Brent Birnbaum
Brent Birnbaum’s work begins by exploring the world in search of found objects that have not been used in an artistic context and that contain the potential to be manipulated into something new and powerful. He strives to surprise and captivate the viewer by expanding the dialogue about contemporary art. The familiarity of his materials makes his works accessible to a wide audience, as does the humor they contain. Birnbaum embarks on projects that challenge him mentally and physically by collecting a difficult quantity or absurd material. Inspired by both art history and ready-made materials, he is on a quest to find and create the invisible angles of life.
born in Dallas, Texas in 1977; lives and works in Dallas, Texas and Amsterdam, New York
Education
- 2006 Master of Fine Arts in Fine Art, School of Visual Arts – New York, New York
- 2004 Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, School of the Museum of Fine Arts – Boston, Massachusetts
- 2001 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design, University of North Texas – Denton, Texas
Solo Exhibitions
- 2024 C’mon Lets Play?, Keijsers Koning – Dallas, Texas
- 2022 Paintings for Sculptors, Galerie PJ – Metz, France
- 2020 Nature/Nurture, Epsilon Spires – Brattleboro, Vermont
- 2019 Seven Games, Denny Dimin Gallery – New York, New York
- 2018 That’s what (s)he said., Museum Wilhelm Morgner – Soest, Germany
- 2016 Voyeur Voyager Forager Forester, Denny Gallery – New York, New York
- 2015 Treadmills II, Art-in-Buildings, Southfield, Michigan
- Treadmills, SPRING/BREAK Art Show – New York, New York
- 2014 Back, Abrons Art Center – New York, New York
- Sllimdaert, Sanctuary – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2013 IIIX9MEOW, Space Gallery – Portland, Maine
- Ride (W/) The Wind, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’Art Contemporain –
- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
- B.O.A. 3.0, Pen World Voices Festival, The Invisible Dog – Brooklyn, New York
- 2012 …And Justice for Mall of America, Second Street Gallery – Charlottesville,
- Virginia
- B.O.A. 2.0, Dumbo Arts Festival – Brooklyn, New York
- Lack, Commissioned Project, Scope Art Show – New York, New York
- Bureau of Apology, The LAB Gallery – New York, New York
- 2011 And a bag of chips, A.M.F. Projects, Scope Miami – Miami, Florida
- Trail of Beers, Artists Wanted, Scope Art Show – New York, New York
Group Exhibitions
- 2024 Diaf (Daegu International Art Fair), Galerie PJ, Daegu, South Korea
- 2024 Chateau, Aldredge House, Dallas, Texas
- Geoffrey and You, Project Art Distribution, New York, New York
- 2023 A Path Less Traveled, Joel Cooner Gallery and Keijsers Koning, Dallas, Texas
- Energie / Energy, Centre for International Light Art – Unna, Germany
- Pullman Grocery Annex, Invisible Genie Arts, Amarillo, Texas
- Virus Diary Biennale: Cryptic Stains, Diptych Art Space – Bucharest, Romania
- Exhibitionists: Art By Artists Who Curate, Walter’s – Amsterdam, New York
- Dallas Art Fair, Keijsers Koning – Dallas, Texas
- 2022 SWAB Art Fair, Galerie PJ – Barcelona, Spain
- A Delicate Balance, The Waiting Room Gallery – Denver, Colorado
- Bienvenue Art Fair, Galerie PJ – Paris, France
- 2021 Hocus Pocus, Good Naked Gallery – Brooklyn, New York
- Light Art/Artificial Light, Kunstmuseum im Marstall – Paderborn, Germany
- 2020 Hypothetical Function, Gutstein Gallery – Savannah, Georgia
- 2019 On the Map, Denny Dimin Hong Kong – Hong Kong
- Text Me, White Trash Contemporary – Hamburg, Germany
- 2017 Radcliffe, CTHULHU – Brooklyn, New York
- Rogues’ Cant, False Flag – Queens, New York
- Beach Sessions Fundraiser, Black and White Gallery – Brooklyn, New York
- 2016 Stiftung Konzeptuelle Kunst, ART.FAIR – Cologne, Germany
