Pia Gottschaller is a technical art historian with a specialisation in Latin American, US-American and European postwar painting practice. She studied at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit盲t Munich, the Courtauld Institute and Technische Universit盲t Munich, and she combines her art historical and materiality-based education in both research and teaching. Pia joined The Courtauld in 2017-18, where she teaches across art history, conservation and curatorial programmes. Her MA Special Option in the History of Art, 鈥淧ainters in the Studio, 1945 to Now,鈥 ran for the first time in 2022-23. While on research leave in 2024-25, she finished her latest book Unruly Tools. Contemporary Artists and the Reinvention of Painting听(Getty Publications, 2026).
Pia came to The Courtauld with twenty years of transdisciplinary work experience in museums and research institutions. Her first appointments were as paintings conservator at the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge (1997-98), the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2003-05) and later at Tate, London (2013-14). She carried out her most extensive conservation project, on the Rothko Chapel paintings, as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at The Menil Collection in Houston between 1998 and 2000.
Her focus then shifted to research and curating: In addition to positions as Assistant Fine Arts Director at the German Academy Villa Massimo, Rome (2009-10), and Associate Curator at Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2011-12), she was a Senior Research Specialist at The Getty, Los Angeles (2015-17). In collaboration with the Getty Research Institute, she led a multi-year, transnational and interdisciplinary technical study of Latin American Concrete and Neoconcrete art that also resulted in a co-curated exhibition at the Getty Center.
Pia鈥檚 research has been supported by a Getty Conservation Guest Scholarship (2021), a Caroline Villers Research Fellowship at The Courtauld (2012-13), and a Postdoc Research Fellowship at Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max-Planck-Institut f眉r Kunstgeschichte in Rome (2005-7). Her publications often appear in more than one language and aim to promote a greater understanding of the complexity of artistic processes and material culture worldwide.
Pia is on the Editorial Board of Woman’s Art Journal and Studies in Art & Materiality, and belongs to The Courtauld Centre for the Art of the Americas, the Sculptural Processes Group, as well as the Ulmer Verein’s and the working group .听 With Professor Jo Applin she co-hosts the past guests included Marc Quinn, Anal铆a Saban, Frances Richardson and Acaye Kerunen.
PhD Supervision (current)
- Alex Bispham, Painting the unseen: queerness and alternative spirituality in contemporary art, 2024-2027
- Eliseo Neuman, The Image of Death in a Young Nation: Funerary Art in La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, 1910-1945, 2025-2028
Research interests
- Modern and contemporary painting and sculpture
- Artists in exile
- The relationship between science, industry, and art
- Concepts of creativity
- Materiality in historical perspective
- Social anthropology
- Material culture
- Neuroaesthetics
Publications
Books
- Unruly Tools: Contemporary Artists and the Reinvention of Painting (Getty Publications, 2026) [in print]
- Pia Gottschaller, Aleca LeBlanc, Making Art Concrete: Works from Argentina and Brazil in the Colecci贸n Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, eds. P. Gottschaller, A. Le Blanc, Z. Gilbert, T. Learner, A. Perchuk (Getty Publications, 2017)
- Lucio Fontana: The Artist鈥檚 Materials (Getty Publications, 2012)
- The Act of Creating Space: Lucio Fontana (TUM/Siegl, 2008)
- Palermo: Inside His Images (TUM/Siegl, 2004)
Edited Books
- Purity Is a Myth: The Materiality of Concrete Art from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, eds. Z. Gilbert, P. Gottschaller, T. Learner, A. Perchuk (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2021)
- Der Raum der Linie. Amerikanische Zeichnungen und Skulpturen ab 1960, eds. M. Semff, C. Thierolf, A. Klar, P. Gottschaller, B. Heid (Munich: Pinakothek der Moderne, 2011)
Book Chapters
- ‘Shaping a New Vision: Behjat Sadr between Iran, Italy, and France,’ in Women Artists and Abstract Art in Postwar Rome: Connected by Travel, eds. J. Stojkovi膵 and D. Sturgis (London: Routledge 2026) [in print]
