René Barilleaux has been a curator for more than 35 years, and is now in charge of art after 1945 at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, TX. He began his career organizing shows in small alternative spaces like the Museum of Holography in SoHo and is now one of three top-tier managers at the McNay. He talks to us about why Surrealist Juan Miró, whose quirky and exuberant late paintings and sculptures are the focus of a show at the museum, is “ripe for rediscovery”–still relevant to contemporary audiences and resonating with younger artists.

(All works in the slide show are by Joan Miró)

Barilleaux also discusses the continuing fascination of Andy Warhol, the subject of another recent show at the McNay; why San Antonio is a lively environment for artists; and how to approach a curator if you think you’re ready for a museum overview. Smart and accessible, Barilleaux represents a new breed of curators at small and mid-size museums who are especially tuned in to the contemporary scene.