Born in Pasadena, California, in 1948
Lives in New York City
Education
1980California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA; MFA
1970University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA; BA
One-Person Exhibitions
2010The Apartment, Vancouver
2007Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles
“B. Wurtz: Photo/Objects,” 871 Fine Arts, San Francisco
2006The Suburban, Oak Park, IL
Feature Inc., New York
2003Feature Inc., New York
2001Feature Inc., New York
2000“B. Wurtz: 70+30=2000,” Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago (catalogue)
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles
“buttons. part 1,” Feature Inc., New York
“buttons. part 2,” Feature Inc., New York
1999Salle de Bains, Rotterdam
Spak, Umeå, Sweden
1998Feature Inc., New York
1997Feature Inc., New York
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles
1996Ynglingagatan 1, Stockholm
1995“Mandalas,” Feature Inc., New York
1993“Daily Life, 1970–1993,” Feature, New York (catalogue)
1992Feature, New York
1991Feature, New York
1990“Life,” Feature, New York
1989“Survival,” Feature, New York
1988Bess Cutler Gallery, New York
1987Feature, Chicago
Bess Cutler Gallery, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010“S(l)umm(er)ing on Madison Avenue,” The Notary Public, New York
“The Same Sight Slighter,” Renwick Gallery, New York; 10 April – 15 May 2010
“Mean and Sneaking,” FiveMyles, Brooklyn; curated by Vicki Sher
“Skulture,” Feature Inc., New York
2009“Hello Goodbye Thank You, Again,” Castillo/Corrales, Paris; curated by Anthony Huberman
“Exposed Terrain,” Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA; curated by Amra Brooks (catalogue)
“Another ’80s,” Adam Baumgold Gallery, New York
“Curated By—Vienna 09: B. Wurtz & Noam Rappaport @ Galerie Steinek,” curated by Matthew Higgs
“N’importe Quoi (Anything),” Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, France; curated by Vincent Pécoil and
Olivier Vadrot
“Phot(o)bjects,” Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver and Lawrimore Project, Seattle; curated by Bob Nickas
2008“Peanut Gallery,” The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn; curated by Joe Bradley
“The Box,” Norma Desmond Productions, Los Angeles
“Living Flowers: Ikebana and Contemporary Art,” Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles
“Stephen Prina, James Welling, B. Wurtz,” Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles
“Object Salon,” Honey Space, New York; curated by Bob Nickas, Kathy Grayson, Pascal Spengemann,
Brooke Geahan, and Thomas Beale
“Styrofoam,” Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (brochure)
“Shit,” Feature Inc., New York
“Field Work,” The Apartment, Vancouver
2007“Chistopher Knowles and B. Wurtz,” Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston; curated by Matthew Higgs
“Open End,” Kinkead Contemporary, Culver City, CA; curated by David McDonald
“You Always Move in Reverse,” Leo Koenig Inc., New York; curated by Bjarne Melgaard
2006“B. Wurtz, Christopher Knowles,” Herald Street Gallery, London
“The Chair, Reconsidered,” Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Sun Valley, ID
“Eldorado,” Mudam Luxembourg, Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
“Dereconstruction,” Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York; curated by Matthew Higgs
2005“Looking at Words,” Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York; conceived by Barbaralee Diamonstein- Spielvogel
“The O Show,” Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ; Kresge Foundation Gallery, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ (2006); curated by MatCH-Art
“Studio: Seven Months of My Aesthetic Education (Plus Some) NYC Version and Climaxed,”
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Musée d’Orsay, Paris (web catalogue)
“The sun rises in the evening.,” Feature Inc., New York
2004“Word of Mouth, A Selection: Part 1,” Dinter Fine Art, New York
“Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity,” P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY; organized by Bob
Nickas and Steve Lafreniere
2002“All That Glitters,” Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY; curated by Karen Shaw (catalogue)
“GTt2,” Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; curated by ANP (catalogue)
2001“Sharon Kaitz/B. Wurtz,” Allston Skirt Gallery, Allston, MA
“Double Visions,” Adam Baumgold Gallery, New York
“Texty,” M du B, F, H & g, Montreal
“W,” Museé des Beaux-Arts, Dole, France; curated by Robert Nickas (catalogue)
“Not a. Lear,” Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York; Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston, MA;
curated by ANP
“Een Goed In De Weg Staande Tafel,” Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam; curated by Jack Jaeger
2000“Bubbles,” Center for Contemporary Non-Objective Art, Brussels; curated by Edith Doove (catalogue)
“3ness,” Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium; curated by Edith Doove, Dike Blair,
and Jimi Dams
“Not a. Lear,” Torch, Amsterdam; Art Process, Paris; Galerie S. & H. De Buck, Ghent, Belgium;
curated by ANP
1999“Would have had.,” Cabinet, London
“Cookie Snow Feature,” Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam
“Pretty Happy Painting (with Michael Lazarus and David Moreno),” M du B, F, H & g, Montreal
“Sticker Shock: Artists’ Stickers,” Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (catalogue)
“Surface As Structure,” Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA; curated by Sue Spaid (catalogue)
1998“Word Perfect,” Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago
“f.i.s.t.,” ANP, Antwerp, Belgium
“Science,” Feature Inc., New York
“Opens,” M du B, F, H & g, Montreal
1997“Fake Ecstasy With Me,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
“Normotic,” One Great Jones, New York; curated by David Humphrey
“At the Threshold of the Visible: Minuscule and Small-Scale Art, 1964-1996,” Herbert F.
Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Maryland Institute College of
Art, Decker Galleries, Baltimore, MD; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Art Gallery of
Windsor, Windsor, Ontario; Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, Virginia Beach, VA; Center
on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA; Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta; Laguna Art
Museum, Laguna Beach, CA; curated by Ralph Rugoff (catalogue)
“Bring Your Own Walkman,” W139, Amsterdam; curated by Jack Jaeger (catalogue)
“Hello” (with Dike Blair, Vincent Fecteau and Richard Hawkins), Feature Inc., New York
“Flying Buttress Please,” Torch, Amsterdam
“Twist” (with Jean-Philippe Antoine and Stephan Melzl), Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris
1996“Acts of Obsession,” Carla Stellweg Gallery, New York
“Invitational +,” Adam Baumgold Fine Art, New York
1995“It’s Only Rock and Roll: Rock and Roll Currents in Contemporary Art,” Contemporary Arts
Center, Cincinnati,
OH (catalogue)
“Representational Drawings,” Feature Inc., New York
“Strung into the Apollonian Dream...,” Feature Inc., New York
“Smells Like Vinyl,” Roger Merians Gallery, New York; organized by Sarah Seager and
Thaddeus Strode
“Stretch Out and Wait” (with Keith Mayerson and Megan Williams), Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles
1994“Lessons in Life: Photographic Works from the Boardroom Collection,” Art Institute of Chicago
“Sex,” Adam Baumgold Fine Art, New York
“Paintings,” Feature Inc., New York
“Projets et Dessins,” Galerie Claire Burrus, Paris
“Wood Works,” Adam Baumgold Fine Art, New York
1993“Influx,” Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago
“les petits riens de la vie,” La Galerie Volée à Une Muse, Lyons, France
“The Return of the Cadavre Exquis,” The Drawing Center, New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Forum for Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO; Fundación para el Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City; Santa Monica
Art Museum, Santa Monica, CA; curated by Ann Philbin and Ingrid Schaffner (catalogue)
1992“Another Subjectivity,” Galerie Martina Detterer, Frankfurt am Main (catalogue)
“Jori Felice, Richard Hawkins, B. Wurtz,” Roy Boyd Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
“Tattoo Collection,” Galerie Jennifer Flay and Urbi et Orbi, Paris; Daniel Buchholz, Cologne;
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York; Centre Regional d’Art Contemporain, Nantes, France;
Air de Paris, Nice, France; organized by Air de Paris and Urbi et Orbi
1991“Objectionable Beauty,” Jan Kesner Gallery, Los Angeles
“Rocking Horses for Children in Crisis,” Lorence-Monk Gallery, New York
“Directly On and Off the Wall,” Palm Beach Community College Museum of Art, Lake Worth,
FL;
curated by Kip Eagen
1990“Work on Paper,” Paula Allen Gallery, New York
“The Thing Itself,” Feature, New York
“Perspectives on Place: Attitudes Towards the Built Environment,” University Art Gallery,
San Diego State
University, San Diego, CA
“The New School Collects: Recent Acquisitions,” Parsons School of Design, New York;
curated by Kathleen
Goncharov
1989Marta Cervera Gallery, New York
“Buttinsky,” Feature, New York
“Cinderella Rockefeller,” Feature, New York
“Poetic Objectives,” Curt Marcus Gallery, New York; curated by Gordon VeneKlasen
“Romancing the Stone,” Feature, New York
“Dorothy,” Center for Contemporary Art, Chicago; curated by Hudson
“Double Take,” Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
