Jay Xu

Jay Xu is the director & CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and is the first Chinese American director of a major US art museum. Under his leadership, the museum has organized a wide range of Asian art exhibitions and made a number of significant acquisitions. His vision for the Asian Art Museum is to embrace and explore the interconnectivity between Asia and the rest of the world, and between traditional and contemporary artistic practices. Dr. Xu obtained his PhD in early Chinese art and archaeology at Princeton University, and has more than thirty years of international museum experience as a research scholar, curator, and museum director. He previously served as assistant to the museum director at the Shanghai Museum and curator of Chinese art at the Seattle Art Museum. He also served as head of the Asian art department and chairman of the department of Asian and Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. A dedicated, award-winning scholar of Chinese art, Xu is well-published, particularly on ancient Chinese bronzes and archaeology, and has lectured extensively on Asian art and museum practice. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015.