Born 1948 in Pasadena, California, USA. Lives and works in New York City.
Using a constrained palette of materials re-purposed from the activities of everyday life, the precarious assemblages of B. Wurtz embody the activity of their own making, often containing instructions for configuring in situ the various elements of the composition. This chance quotient brings a living dimension to these works. Strategic use of sculptural tension plays off abstracted fields of color with counter levered elements setting our life’s material culture in fragile balance. Within this project of recycling Wurtz also picks up the scattered pieces of academic sculptural vocabulary, stretching our expectations well beyond the picture plane into tender, troublesome but highly autonomous works of art.
Selected solo exhibitions:
2023
You Know, This Is How He is, Office Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium.
2021
Four Rooms Four featuring four concurrent, one-room solo presentations by Gülşen Çalik, Joanne Greenbaum, Peter Treiber Jr. and B. Wurtz, VSOP Projects, Greenport, New York, USA.
2019
B. Wurtz, Kate MacGarry, London, UK.
2018
This Has No Name, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA.
Domestic Space, Metro Pictures, New York City, USA.
Kitchen Trees, City Hall Park, New York City, USA.
The First Twenty Years, Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin, Germany.
2017
B. Wurtz, Lulu, México City, Mexico.
2016
Obras escogidas, 1970 – 2016, La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain.
B. Wurtz, Office Baroque, Brussels, Belgium.
B. Wurtz, Metro Pictures Gallery, New York City, USA.
2015
B. Wurtz, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK.
B. Wurtz: Four Collections, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA.
B. Wurtz: Works in Handmade Paper 2013-2015, Dieu Donné, New York City, USA.
B. Wurtz, World Food Books, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
B. Wurtz, Kunstverein Freiburg, Germany.
2014
Maisterravalbuena, Madrid, Spain.
Jim Isermann and B. Wurtz, Mary Boone Gallery, New York City, USA.
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA.
Subjective Histories of Sculpture: B. Wurtz, Vera List Center for Art and Politics The New School, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, New York City, USA.
2013
Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin, Germany.
Kate MacGarry, London, UK.
Recent Works, Metro Pictures, New York City, USA.
2012
White Flag Projects, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
2011
Metro Pictures, New York City, USA.
2010
The Apartment, Vancouver, Canada.
2007
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA.
B. Wurtz: Photo/Objects, 871 Fine Arts, San Francisco, USA.
2006
The Suburban, Oak Park, Illinois, USA.
Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
2003
Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
2001
Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
2000
B. Wurtz: 70+30=2000, Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA.
buttons. part 1, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
buttons. part 2, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
1999
Salle de Bains, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Spak, Umeå, Sweden.
1998
Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
1997
Feature Inc., New York Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA.
1996
Ynglingagatan 1, Stockholm, Sweden.
1995
Mandalas, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
1993
Daily Life, 1970–1993, Feature, New York City, USA.
1992
Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
1991
Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
1990
Life, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
1989
Survival, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
1988
Bess Cutler Gallery, New York City, USA.
1987
Feature, Chicago, USA.
Bess Cutler Gallery, New York City, USA.
Selected group exhibitions
2023
Local Objects, New York, USA
2021
La Boîte-en-Valise, an online exhibition curated by Wim Peeters and Marie Denkens, Office Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium.
2019
Friends and Family, curated by Keith Mayerson, Peter Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, California, USA.
2018
The thin gate clanged, Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada.
When Geometry Smiles, Ortega y Gasset Projects, New York City, USA.
Brand New: Art and Commodity in the 1980s, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., USA.
A Page from My Intimate Journal (Part I), Gordon Robichaux, New York City, USA.
Alan Shields Project, Van Doren Waxter, 195 Chrystie St, New York City, USA.
2017
N. Dash, Virginia Overton, B. Wurtz, Maisterravalbuena, Lisbon, Portugal.
aroundabout Jack Jaeger, Kunstverein Langenhagen, Langenhagen, Germany.
Poor Timing, Hopkinson Mossman, Auckland, New Zealand.
A still life by Chardin,Lisson Gallery, London, UK.
Social Photography V, Carriage Trade, New York City, USA.
2016
Redeux (Sort of), Kai Matsumiya Gallery, New York City, USA.
Exquisite Corpse, Planthouse, New York City, USA.
2015
The Lulennial: A Slight Gestuary, Lulu, Colonia Roma, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico.