1988“Photo Poetics,” Jack Shainman Gallery, Washington, DC
“The Logic of Display,” P.S.1, The Institute for Art and Urban Resources, Long Island City, NY;
curated by Paul Laster and Renee Riccardo (catalogue)
“Re:Placement,” Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA; curated by Joy Silverman and
Marc Pally
“A Visible Order,” Otis/Parsons Exhibition Center, Los Angeles; curated by Paul Laster and Renee Riccardo
“Near Miss,” Feature, Chicago
“Photography on the Edge,” Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
(catalogue)
“Information as Ornament,” Feature and Rezac Gallery, Chicago; curated by Hudson and
Susan Rezac (catalogue)
“New Strategies,” Jan Kesner Gallery, Los Angeles; curated by Clayton Press and Gregory Linn (catalogue)
1987“(of Ever-Ever Land i speak),” Stux Gallery, New York; curated by Christian Leigh (catalogue)
“Small Scale Sculpture,” Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Atlanta (catalogue)
“Actualities,” Ledis Flam Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (catalogue)
“Signs of Intelligent Life,” Greathouse Gallery, New York
Jan Baum Gallery, Los Angeles
“Sculpture,” Bess Cutler Gallery, New York
“Post-Abstract Abstraction,” Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT; curated by Eugene Schwartz
(catalogue)
“Gallery Artists,” Bess Cutler Gallery, New York
“Nature,” Feature, Chicago
INTAR Latin American Gallery, New York, NY; curated by Hudson
“CalArts: Skeptical Belief(s),” Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago; Newport Harbor Art Museum,
Newport Beach, CA (catalogue)
1986“Promises, Promises,” Feature, Chicago
“Six Sculptors,” Artists Space, New York (catalogue)
“Religion: Painting and Sculpture,” Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York
1985“Post Olympic Art,” Galerie Beau Lezard, Paris
1984“Post Olympic Art,” Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles (catalogue)
1981“Lynne Henkel, B. Wurtz,” Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles
Film
1989“Films” (group screening), Christine Burgin Gallery, New York
1982“B. Wurtz: Super-8 Film Presentation,” Beyond Baroque Literary/Art Center, Venice, CA
1981Group screening (Super-8), Empty Space Theater, Santa Barbara, CA
1980Group screening (Super-8), FILMEX (Los Angeles International Film Exposition), Los Angeles
Selected Bibliography
2010Peck, Aaron. Review, artforum.com, Critic's Picks, Summer
Smith, Roberta. “Same Sight Slighter,” New York Times, 13 May
2009Adler, Dan. “Phot(o)bjects,” Frieze, September >link
Griffin, Kevin. “New Dimensions in Photography,” Vancouver Sun, 23 May, D3 >link
Vogel, Sabine B. “Correspondences,” artforum.com, 18 May 2009
Horny, Henriette. “Fremde Herren in den eigenen Geschäften” (review of “Curated By”), Kurier, 4 May 2009 >link
Fessler, Anne Katrin. “Alternativkommandos und geladene Störköche: ‘Curated By,’” Der Standard, 8 May 2009
“Slideshow: Viennafair 2009,” Art – Das Kunstmagazin, 11 May 2009 (reproduction) >link
Griffin, Kevin. “Breaking through dimensions: Photo show challenges convention,” Vancouver Sun,
22 May 2009 >link
Cotter, Holland. Review of “Peanut Gallery,” New York Times, 30 January >link
2008Hodge, Brook. “Seeing Things: Flower Power,” The Moment: The New York Times Style Magazine Blog,
26 June >link
McQuaid, Cate. “Breaking Down the Beauty of Styrofoam,” Boston Globe, 28 March
Smith, Roberta. Review of “Begin Again Right Here,” New York Times, 3 October
Steele, Robin. “RISD Museum’s ‘Styrofoam’ Features Kilted Lincoln,” Brown Daily Herald, 31 March
