Rowena Chiu is a London-based curator, artist advisor and art consultant.
With a background in Contemporary Art Theory and Literature, Rowena began her career in the studio, assisting British photographer Nick Waplington. She went on to become curator at Flora Fairbairn Projects, where she scouted emerging artists and realised exhibitions in spaces of architectural interest.
As an independent curator, Rowena has mounted solo exhibitions for Alice Anderson, Piers Jackson, Sally Webber and Jakub Julian Ziolkowski. Her projects have been supported by Arts Council England and the Freelands Foundation.
Rowena worked for Hauser & Wirth between 2010 and 2016 and was based at locations in Zürich, London and New York during her time with the gallery. As artist liaison, she worked closely with Rita Ackermann, Mark Bradford, Martin Creed, Ellen Gallagher, Matthew Day Jackson, Rashid Johnson, Rachel Khedoori, Anri Sala, Zhang Enli, David Zink Yi and the Estates of Leon Golub and Jason Rhoades, overseeing gallery and institutional projects for her artists internationally.
In 2016, Rowena joined Martin Creed Ltd. as studio director where she oversaw ambitious solo exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth Somerset and Park Avenue Armory, New York. She went on to direct and programme UNIT9, a platform created to enable artists to experiment with projects that fell outside the focus of commercial galleries.
In 2018, Rowena joined Blain Southern as artist liaison to Francesco Clemente, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Edward Kienholz, Pietro Ruffo, Yinka Shonibare, Joan Snyder, Bernar Venet and Gilberto Zorio. Rowena occupied this role parallel to her independent curating and writing.
Since joining Stephen Friedman Gallery as director in 2021, Rowena has been advising artists Leilah Babirye, Jonathan Baldock, Jeffrey Gibson, Hulda Guzman, Izumi Kato, Anne Rothenstein and Yinka Shonibare on development, strategy and institutional outreach alongside placing artworks in insitutional and private collections.
With a background in Contemporary Art Theory and Literature, Rowena began her career in the studio, assisting British photographer Nick Waplington. She went on to become curator at Flora Fairbairn Projects, where she scouted emerging artists and realised exhibitions in spaces of architectural interest.
As an independent curator, Rowena has mounted solo exhibitions for Alice Anderson, Piers Jackson, Sally Webber and Jakub Julian Ziolkowski. Her projects have been supported by Arts Council England and the Freelands Foundation.
Rowena worked for Hauser & Wirth between 2010 and 2016 and was based at locations in Zürich, London and New York during her time with the gallery. As artist liaison, she worked closely with Rita Ackermann, Mark Bradford, Martin Creed, Ellen Gallagher, Matthew Day Jackson, Rashid Johnson, Rachel Khedoori, Anri Sala, Zhang Enli, David Zink Yi and the Estates of Leon Golub and Jason Rhoades, overseeing gallery and institutional projects for her artists internationally.
In 2016, Rowena joined Martin Creed Ltd. as studio director where she oversaw ambitious solo exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth Somerset and Park Avenue Armory, New York. She went on to direct and programme UNIT9, a platform created to enable artists to experiment with projects that fell outside the focus of commercial galleries.
In 2018, Rowena joined Blain Southern as artist liaison to Francesco Clemente, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Edward Kienholz, Pietro Ruffo, Yinka Shonibare, Joan Snyder, Bernar Venet and Gilberto Zorio. Rowena occupied this role parallel to her independent curating and writing.
Since joining Stephen Friedman Gallery as director in 2021, Rowena has been advising artists Leilah Babirye, Jonathan Baldock, Jeffrey Gibson, Hulda Guzman, Izumi Kato, Anne Rothenstein and Yinka Shonibare on development, strategy and institutional outreach alongside placing artworks in insitutional and private collections.