Fosca Maddaloni

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Fosca Maddaloni is a doctoral candidate at Brown University, expected to complete her degree by December 1, 2024. Her research delves into works of art born from generative cross-cultural interactions, exchanges, or discourses, leading to the emergence of a novel visual language. She places particular emphasis on highlighting the agency and materiality of cross-cultural objects, challenging conventional Eurocentric narratives that often perpetuate orientalist stereotypes, cultural imperialism, and oversimplified representations of other cultures. Her dissertation specifically explores the production and interplay of ceramic and silver in both China and Europe during the late Middle Ages and early modern period. By highlighting the pivotal role of artisans, often marginalized in traditional art historical discourses, and focusing on craft practices, workshop organization, labor dynamics, and aesthetic regimes, Fosca's work contributes to the democratization of art historical agency and the transformation of our understanding of early modern globalization. Prior to her doctoral studies at Brown, Fosca earned an MA in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU and an MA in East Asian Studies from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.