- ‘Intractable Bodies, Affordances, Tools,’ in Affordances and Instructions, ed. V. Peselmann (Leiden: Brill, 2026) [in print]
- ‘Peter Joseph: Balancing The World on Two Nails’ in Peter Joseph, ed. A. Bacon (London and New York: Lisson Gallery,听 2025), 293-303
- ‘Invisible Entanglements’ in Moyna Flannigan: Space Shuffle, eds. J. Connarty and S. Carey (Edinburgh: Artists’ Collective Gallery, 2024), 5-9
- ‘Ruins on Faux Fur: Materiality in Pino Pascali, 1964-68’ in Pino Pascali, ed. M. Godfrey (Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2024) 220-231 (English), 308-312 (Italian)
- ‘Materiality and Migration in Latin American Modernism: Caracas to Buenos Aires, 1944-50’ in Between Point Zero and the Iron Curtain: International Cooperation in Art at the Postwar Moment, 1945-1948, ed. 脡. Forg谩cs, Avant-Garde Critical Studies vol. 45 (Leiden: Brill, 2024), 268-292
- ‘Eleonore Koch and the Brazilian Egg Tempera Revival’ in Eleonore Koch, ed. F. Pitta (S茫o Paulo: Almeida e Dale Galeria de Arte, 2026) [in print, English/Portuguese]
- ‘Painting, Fast and Slow’ in Painting, Fast and Slow. Malerei auf Papier der Sammlung Michalke (Munich: Metropol Kunstraum, 2024), 4-14 (German/English)
- ‘Arturo Herrera,’ ‘Nyugen E. Smith’ and ‘Moyna Flannigan’ in Vitamin C+ Collage in Contemporary Art, ed. R. Morrill (London: Phaidon Press, 2023), 82-83; 104-107; 250-253
- ‘Tess Jaray in conversation with Pia Gottschaller’ in Tess Jaray. For Your Eyes Only (London: Karsten Schubert Gallery, 2023), 1-9
- ‘Aspekte von Zeitlichkeit und Verg盲nglichkeit im Werk von Frank Auerbach, Lucian Freud, Liz Deschenes, Cy Twombly und Christian Bonnefoi’ in Patina. Spuren der Vergangenheit in der Kunst der Gegenwart, eds. I. Glanzer and A. Matyssek (Munich: Edition Metzel, 2023), 47-65
- ‘Crusader, Eden and Madame Renee’ in Beat Zoderer. The London Soap Opera (London: Bartha Contemporary, 2022), 4-8
- ‘Your Trash is My Treasure’ in Out Of Order. The Collages of Louise Nevelson, ed. Y. Etgar (Milan: Fondazione Marconi and Mousse Publishing, 2022), 37-53
- ‘Art to Life, Industry to Art’ in Geraldo de Barros – Imagin谩rio, Constru莽茫o e Mem贸ria, eds. L. Mammi and M. Favre (S茫o Paulo: Instituto Ita煤 Cultural, 2022), 238-239 (Portuguese), 388-389 (English)
- ‘Sacilotto’s ABC S茫o Paulo,” in Sacilotto, eds. D. Mattar and G. P茅rez-Barreiro (S茫o Paulo and London: Almeida e Dale Galeria de Arte, Cosac Naify and Cecilia Brunson Projects, 2021), 29-43 (English/Portuguese)
- ‘Hermelindo Fiaminghi鈥檚 Quadrature of the Circle between 1954 and 1959: From Concrete Enamel to Giotto鈥檚 Tempera,’ P. Gottschaller, T. Learner, J. Mazurek, in Purity Is a Myth: The Materiality of Concrete Art from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, eds. Z. Gilbert et al. (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2021),105-123
- ‘Energy, Legibility, Purity: Color in Argentine Concrete Art,’ I. Alonso, P. Gottschaller, C. C. Marsh, A. Perchuk, L. Lee, in Purity Is a Myth: The Materiality of Concrete Art from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, eds. Z. Gilbert at al. (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2021), 125-146
- ‘The Migration of Concretist Thought between Latin America and Europe: Max Bill, K谩zm茅r Fej茅r, Tom谩s Maldonado and Georges Vantongerloo’ in Migrants: Art, Artists, Materials and Ideas Crossing Borders, eds. L. Wrapson et al. (London: Archetype Publications and Hamilton Kerr Institute, University of Cambridge, 2019), 44-58
- ‘Looking through the Glass, and What Fontana Found There’ in Lucio Fontana: On The Threshold, ed. I. Candela (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019), 67-73 (English/Spanish/Basque)
- ‘Making Concrete Art’ in Making Art Concrete: Works from Argentina and Brazil in the Colecci贸n Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, eds. P. Gottschaller et al. (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2017), 24-59
- ‘Dig, slash and stitch: contemporary artists and their substrates,鈥 in Bright Light, Living the Substrate, ed. D. Dibosa (London: ual: University of the Arts London Camberwell, 2014), 43-51
- ‘And Then Again. A conversation between Pia Gottschaller and Dan Sturgis in his studio’ (London: Noshowspace, 2014), unpag.
