Dr. Sandra Neugärtner

Sandra Neugärtner is an art historian captivated by the intricate relationship between art and society. Her research delves into the hidden narratives of 20th- and 21st-century art production, exploring the pivotal role of the applied arts in modernism, examining how media like textiles have shaped artistic practice.
Following her 2021 book on Moholy-Nagy's photogram as a pedagogical tool, she is currently preparing a second monograph as part of her DFG / Habilitation project, which illuminates the structural shifts in art production and the historiography of modern art in the early 20th century through the lens of Léna Meyer-Bergner's work.

Another focus is on unraveling the conflicts, origins, and myths surrounding the creation of artistic knowledge. Her edited volume, Institutional Criticism in Art Education from 1900 to Today (forthcoming 2025) explores the critical engagement of art education, from radical, transformative beginnings to institutional affirmation. This study offers the first comprehensive examination of institutional critique within art schools.

Her academic journey has taken her across disciplines, with studies in design, economics, art history, and cultural studies in Dessau, Berlin, Munich, and Zurich. She held a Visiting Fellowship at Harvard University's Department of History of Art and Architecture in 2017/18. Currently a Visiting Scholar at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut, she is an associate member of CRC 1512 "Intervening Arts" and a member of the Deutscher Verband für Kunstgeschichte e.V. and the Arbeitskreis digitale Kunstgeschichte.