- Kenosis in the Supervoid, Station Independent Projects – New York, New York
- Doppelnamer, SPRING/BREAK Art Show – New York, New York
- 2015 Nurture Art Benefit, Pierogi Gallery – Brooklyn, New York
- Voyeur? Voyeur!, Pinea – Rota, Spain
- Marta is Ten, Marta Herford – Herford, Germany
- What It Was, Nurture Art – New York, New York
- Material Art Fair, Regina Rex – Mexico City, Mexico
- 2014 Share This! Appropriation After Cynicism, Denny Gallery – New York, New York
- The Space Between, Paul Kolker Collection – New York, New York
- Inaugural LES Salon Show, (harbor) – New York, New York
- Broke Baroque, Sanctuary – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Inaugural Group Show, Galerie 14 – Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
- Shrink It Pink It, Cathouse Funeral – Brooklyn, New York
- Color Code, New Bedford Art Museum – New Bedford, Massachusetts
- 2013 Guts, Abrons Arts Center – New York, New York
- Assembly Required, A Sukkah Salon – New York, New York
- The Silver Shore, Graham – New York, New York
- In The Details, The Wassaic Project – Wassaic, New York
- AKA, Davidson Contemporary – New York, New York
- Asshole in the Gallery, Loft 594 – Brooklyn, New York
- Ideas City, New Museum Street Festival – New York, New York
- Thanks, Lu Magnus – New York, New York
- Knit, Skaftfell – Center for Visual Art – Seydisfjordur, Iceland
- Exhibition Game, Small Black Door – Queens, New York
- 2012 Scope Miami, Brass Tacks – Miami, Florida
- Bring Yourself, Small Black Door – Queens, New York
- site95 Benefit, Present Company – Brooklyn, New York
- New Acquisitions IV – INFORMATION, Sammlung Schroth – Arnsberg, Germany
- Another Side, The Re Institute – Millerton, New York
- Momenta Benefit Raffle, Momenta Art – Brooklyn, New York
- 2011 Dead in August, The Pentagon – Brooklyn, New York
- In Between the Sheets, Workspace Harlem – New York, New York
- Detroit: A Brooklyn Case Study, Marygrove College – Detroit, Michigan
- Cowboy Mouth, St. Cecilia’s – Brooklyn, New York
- Half Empty, Vaudeville Park – Brooklyn, New York
- Detroit: A Brooklyn Case Study, Superfront LA – Los Angeles, California
- 2010 Employee of the Month, Marianne Boesky Gallery – New York, New York
- Used Books, Winkleman Gallery – New York, New York
- Collective Show New York, PARTICIPANT INC – New York, New York
- 36 Hours in Basel, Unternehmen Mitte – Basel, Switzerland
- Never Can Say Goodbye, No Longer Empty – New York, New York
- 2009 Low Blow, Stux Gallery – New York, New York
- Playing Through, Industry City – Brooklyn, New York
- PEEP-O-RAMA, AK-57 Gallery – New York, New York
- Workout, Otom – Brooklyn, New York
- 2008 In Your Face, Buia Gallery – New York, New York
- Behold The Antagonist, Dead Cat Gallery – Providence, Rhode Island
- Another Last Year, Explosivo – New York, New York
- 2007 PAGEANT, studio717 – Brooklyn, New York
- This is Not New York, Mastul e.V. – Berlin, Germany
- FAITH, Diesel Gallery – Brooklyn, New York
- VERNISSAGE, Chashama – New York, New York
- 2006 a delicate arrangement (SVA MFA show), David Zwirner – New York, New York
- Summer Festival, ISE Cultural Foundation – New York, New York
- Prime Time, Visual Arts Gallery – New York, New York
- Out of El Bronx, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council – New York, New York
- Show Me Yours, Xpace – Toronto, Canada
- ARTLOVE, Tribes Gallery – New York, New York
- Do You Think I’m Disco, Longwood Art Gallery – Bronx, New York
Bibliography
- 2023 Zastudil, Nancy. “Gallery Row: A Seasonal Spotlight on Five Texas Galleries,” Arts and Culture Texas, December 29th
- “Best New Gallery For Envelope-pushing Work: Keijsers Koning,” Dallas Observer, September
- Klett, Maddie. “Artists Are Launching Cutting-Edge Residencies Outside New York City,” ARTnews, May 30th
