Paul Melton, PhD

Education

BS, BA, University of Kansas
PhD, New York University

Biography

Paul Melton’s work focuses on the forms of knowledge (and their technologies of production) that create value in the art market and that shape broader understandings of and relationships to art. As part of NYU’s Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, where he earned his PhD and was a Javits scholar, he explored cultural representations of the art market in entertainment, education, and regulation and their relationship to neoliberal political rationality and art market financialization.

Melton holds a BA in Spanish and a BS in Mathematics from the University of Kansas, both with departmental honors and the University’s Highest Distinction. Between undergraduate and graduate degrees, he spent over a decade working in communications and market research across five countries and several industries. Prior to arriving at FIT, he taught at NYU’s Stern School of Business and Steinhardt School of Communication, Culture, and Human Development, as well as the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. He has also worked with a number of arts organizations and artists on strategic planning, marketing, and communications projects as an independent consultant and at LaPlaca Cohen.