Kathleen Goncharov, a curator known for her work at Just Above Midtown gallery and the Boca Raton Museum of Art, died at her home in Boca Raton, Florida, on December 31 at age 73. Over her career, she served as senior curator at the Boca Raton Museum of Art from 2012 to 2025, curated exhibitions internationally from Rio de Janeiro to Rome, and was commissioner of the US Pavilion for the Venice Biennale in 2003, presenting Fred Wilson's exhibition "Speak of Me as I Am." She also held positions at Creative Time, the New School, MIT, the Nasher Museum of Art, and the Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions, and was a working artist for 40 years.
Goncharov's death marks the loss of a curator who championed diverse and historically significant artists, including Fred Wilson, El Anatsui, Lorraine O'Grady, and Mickalene Thomas, and who played a key role in bringing critical exhibitions to institutions across the US and abroad. Her work at Just Above Midtown and the Venice Biennale helped elevate conversations around race, identity, and contemporary art, making her a notable figure in the art world whose influence will be remembered.