- Slome, Manon. “No Longer Empty: Building Art and Community in Unused Spaces,” pages 56, 87
- 2022 McFadden, Katie. “New Art Gallery Lands in Rockaway Beach,” The Rockaway Times, June 30th
- Hitchcock, Nathaniel. “Brent Birnbaum of Walter Elwood Contemporary, Amsterdam,
- NY,” An Uncanny Valley: WIOX (91.3FM) Roxbury, NY, June 24th
- Nash, Indiana. “Art gallery brings new faces to Walter Elwood Museum,” The Amsterdam Recorder, April 29th
- Nash, Indiana. “Art gallery brings new faces to Walter Elwood Museum,” The Daily Gazette, April 29th
- Nash, Indiana. “Art gallery brings new faces to Walter Elwood Museum,” The Leader Herald, April 29th
- “Paintings for Sculptors, an exhibition organized by Galerie PJ,” Republican Lorrain, February 16th
- Froyd, Susan. “Art Attack: Gallery Shows and Events in Denver This Weekend,” Westword, February 16th
- Notine, Dana. “Posterity for P.A.D; the little pop-up gallery that could,” Whitehot Magazine, February
- 2021 Norton, Amy. “Group Show Straddles the Line at The Waiting Room Gallery,” Your Hub / Denver Post, October 7th
- Willard, Lucas. “Contemporary Wing Coming To Amsterdam’s Walter Elwood Museum,” WAMC Northeast Public Radio, June 25th
- “Epsilon Spires to host closing party for multimedia exhibit,” Brattleboro Reformer, May 5th
- “Nature/Nurture: A multimedia exhibit,” Rutland Herald, May 1st
- “Nature/Nurture: A multimedia exhibit,” Times Argus, May 1st
- “Epsilon Spires hosts closing party for ‘Nature/Nurture’ exhibit,” The Commons, Issue #610, April 28th
- 2020 “Brent Birnbaum, Christin Ripley debut exhibition at Epsilon Spires.” The Commons, Issue #578, September 9th
- 2019 Graves, Cassidy Dawn. “Art This Week: Extinct Fish and Playable Simulations,” Bedford and Bowery, May 20th
- “Interview: Artist Brent Birnbaum,” Millionaire.shop/blogs/stories, April 19th
- 2018 “Brent Birnbaum – That’s what (s)he said.” Artmapp, March – June, page 186
- 2017 “False Flag” Edition of 1000, Pacific Publishing, pages 97 – 101
- Adamson, Glenn. “Tokens of Regard,” Disegno, June 23rd
- Viaggio, Chris. “Rockaway Beach: Art and Adaptive Capacity Post-Hurricane Sandy,” Rita Books, page 219
- Pentagram Papers 47, Museum Collection, 52 pages
- 2016 Ogilvy, Flora Alexandra. “An Interview with Artist and Gallerist Brent Birnbaum in the Rockaways, New York,” Arteviste, December 28th
- Wallace, Brett. The Conversation Project, December 8th
- McMahon, Katherine. “Habitat: Obsessions – A Look at Brent Birnbaum’s Coat Check Tags,” Artnews, September 27th
- Lee, Jongho. “Voyeur Voyager Forager Forester at Denny Gallery,” Eyes Towards the Dove, August 24th
- Piepenbring, Dan. “All Hail the Refrigerator, and Other News,” The Paris Review, August 23rd
- Voon, Claire. “Retro Refrigerators as Totems to Our Food Storage Habits, Hyperallergic, August 22nd
- Lesser, Casey. “Why an Artist Filled a Lower East Side Gallery with 45 Mini Fridges,” Artsy, July 13th
- Symonds, Alexandria. “Tiny, Artistic Worlds – Inside Mini-Fridges,” T The New York Times Style Magazine, July 11th
- Gillern, Nora. “July Gallery Run Down: 4 Galleries to Check Out This Month,” Art Zealous, July 7th
- Neuendorf, Henri. “Top 10 Shows on the LES and Surrounding Neighborhoods This Summer,” Artnet, July 4th
- Smith, Roberta. “Galleries Shift Shape to Survive in a Changing Art World,” The New York Times, June 23rd
- “Kenosis in the Supervoid at Station Independent Project,” Musee Magazine, April 11th
- 2015 Braun, Hartmut. “Ist das Kunst oder darf es Spaß machen?” Neue Westfälische, August 24th
- “Ein Geburtstagsfest für alle,” Neue Westfälische, August 21st
- “Marta wird zehn das Fest,” Neue Westfälische, August 13th
- “In Conversation: Brent Birnbaum and Elizabeth Denny,” Art-in-Buildings, July