Zabriskie Point, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York City, USA.
2014
Displayed, Anton Kern Gallery, New York City, USA.
Chat Jet (Part 2). Sculpture in Reflection, Künstlerhaus KM–, Halle für Kunst & Medien, Graz, Austria.
Home Again, Again II, The Journal Gallery, New York City, USA.
2013
Café Horizon (You slowly look around now – hold it), Arthur Boskamp-Stiftung, Hohenlockstedt, Germany.
Prague Biennale, Prague, Czech Republic.
2012
Misako & Rosen, curated by Rob Halverson / C-o-o-l Art, Tokyo, Japan.
Josh Tonsfeldt & B. Wurtz, ANNAELLEGALLERY, Stockholm, Sweden.
Bulletin Boards, Venus Over Manhattan, curated by White Columbs, New York City, USA.
Everyday Abstract – Abstract Everyday, James Cohan Gallery, curated by Matthew Higgs, New York City, USA.
Creature from the Blue Lagoon, Martos Gallery, organized by Bob Nickas, Bridgehampton, New York, USA.
The Art of Cooking, Royal/T, Culver City, California, USA.
Everyday Things: Contemporary Works from the Collection, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
I Surrender, Devening Projects + Editions, Chicago, USA.
New Traditionalists, Martos Gallery, New York City, USA.
B. Wurtz & Co., Richard Telles Fine Art, curated by Matthew Higgs, Los Angeles, USA.
Cheat Chains and Telephone, Kansas Gallery, New York City, USA.
Xylor Jane and B. Wurtz, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Anagram City, Golden Gallery, Chicago, USA.
Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, National Academy of Arts and Letters, New York City, USA.
2011
Moment – Ynglingagatan 1, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Antic measures, Galerija Gregor Podnar, curated by Chris Sharp, Berlin, Germany.
Pandora’s Box: Joseph Cornell Unlocks the MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA.
The 2011 Bridgehampton Biennial, Martos Gallery, organized by Bob Nickas, Bridgehampton, New York.
Two Fold, Michelle Grabner / Brad Killam home, curated by Colleen Asper & Ethan Greenbaum Oak Park, Illinois, USA.
Building Blocks: Contemporary Works from the Collection, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, USA.
Salon Zürcher, Zürcher Studio, New York City, USA.
The Potential of Twist Ties Remains Elusive, an online project curated by Jo-ey Tang; papermonument.com
2010
Stuff Art, U•turn Art Space, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Salad Days, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, New York City, USA.
S(l)umm(er)ing on Madison Avenue, The Notary Public, New York City, USA.
The Same Sight Slighter, Renwick Gallery, New York City, USA.
Mean and Sneaking, FiveMyles, curated by Vicki Sher, Brooklyn, New York City, USA.
Skulture, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
2009
Hello Goodbye Thank You, Again, Castillo/Corrales, curated by Anthony Huberman, Paris, France.
Exposed Terrain, Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, curated by Amra Books, Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Another ’80s, Adam Baumgold Gallery, New York City, USA.
Curated By—Vienna 09: B. Wurtz & Noam Rappaport @ Galerie Steinek, curated by Matthew Higgs, Vienna, Austria.
N’importe Quoi (Anything), Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, curated by Vincent Pécoil and Olivier Vadrot, Lyon, France.
Phot(o)bjects, Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver and Lawrimore Project, curated by Bob Nickas, Seattle, Washington, USA.
2008
Peanut Gallery, The Journal Gallery, curated by Joe Bradley, Brooklyn, New York City, USA.
The Box, Norma Desmond Productions, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Living Flowers: Ikebana and Contemporary Art, Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Stephen Prina, James Welling, B. Wurtz, Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Object Salon, Honey Space, curated by Bob Nickas, Kathy Grayson, Pascal Spengemann, Brooke Geahan, and Thomas Beale, New York City, USA.
Styrofoam, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.(brochure)
Shit, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
Field Work, The Apartment, Vancouver, Canada.
2007
Chistopher Knowles and B. Wurtz, Allston Skirt Gallery, curated by Matthew Higgs, Boston, USA.
Open End, Kinkead Contemporary, curated by David McDonald, Culver City, California.
You Always Move in Reverse, Leo Koenig Inc., curated by Bjarne Melgaard, New York City, USA.
