Michael Asbury is an art historian, critic, and curator. He completed his PhD in the History and Theory of Art with the thesis 'Hélio Oiticica: Politics and Ambivalence in 20th Century Brazilian Art' (The London Institute, 1999-2003). In 2003, he was awarded an ACE award to research contemporary Brazilian Artists' Groups as well as a British Council grant to fund research on contemporary artists in five Brazilian cities (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and Recife). He has written extensively on contemporary transnational art, modernism and the politicisation of cultural practice in Brazil during the 1960s, and has contributed to and chaired numerous international symposia, study days and panel discussions, including 'Nation Identity and Modernity: India, Japan, Mexico 1860s-1940s' at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in 2004 and 'Ideals of Modernity', a web-cast panel discussion about the 'Rio de Janeiro 1950 - 1964' section of the 'Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis' exhibition, Tate Modern in 2001. He has also curated and organised several exhibitions, including 'Antonio Manuel' at The Pharos Centre for Contemporary Art, Nicosia, Cyprus in 2005, and 'Sebastião Salgado' and 'Brazilian Faces' at Gallery 32 in association with the Brazilian Embassy in London, both in 2002.