- “Special Feature: Material Art Fair 2015,” Art Viewer, March 18th
- Kopf, Suzy. “Consistently Inconsistent: A Walking Tour of New York’s Armory Week,” BmoreArt, March 16th
- Vernissage TV. “Artist Brent Birnbaum’s Mountain of Painted Treadmills,” The Huffington Post, March 13th
- Gallant, Elise. “Highlights from Spring/Break Art Show at Skylight at Moynihan Stations, New York,” Purple Diary, March 11th
- Cunningham, Bill. “On the Street,” The New York Times, March 8th
- Greenberger, Alex. “Poor and Loving it at the Spring/Break Fair,” Artnews, March 7th
- Kerr, Dylan. “More Indie Than Independent? 6 to See at the (un)SCENE and Spring/Break Fairs,” Artspace, March 6th
- Yablonsky, Linda. “Spring Forward,” Artforum, March 6th
- Simon, Stephanie. “Your Weekend Starts Now,” NY1, March 5th
- Stigle, Ellinor. “The New Old,” Odalisque Magazine, March 5th
- Lynch, Scott. “Checking Out The Anti-Art Fair Art Fairs: (un)Scene & Spring Break,” gothamist, March 4th
- Meier, Allison. “Jam-Packed Spring/Break Art Show Pulls into Moynihan Station,” Hyperallergic, March 4th
- Munro, Cait. Spring/Break Art Fair is Bigger, Flashier, and Scrappier Than Ever,” Artnet, March 4th
- Graver, David. “Highlights from NYC’s SPRING/BREAK Art Show,” Cool Hunting, March 3rd
- Henry, Joseph. “Querying The New Appropriation Art: Is This Cynicism? Momus, January 8th
- Kany, Daniel. “Art Review: At Space, it’s a gallery exhibition, it’s a gift shop – it’s both,” Portland Press Herald, January 4th
- 2014 Visual Arts News Desk. “Share This! Exhibition Opens This Sunday at Denny Gallery,” Broadway World Online, December 12th
- Fellner, Hans. “In the Presence of the Artist,” Traces #4, pages 47-53
- Mercado, Erica. “Brent Birnbaum’s Little Love,” Mercadito, October 1st
- Ryzik, Melena. “Finally, a Tide of Celebration in the Rockaways,” The New York Times, June 26th
- Bastendorff, Elvire. “Open Days: Invitation For Museums,” City Magazine Luxembourg, page 64, May
- Wilkinson, Don. “Art Beat: Exhibition gives new meaning to ‘living color,’ South Coast Today, January 18th
- “Two new exhibits opening at New Bedford Art Museum,” The Herald News, Fall River, January 15th
- 2013 Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’Art Contemporain, “Brent Birnbaum” Monograph, 80 pages
- Kany, Daniel. “Art Review: A curious, colorful ‘collaboration’ at Space,” Portland Press Herald, December 8th
- Hansen, Josee. “Prendre un visiteur par la main,” D’Letzebuerger Land, November 29th
- “Ride (W/) the Wind,” Zeitung vum Letzebuerger Vollek, November 22nd
- Vecrin, Sebastien. “Brent Birnbaum,” Luxuriant, November 1st
- Carriere, Mylene. “Dr. Birnbaum, L’art de I’introspection,” Le Quotidien, October 29th
- Ahrens, Jorg. “Und taglich grust die Kunst,” Woxx, October 18th
- Versall, Patrick. “Neun Ebenen,” Journal, October 17th
- Lorge, Marie-Anne. “(De)livrez-vous!” Le Jeudi, October 17th
- Sommer, Mette-Sofie. “Artist asks intrusive questions at Casino’s labyrinth-like exhibition,” Wort.lu, October 16th
- Jurek, Irena. “From Kitsch to the Coffin: Irena Jurek talks to Brent Birnbaum,” NY Arts Magazine, September
- Lasane, Andrew. “20 Incredible Artists Using Neon,” Complex, July 21st
- Saltz, Jerry. “Picasso Baby Live: Jerry Saltz Goes Face-to-Face with Jay-Z,” Vulture.com, July 11th
- “Endless Summer,” Creem Magazine, Issue 08, page 2
- McQuaid, Cate. “What’s up at Boston-area art galleries,” The Boston Globe, May 28th
- “Brent Birnbaum,” Creemmag.com, May
- Ryzik, Melena. “Sticky Fingers Make the Show,” The New York Times, March 28th
- 2012 Sammlung Schroth. Neuzugange IV / Information, catalog, pg. 28 and 29
- Pasori, Cedar. “Art Basel Miami 2012 Highlights: 12/8,” Complex, December 11th
- CH Editors. “Art + Design in Miami: Comic Aggression,” Cool Hunting, December 10th