2006
B. Wurtz, Christopher Knowles, Herald Street Gallery, London, UK.
The Chair, Reconsidered, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Sun Valley, Idaho, USA.
Eldorado, Mudam Luxembourg, Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
Dereconstruction, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, curated by Matthew Higgs, New York City, USA.
2005
Looking at Words, Andrea Rosen Gallery, conceived by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, New York City, USA.
The O Show, Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, New Jersey, USA.
Kresge Foundation Gallery, Ramapo College, curated by MatCH-Art, Mahwah, New Jersey, USA.
Studio: Seven Months of My Aesthetic Education (Plus Some) NYC Version and Climaxed, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA; Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. (web catalogue)
The sun rises in the evening, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
2004
Word of Mouth, A Selection: Part 1, Dinter Fine Art, New York City, USA.
Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, curated by Bob Nicklas and Steve Lafreniere, Long Island City, New York, USA.
2002
All That Glitters, Islip Art Museum, curated by Karen Shaw, East Islip, New York, USA. (cat.)
GTt2, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, curated by ANP, San Francisco, USA. (cat.)
2001
Sharon Kaitz / B. Wurtz, Allston Skirt Gallery, Allston, Massachusetts, USA.
Double Visions, Adam Baumgold Gallery, New York City, USA.
Texty, M du B, F, H & g, Montreal, Canada.
W, Museé des Beaux-Arts, curated by Bob Nicklas, Dole, France. (cat.)
Not a. Lear, Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York City; Allston Skirt Gallery, curated by ANP, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Een Goed In De Weg Staande Tafel, Galerie van Gelder, curated by Jack Jaeger, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2000
Bubbles, Center for Contemporary Non-Objective Art, curated by Edith Doove, Brussels, Belgium.(cat.)
3ness, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, curated by Edith Doove, Dike Blair and Jimi Dams, Deurle, Belgium.
Not a. Lear, Torch, Amsterdam; Art Process, Paris; Galerie S. & H. De Buck, Ghent, Belgium. Curated by ANP
1999
Would have had, Cabinet, London, UK.
Cookie Snow Feature, Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Pretty Happy Painting (with Michael Lazarus and David Moreno), M du B, F, H & g, Montreal, Canada.
Sticker Shock: Artists’ Stickers, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, USA. (cat.)
Surface As Structure, Claremont Graduate University, curated by Sue Spaid, Claremont, California, USA. (cat.)
1998
Word Perfect, Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
f.i.s.t., ANP, Antwerp, Belgium.
Science, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
Opens, M du B, F, H & g, Montreal, Canada.
1997
Fake Ecstasy With Me, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA.
Normotic, One Great Jones, curated by David Humphrey, New York City, USA.
At the Threshold of the Visible: Minuscule and Small-Scale Art, 1964-1996, curated by Ralph Rugoff, 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; Beach Center for the Arts, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA; Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, Washington, USA; Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta; Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California, USA. (cat.)
Bring Your Own Walkman, W139, curated by Jack Jaeger, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (cat.)
Hello (with Dike Blair, Vincent Fecteau and Richard Hawkins), Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
Flying Buttress Please, Torch, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Twist (with Jean-Philippe Antoine and Stephan Melzl), Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France.
1996
Acts of Obsession, Carla Stellweg Gallery, New York City, USA.
Invitational +, Adam Baumgold Fine Art, New York City, USA.
1995
It’s Only Rock and Roll: Rock and Roll Currents in Contemporary Art, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. (cat.)
Representational Drawings, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
Strung into the Apollonian Dream…, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
Smells Like Vinyl, Roger Merians Gallery, curated by Sarah Seager and Thaddeus Strode, New York, USA.
Stretch Out and Wait (with Keith Mayerson and Megan Williams), Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA.
1994
Lessons in Life: Photographic Works from the Boardroom Collection, Art Institute of Chicago, USA.
Sex, Adam Baumgold Fine Art, New York City, USA.
Paintings, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
Projets et Dessins, Galerie Claire Burrus, Paris, France.
Wood Works, Adam Baumgold Fine Art, New York City, USA.
1993
Influx, Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
Les petits riens de la vie, La Galerie Volée à Une Muse, Lyon, France.
The Return of the Cadavre Exquis, curated by Ann Philbin and Ingrid Schaffner, The Drawing Center, New York City; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Forum for Contemporary Art, St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Fundación para el Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City; Santa Monica Art Museum, Santa Monica, California, USA. (cat.)