- ‘Strange Things Can Happen鈥擠avid Reed in conversation with Pia Gottschaller’ in Heart of Glass. David Reed鈥擥em盲lde und Zeichnungen听1967-2012, eds. S. Berg and C. Schreier (Cologne: Snoeck, 2012), 60-68 (English), 89-112 (German)
- ‘Tabula Rasa 1967’ in Der Raum der Linie. Amerikanische Zeichnungen und Skulpturen ab 1960, eds. M. Semff et al. (Munich: Pinakothek der Moderne, 2011), 29-35
- ‘Gespr盲ch mit dem K眉nstler Peter Soriano’ in Der Raum der Linie. Amerikanische Zeichnungen und Skulpturen ab 1960, eds. M. Semff et al. (Munich: Pinakothek der Moderne, 2011), 14-18
- ‘Gespr盲ch mit dem Sammler’ in Der Raum der Linie. Amerikanische Zeichnungen und Skulpturen ab 1960, eds. M. Semff et al. (Munich: Pinakothek der Moderne, 2011), 42-45
- ‘Il mito del Vinavil’ in Il confine evanescente. Arte Italiana听1960-2010, eds. G. Guercio and A. Mattirolo (Milan: Mondadori Electa, 2010), 309-341
- ‘The Rothko Chapel: Towards the Infinite’ in Art and Activism: Projects of John and Dominique de Menil, eds. J. Helfenstein and L. Schipsi (Houston and New Haven: The Menil Collection/Yale University Press, 2010), 139-147
- ‘The Diversity of One’ in Palermo. To the People of New York City, eds. L. Cooke and K. Kelly (New York and D眉sseldorf: Dia Art Foundation and Richter Verlag, 2009), 132-143 (English/German)
- ‘”Vagaries and Uncertainties” in Rothko鈥檚 painting process’ in Rothko/Giotto, eds. S. Weppelmann and G. Wolf (Munich: Hirmer, 2009),153-168 (English/German)
- ‘New York Conversations about Blinky’ in Palermo, eds. S. K眉per et al. (Cologne: DuMont, 2007), 131-147 (English/German)
Essays
- ‘Jay DeFeo’s Dialectics of Painting,’ P. Gottschaller and J. Mazurek, Getty Research Journal, 18 (2023), 107-132
- ‘Elizabeth Neel,’ Burlington Contemporary (May 2022)
- ‘Painting as Technology: Toolpaths and Pathways in Cheyney Thompson鈥檚 Work,’ Journal of Contemporary Painting, 7: 1&2 (2021), 115-161
- ‘From Ruler to Tape: Stops and Starts in the History of Painted Abstraction,’ Getty Research Journal, 10 (2018), 149-166
- ‘Linking Neuroscience and a Psychophysical Test on Line Perception to the Use of Self-adhesive Tape in Contemporary Painting,’ El Anuario del Instituto de Investigaciones sobre Patrimonio Cultural, 4: 4 (2017), 34-58
- ‘Recent Trends and Developments in the Conservation of Contemporary Art,’ Zeitschrift f眉r Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung, 2 (2012), 352-362
- ‘The evolution of Lucio Fontana鈥檚 painting materials,’ P. Gottschaller, N. Khandekar, L. Lee, D. Kirby, Studies in Conservation, 57: 2 (2012), 76-91
- ‘The Re-Restoration of Donald Judd鈥檚 鈥楿ntitled, 1965鈥, N. Khandekar, E. Nagy, J. Miller, P. Gottschaller, C. Mancusi-Ungaro, Modern Paints Uncovered (London and Los Angeles: Tate and Getty Conservation Institute, 2007), 157-164
- ‘Palermo at Work,’ Modern Art, New Museums (London: Institute of Conservation (IIC), 2004), 174-178
- ‘The Rothko Chapel: Reflectance, Reflection and Restoration,’ C. Mancusi-Ungaro and P. Gottschaller, Zeitschrift f眉r Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung, 2 (2002), 215-224
- ‘Max Beckmann鈥檚 Painting Process,’ Pre-prints of the 24th Annual AGPIC Conference, University of Ontario (1998), 57-74
- ‘Max Beckmann鈥檚 Painting Materials and Technique,’ Harvard University Art Museums Review, VII: 2 (1998), 8-10