- Kleinberg, Kendall and Romy Oltuski. “The Hot List: Miami Art Basel 2012,”
- HarpersBazaar.com, December 4th
- Harod, Callie. “Power Pop: Brent Birnbaum turns overstimulation into arresting visual art,” C-ville, November 20th
- Kleine, Peter M. “Ausstellung im Kloster Wedinghausen,” Arnsberg Magazin, page 31, October
- Toribio, Elyse. “DUMBO Arts Festival: accessible and absurd,” The Record September 20th
- Upadhye, Janet. “Cheaters and Liars Leave Sins Behind at the Bureau of Apology,” DNAinfo.com, September 17th
- “Dumbo Arts Festival 2012 Preview: Superhero, Codex Dynamic, And Inverted Sky,” The Huffington Post, September 10th
- Browder, Amanda and Tom Sanford. “Episode 365: Marina Abramovic and Brent
- Birnbaum,” Bad at Sports, mins. 21-53, August 27th
- “Brent Birnbaum, what’s in your fridge?” The Art Dossier, May 1st
- “Color Explosion: Recent NY Art Shows Feature Bold Works,” Arts Observer, March 18th
- Prosper, Jacqueline Colette. “V Scoop: A Look Back at SCOPE,” Vedere.com, March 16th
- Roaman, Judi. “Must See… Art Fairs Are All Over NYC This Week!!!” The Accessorator online, March 7th
- Zimmer, Lori. “SCOPE and Vision,” ArtSlant.com, March 6th
- Schaefer, John. “Vanilla Ice, Remodeled,” Soundcheck on WNYC, mins. 21-28, January 27th
- site95. Journal Volume 01 Issue 01, pages 42-45, January
- 2011 Superfront Publications. “Lab for Urban Futures: SUPERFRONT Series at the Queens Museum of Art,” catalog, pg. 22 and 25
- Beth Mason, Shana. “Scope Miami 2011,” Whitewallmag.com, December 21st
- Fischer, David. “Team Made at Art Basel Miami,” Highsnobiety, December 24th
- LoCascio, Monica. “The Basel Beat,” Lookbooks.com, December 7th
- Beth Mason, Shana. “Pulse and Scope Art Fairs in Review,” Whitehot Magazine, December
- Amir. “Brent Birnbaum Is Ice Ice Maybe,” Beautiful Decay online, April 19th
- Scoggins, Michael. “Brent Birnbaum” Freight & Volume Magazine, Issue 3
- Superfront Gallery. “Detroit: a Brooklyn Case Study,” catalog, pg. 40-43
- Coleman, Madeline. “A Reference Librarian of My Own Crap: Marc Fischer of Public
- Collectors,” Maisonneuve, February 28th
- 2010 “Employee of the Month / Marianne Boesky,” Art Hag, August 19th
- Eby, Margaret. “Field Trip: Viewing the Vanilla Ice Collection,” Flavorwire, October 18th
- Shoup, Risa. “Used Books, New Ideas,” The Huffington Post, September 29th
- Clary, M.E. “LH Today visits with Brent Birnbaum, NY artist,” Lake Highlands Today, February 12th
- Robinson, Walter. “Weekend Update,” artnet, January 22nd
- MacDonald, Kerri. “Never Can Say Goodbye: Artists Take Over Abandoned Tower Records Store,” The Huffington Post, January 19th
- “Never Can Say Goodbye at the Former Tower Records Space in NYC,” C Monster.net, January 19th
- Getlen, Larry. “A Tower-ing Work of Art,” New York Post, January 17th
- Jackson, Candace. “Running on Empty,” The Wall Street Journal, January 15th
- Ashman, Angela. “Chain Gang,” The Village Voice, January 13th
- Prusinowski, Rebecca. “Shop of the Week, Artsy Edition: Never Can Say Goodbye,” PaperMag, January 13th
- 2007 Kosan, Lisa. “Just Across the Street,” artMatters, Spring
- 2006 Animal Magazine. “Brent Birnbaum Sculptural Strangeness,” ANIMAL new york, November 13th
- Perez, Magdalene. “School’s “In” for Summer,” artinfo.com, July 11th
- Genocchio, Benjamin. “Exploring the Effects of Disco’s Beat,” The New York Times, February 19th
- Cotter, Holland. “Do You Think I’m Disco,” The New York Times, February 3rd
- 2003 Wulff, June. “Go! Ahead,” The Boston Globe, November 30th
- Israel, Steve. “Dallas Doings,” The Texas Jewish Post, November 27th
- Sime, Tom. “Artists: Now you can be in the money,” The Dallas Morning News, November 26th
Address
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