Van Siclen, Bill. “Flights of Foam at RISD,” Providence Sunday Journal, 9 March
Velasco, David. “Nayland Blake at Matthew Marks,” Artforum.com, Picks, posted 22 February
2007Brooks, Amra. “Our Favorite Shows and Artifacts,: Art to Live For, by LA Weekly Critics,” LA Weekly, 26 December
Clark, E. K., “Back to Basics,” NY Arts Magazine, January/February, (reproduction)
Frank, Peter. “The Big Picture and the Small,” LA Weekly, 14 February >link
Knight, Christopher. “When Mere Gray Is More Than Gray,” Around the Galleries, Los Angeles Times, 20 April
McQuaid, Cate, Boston Globe, Arts and Entertainment, 15 March
Ollman, Leah. Around the Galleries, Los Angeles Times, 12 January, E32
Baker, Kenneth. “Wurtz Plays with Architecture, Illusion,” San Francisco Chronicle, 3 November, E10
Helfand, Glen. “B. Wurtz at 871 Fine Arts,” Artforum.com, Picks, posted 8 November >link
2006Andrews, Betsy. Review of “The Chair, Reconsidered,” Idaho Mountain Express, 14 June
Baker, R. C. “Chicken and Eggs,” Village Voice, 13–19 September, 58
Jones, Kristin M. Review of “Dereconstruction,” Frieze, October, 259
Masters, H. G. Review, L Magazine, 30 August–12 September, 68
McKinnon, John. Review, Time Out Chicago, 19–25 October
Princenthal, Nancy. Review, Art in America, December
Velasco, David. Review, Artforum.com, Critics’ Picks, 18 September,
Velasco, David. Review of “Dereconstruction,” Artforum, September, 374
Winkleman, Edward. Artist of the Week, edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com >link (accessed 26 July, 2006)
Review, Art MoCo, 31 October >link (accessed 3 November, 2006)
Update, Interior Design, June, 38 (reproduction)
2005Cotter, Holland. “The Sun Rises in the Evening,” New York Times, 10 June, E44
Hainley, Bruce. “Only Connect, The Art of B. Wurtz,” Artforum, October, 242–247 (reproductions)
2004White, Roger. Review, Brooklyn Rail, September, 17
2002Olson, Marisa S. “Guide to Trust No. 2 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts,” Artweek, May
2001Cotter, Holland. Review, New York Times, 14 December, E40
Cotter, Holland, “Not a. Lear,” New York Times, 12 October, E37
Grabner, Michelle. Review, Frieze, April, 96 (reproduction)
McQuaid, Cate. “Everyday Epiphanies,” Boston Globe, 19 April, D6
2000Johnson, Ken. Review, New York Times, 28 January, E37
1999Boström, Patrik. Review, Västerbottens Folkblad, 15 March, 3
Hainley, Bruce. “Best of the ’90s: 10 Top Tens,” Artforum, December, 130
Ivy, Angus. “WOp: ANP Antwerp, Belgium,” Zingmagazine 3 (Spring/Summer), 230
1998Hainley, Bruce. “Boys will be Boys,” Frieze, November/December, 42
Schmerler, Sarah. Review, Time Out New York, 24 September–1 October, 61
1997Cotter, Holland. “A Show That Could Travel In Just a Carry-On Bag” New York Times, 14 December, E44–45
Doran, Anne. Review, Time Out New York, 7 August, 47
Kandel, Susan. Review, Los Angeles Times, 16 May, F21
Madestrand, Bo. Review, Expressen, 7 January, 4 (reproduction)
Peeters, Mark. Review, NRC Handelsblad, 17 January
Rian, Jeff. “Letter from Paris,” Artnet.com, posted 24 March
1996Ericsson, Lars O. Review, Dagens Nyheter, 20 December, B3 (reproduction)
1995Levin, Kim. Village Voice, Choices, 28 March, 9
1993Levin, Kim. Village Voice, Choices, 11 May, 75
Princenthal, Nancy. “Artist’s Book Beat,” Print Collector’s Newsletter, March/April, 28
Robinson, Walter. “Music to Your Eyes: CD Covers Play Tribute to Modern Masterpieces,” Mademoiselle,
October, 102 (reproduction)
