that point to globalization’s impact on the progressive interaction and integration among societies and economies since the 1980s. Althea holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in history of art and architecture from Boston University and a B.A. in art history from Providence College. A recipient of a 2022-23 Fulbright Study/Research Graduate Fellowship in Cologne, her dissertation focused on three German artists, Isa Genzken (b. 1948), Reinhard Mucha (b. 1950), and Rosemarie Trockel (b. 1952), examining their gradual development of a transnational sculptural aesthetic over the last forty years. Her work has been supported by the Henry Moore Foundation, German Studies Association, Pittsburgh Foundation, BU Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, BU Arts Initiative, and BU Graduate Student Organization.
Althea has held curatorial positions and fellowships at the Princeton University Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; McNay Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Worcester Art Museum. She also has a background in art philanthropy and public art, having held internships at Wagner Foundation and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston. Althea is a visiting lecturer at Boston University and Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Fall 2025.
Research Interests:
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Sculpture, Assemblage, and Installation Art
- Transnational Exchange and Aesthetics
Dissertation [2025]:
“Places of Assemblage: The Transnational German Sculpture of Isa Genzken, Reinhard Mucha, and Rosemarie Trockel”
MA Paper:
“Aesthetic Adaptation and Negotiation: Otto Dix’s Allegorical Paintings in Dialogue with Walter Benjamin”
2021-2022:
- Senior Editor, SEQUITUR
2020-2021:
- Junior Editor, SEQUITUR.
Travel Grant Coordinator, Graduate Student History of Art & Architecture Association
2019- 2020:
- Social Media Coordinator, Graduate Student History of Art & Architecture Association
2018-2019:
- Forum Coordinator, Graduate Student History of Art & Architecture Association