Giovanni Aloi

Professor, Adjunct, Art History, Theory, and Criticism

aloi.info

Giovanni Aloi has been teaching at SAIC since 2015. He took his sabbatical during the AY2022–23.

Giovanni Aloi’s research focuses on the Anthropocene and new conceptions of nature in art. He currently teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is the Editor in Chief of Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture (www.antennae.org.uk). Aloi is the author of Art & Animals (2011), Speculative Taxidermy: Natural History, Animal Surfaces, and Art in the Anthropocene (2018), Why Look at Plants? The Vegetal Emergence in Contemporary Art (2019), Lucian Freud – Herbarium (2019), Posthumanism in Art and Science (2020), Vegetal Entwinements in Philosophy and Art (edited with Michael Marder, 2023), Estado Vegetal: Performance and Plant-Thinking (2023), Botanical Revolutions: How Plants Changed the Course of Art (2025), Lawn (2025), and I’m Not an Artist: Reclaiming Creativity in the Age of Infinite Content (2025). He has contributed to PBS TV and BBC radio programs, worked at Whitechapel Art Gallery and Tate Galleries in London, and currently is USA correspondent for Esse Magazine. Aloi has curated exhibitions in the US and Europe and is co-editor of the University of Minnesota Press series ‘Art after Nature’.

Education

BA, 1997 Fine Art—Theory and Practice, Milan—S. Marta Fine Art College
PgD, 2003 Art History, Goldsmiths University of London
MA, 2004 Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths University of London
PGCE, 2008 Institute of Education, London
Ph.D., 2014 Goldsmiths University of London.

Notable Classes Taught:

ARTHI4021-Botanical Revolutions since 2022
ARTHI4181-Post-Nature since 2020

More info:

The critics’ pick of the week: from Emily to Bob Dylan
How Lucian Freud was inspired by house plants descended from his grandfather Sigmund's cuttings
Lucian Freud’s Plants Bloom in New Exhibition ‘Plant Portraits’
LUCIAN FREUD E LE PIANTE GUARDATE IN FACCIA
Plant Portraits of Lucian Freud on display at the Garden Museum in London

Sabbatical Reflection

Reflections on curating Lucian Freud: Plant Portraits

My 2022 sabbatical supported the curation of the exhibition Lucian Freud: Plant Portraits at the Garden Museum in London. This opportunity not only marked a pivotal moment in my curatorial trajectory but also reaffirmed the indispensable role sabbaticals play in the intellectual and professional lives of faculty, especially for those of us engaged in research-intensive, time-sensitive projects that extend beyond the studio or classroom.

The exhibition, based on my book Lucian Freud Herbarium (Prestel: 2019) was the first to explore Freud’s lifelong yet overlooked relationship with the plant world. Drawing from decades of scattered evidence like paintings, drawings, interviews, and archival references, it required extensive and methodical research to identify and bring together over 30 works spanning the artist’s career. Given that Freud’s paintings now command extremely high market prices, reaching the collectors and institutions that hold them is not a straightforward task. Many owners remain intentionally elusive, reluctant to lend or even confirm the possession of works. Tracking these down required persistent outreach and diplomacy, supported by trips to London where face-to-face conversations often proved more fruitful than virtual ones.

Balancing this level of commitment while based in Chicago demanded an extraordinary amount of coordination. I spent countless hours on Zoom with the Garden Museum team, conservators, art handlers, potential lenders, and researchers. Every decision, from the sequencing of the exhibition to wall colors, conservation conditions, and even the height of hang, was deliberated across time zones, requiring careful planning and flexibility.

Perhaps most crucially, the sabbatical gave me the uninterrupted space to write a 10,000-word catalogue essay that framed Freud’s plant paintings in light of broader aesthetic and philosophical questions about realism, intimacy, and vegetal life. I also authored over thirty interpretive labels for individual works, each requiring precise language and historical sensitivity. These texts formed the narrative backbone of the exhibition and demanded an immersive writing process that could never have been achieved amid the full cadence of teaching and institutional responsibilities.

Beyond writing, my role involved extensive public engagement: preparing and delivering multiple talks, meeting with journalists to frame the show’s significance, and liaising with the Freud estate and curatorial partners. These forms of outreach were not only crucial for the exhibition’s visibility, but also provided opportunities for intellectual exchange that enriched my teaching upon returning to SAIC.

This sabbatical has affirmed that time away from regular teaching duties is not a retreat but a great opportunity to grow for the individual as well as the institution. The experience not only enhanced my research profile but allowed me to return to the classroom with renewed energy, fresh insight, and expanded networks that directly benefit my students. I was able to translate aspects of the Freud project into seminar discussions, visual culture analysis, and curatorial strategies shared with graduate cohorts.

That SAIC offers sabbaticals to part-time faculty is both forward-thinking and commendable. In a time when many institutions overlook the deep contributions of part-time educators, this policy recognizes the necessity of providing time and space for critical projects that otherwise could not unfold. Sabbaticals allow faculty to take risks, to pursue complex lines of inquiry, and to engage with the broader cultural field in ways that ultimately enhance the learning environment we build together.