1992
Another Subjectivity, Galerie Martina Detterer, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (cat.)
Jori Felice, Richard Hawkins, B. Wurtz, Roy Boyd Gallery, Santa Monica, California, USA.
Tattoo Collection, Galerie Jennifer Flay and Urbi et Orbi, Paris, France; Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany; Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York City, USA; Centre Regional d’Art Contemporain, Nantes, France. Air de Paris, Nice, France. curated by Air de Paris and Urbi et Orbi.
1991
Objectionable Beauty, Jan Kesner Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.
Rocking Horses for Children in Crisis, Lorence-Monk Gallery, New York City, USA.
Directly On and Off the Wall, Palm Beach Community College Museum of Art, curated by Kip Eagen, Lake Worth, Florida, USA.
1990
Work on Paper, Paula Allen Gallery, New York City, USA.
The Thing Itself, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
Perspectives on Place: Attitudes Towards the Built Environment, University Art Gallery, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.
The New School Collects: Recent Acquisitions, Parsons School of Design, curated by Kathleen Goncharov, New York City, USA.
1989
Marta Cervera Gallery, New York City, USA.
Buttinsky, Feature, New York City, USA.
Cinderella Rockefeller, Feature Inc., New York City, USA.
Poetic Objectives, Curt Marcus Gallery, curated by Gordon VeneKlasen, New York City, USA.
Romancing the Stone, Feature Inc., New York, USA.
Dorothy, Center for Contemporary Art, curated by Hudson, Chicago, USA.
Double Take, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
1988
Photo Poetics, Jack Shainman Gallery, Washington DC, USA.
The Logic of Display, P.S.1, The Institute for Art and Urban Resources, curated by Paul Laster and Renee Riccardo, Long Island City, New York City, USA. (cat.)
Re:Placement, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, curated by Joy Silverman and Marc Pally, Los Angeles, California, USA.
A Visible Order, Otis/Parsons Exhibition Center, curated by Paul Laster and Renee Riccardo, Los Angeles, USA.
Near Miss, Feature, Chicago, USA.
Photography on the Edge, Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WIsconsin, USA. (catalogue)
Information as Ornament, Feature and Rezac Gallery, curated by Hudson and Susan Rezac Chicago, USA. (cat.)
New Strategies, Jan Kesner Gallery, curated by Clayton Press and Gregory Linn, Los Angeles, California, USA. (cat.)
1987
(of Ever-Ever Land i speak), Stux Gallery, curated by Christian Leigh, New York City, USA. (cat.)
Small Scale Sculpture, Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. (cat.)
Actualities, Ledis Flam Gallery, Brooklyn, New York City, USA. (cat.)
Signs of Intelligent Life, Greathouse Gallery, New York City, USA.
Jan Baum Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.
Sculpture, Bess Cutler Gallery, New York City, USA.
Post-Abstract Abstraction, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, curated by Eugene Schwartz, Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA. (cat.)
Gallery Artists, Bess Cutler Gallery, New York City, USA.
Nature, Feature, Chicago, USA.
INTAR Latin American Gallery, curated by Hudson, New York City, USA.
CalArts: Skeptical Belief(s), Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago; Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California, USA. (cat.)
1986
Promises, Promises, Feature, Chicago, USA.
Six Sculptors, Artists Space, New York City, USA. (cat.)
Religion: Painting and Sculpture, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York City, USA.
1985
Post Olympic Art, Galerie Beau Lezard, Paris, France.
1984
Post Olympic Art, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, USA. (cat.)
1981
Lynne Henkel, B. Wurtz, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, USA.
Films
1989
Films (group screening), Christine Burgin Gallery, New York City, USA.
1982
B. Wurtz: Super-8 Film Presentation, Beyond Baroque Literary/Art Center, Venice, California, USA.
1981
Group screening (Super-8), Empty Space Theater, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
1980
Group screening (Super-8), FILMEX (Los Angeles International Film Exposition), Los Angeles, California, USA.
Awards and Honors
2012 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc.
2008 Peter S. Reed Foundation
1991 Artist and Homeless Collaborative, Park Avenue Women’s Shelter, New York City, USA
1984 National Endowment for the Arts, Honorarium Post-Olympic Art