Saltz, Jerry. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” Art in America, September, 41–45
Smith, Roberta. Review, New York Times, 14 May, C26
Weidenbaum, Marc. “More Pictures + Music,” Pulse!, August, 17
1992Pagel, David. Review, ArtIssues, March/April, 34
1991Goings On About Town, New Yorker, 29 April, 17
Schjeldahl, Peter. “The Salon of April,” Village Voice, 14 May, 86
Schwan, Gary. “On and Off-The-Wall Art,” Palm Beach Post, 5 April, 35
1990Gutterman, Scott. “Natural and Unnatural Causes,” Art International, Autumn, 58 (reproduction)
Harris, Patty. “Four Summer Art Shows,” Downtown, 29 August, 12–13 (reproduction)
Smith, Roberta. “The Group Show as Crystal Ball,” New York Times, 6 July, C:1, 23
1989Cooper, Dennis. Review, Artforum, Summer, 143 (reproduction)
Haus, Mary. Review, ARTnews, December, 169–170
Hixson, Kathryn. Review of “Dorothy,” Chicago in Review, Arts, November, 110
1988Finnegan, Patrick. Review of “Photo Poetics,” Washington Blade, 1 April, 21
Grundberg, Andy. “The Logic of Display,” New York Times, 29 January
Knight, Christopher. “Re:Placement Parts: Alternative Galleries Break Down Walls,” Los Angeles Herald Examiner, 20 March, E10
McCoy, Pat. Review of “(of Ever-Ever Land i speak),” Artscribe International, January/February, 73
Raczka, Robert. “The Next Generation,” Afterimage, November, 20–21
Richard, Paul. Review of “Photo Poetics,” Washington Post, 25 March
Thorson, Alice. Review of “Photo Poetics,” Washington Times, 31 March
1987Artner, Alan. Review, Chicago Tribune, 12 March, 9F
Handy, Ellen. Review of “The Four Corners of Abstraction,” Arts, November, 108 –109
Zimmer, William. “Post-Abstract Abstraction in Ridgefield,” New York Times, 5 July
1984Drohojowska, Hunter. “An Exhibit to Lift Your Post-Olympic Spirits,” Los Angeles Herald Examiner, 7 September, 27
Relyea, Lane. “Focus on Cultural Differences.” Artweek, 29 September, 6
1981Ricky, Carrie. “Art Attack.” Art in America, May, 41–48
Selected Projects, Publications, and Reproductions of Artwork
2010“Sam Gordon & B. Wurtz,” North Drive Press #5 (interview)
North Drive Press #5, (multiple)
2008White Columns, New York, “Begin Again Right Back Here,” White Columns, New York; curated by B. Wurtz
2007Untitled publication, no. 1 (Spring), Feature Inc., New York (reproductions)
2006blocks, onestar press, Paris (artist’s book)
“Some Blocks,” Dinter Fine Art Project Room, March 1–April 30 >link (project archive)
2003Waters, John, and Bruce Hainley. Art: A Sex Book, Thames and Hudson, New York, 115, 121, 124, 135, 180
2000“Chelsea,” Connaissance des Arts, November, 14–15 (reproduction of artwork)
1995Hudson. “Stroboscopes,” Documents sur L’Art, no. 7 (spring), 9 (reproduction of artwork)
1993L’Endroit Idéal (Ideal Place), edited by Eric Troncy, L’Ile du Roy, Centre d’Art et Jardin, Val de Reuil, France,
170–171 (artist’s project)
1992Farm 5 (with Raymond Pettibon and Dodie Bellamy), Feature and Instituting Contemporary Idea, New York
1989LACE: 10 Years Documented, Joy Silverman, project director, LACE (Los AngelesContemporary Exhibitions),
Los Angeles, 36, 55, 82 (reproductions of artwork)
1987Farm 2 (Head Sex), Feature and Instituting Contemporary Idea, Chicago (reproduction of artwork)
1986Farm, Feature and Instituting Contemporary Idea, Chicago (reproduction of artwork)
Grants and Awards
2008Peter S. Reed Foundation
1991Artist and Homeless Collaborative, Park Avenue Women’s Shelter, New York
(grant to make collaborative work with residents)
1984National Endowment for the Arts, Honorarium (Post-Olympic Art)