James Esber Bio


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CV
EDUCATION
1984 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine
1984 Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, B.F.A.
1983 Temple University Abroad, Rome, Italy
1982 Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
The Majority Will Not Be Silent, (Inaugural Flag), Grand Flag, Brooklyn, New York
2017
J.Fiber: He Said She Said, (Collaborative Show with Jane Fine), Gibson Gallery, State University of New York, Potsdam
2016
Dewey Defeats Truman, Pierogi, New York, NY 1002
2014

Eighty-seven Ways to Kill Time, Clifford Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
2013
Fourteen Drawings and One Painting Perpetually Shown, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
Parts and Labor,
The Front, New Orleans, LA
2012
Before Then After Now, the Art Museum, SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, NY
J.Fiber: Split Decision, (Collaborative Show with Jane Fine),  Flood Gallery Fine Art Center, Asheville, NC
2011
James Esber: Your Name Here, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT (January 30- June 11)
2010
You, Me, and Everybody Else, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY (November 19- December 30)
J.Fiber: Where Boys with Guns Wear Bows in Their Hair (Collaborative show with Jane Fine), Wesley United Center for Digital Arts, New Orleans, LA
2008
Guy Walks Into a Bar, Pierogi Leipzig, Germany (September 5–October 28)
J.Fiber: World War Me (Collaborative Show with Jane Fine), Pierogi, Brooklyn
2007
American Delirium, SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art), Winston-Salem, NC (Jan. 20–April 7)
2006
No Natural Ingredients, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY (April 14–May 15))
2004
Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston, MA
2003
PPOW, New York, NY
2000
PPOW, New York, NY
1998
PPOW, New York, NY
1997
Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
1996
Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (catalog)
1992
Hudson Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
Make Art Not War: Pierogi for Peace, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
Pulp, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
2021
RE: Representation,
Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA. Curated by Dan Cameron
A Fine Disregard for Decorum,
Art of Our Century, New York, NY
Naked in Brooklyn,
Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
Year of the Unicorn,
Store for Rent Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Frieze New York,
(with Pierogi), Frieze Viewing Room Online
2020
Flex,
Tang Museum at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
First, Second and Third Person,
Pierogi, NY, NY
Stable Genius,
Store for Rent Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Grand Flag,
Facade Installation, Basillca Hudson, Hudson, NY
Hot Pant Fun House,
Royal Society of American Art, Brooklyn, NY
Project 8: Grand Flag and Philip Taaffe,
Icehouse Project Space, Sharon, CT
Armory Show
(with Pierogi), Pier 94, New York, NY
WE THE PURPLE,
Grand Flag, Brooklyn, NY
2019
Ornament,
BravinLee Programs, New York, NY
Armory Show
(with Pierogi), Pier 94, New York, NY
2018
Summer of Love,
Freight and Volume, New York, NY (catalog)
Connections: Visual Fellows of the Cape,
Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis, MA
The Nature Lab,
LABspace, Hillsdale, NY (catalog)
2017
Broad Stripes and Bright Stars, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT
Stack, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY. Curated by Deborah Zlotsky
He Said She Said, Gibson Gallery, SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, NY
2016
Rage for Art (Once Again), Pierogi, New York, NY
2015
Armory Show (with Pierogi), Pier 94, New York, NY
The Nothing That Is: a drawing show in five parts, Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, NC
2014
One Work, Tang Museum at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY (catalog)
Idiom, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Salon, Central Connecticut State Uninversity, New Britain, CT
PIEROGI XX: Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
2013
Unhinged, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
2012
Image/Clot, Zola/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
Beasts of Revelation, DC Moore Gallery, NY, NY
Spin Cycle: The Intersection of Craft and Politics, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
Cloud Nine, Front Room, Brooklyn, NY
Drawing in the Mind: Neural Networks and the Emergence of Complexity, Osilas Gallery, Concordia College, Bronxville, NY
2011
Thinking Through Drawing: Practice into Knowledge, Macy Art Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
Williamsburg2000, Art 101, Brooklyn, NY
Subjective / Objective, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
Lines and Lives of the Face, Upstairs Artspace, Tryon, NC
Twin Twin Postcard Edition, Pierogi , Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Artists, Spinnerei Galleries, Leipzig, Germany
2010
Now What?, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
Seven: Pierogi, Miami, FL
Stuck Up, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
Instructions Not Included, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
2009
Cream, No Sugar, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
Wall Rockets: Contemporary Artists and Ed Ruscha, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Curated by Lisa Dennison (catalog)
Art Forum Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2008
Pierogi et al, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Apocalyptic Summer, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
The Land of Earthly Delights, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA (catalog)
Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC (catalog)
Wall Rockets: Contemporary Artists and Ed Ruscha, Flag Art Foundation, New York, NY, Curated by Lisa Dennison
Drawing From The West Collection, SEI Gallery, Oaks, PA
2007
Mr. President, University Art Museum, University at Albany (January 18–April 1)
Ornament, Bavin Lee Program, New York, NY
Material Pursuits, Fleming Museum, Burlington, VT. Curated by Evelyn Hankins (catalog)
Next Wave Art, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Dan Cameron
(Un)Natural Selection, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
2006
Inaugural Group Show, PIEROGI Leipzig, Germany (April 29–July 1)
Twice Drawn Part 2, Wachenheim Gallery, Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
Don’t Know Much About History, Artspace, New Haven,CT
Summer Group Show, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
Twice Drawn Part 1, Tang Museum at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY (catalog)
Subverting the Status Quo, AXIS Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2005
Reconfigure, PIEROGI Brooklyn, New York
American Obsessive, Volcker and Freunde, Berlin,Germany (catalog)
Animal Tales, DFN Gallery, New York, NY
Pie Fight, AR Contemporary Gallery, MIlan, Italy
Thirty ways to Make a Painting, Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Decipher: Hand-painted Digital, Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Invitational Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
2004
SITE Santa Fe’s Fifth International Biennial: Disparities and Deformations: Our Grotesque,
Santa Fe, NM. Curated by Robert Storr (catalog)
Open House, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Charlotta Kotik (catalog)
The Drawn Page, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT
Vacation Nation, Pierogi, Brooklyn, NY
Impact: New Mural Projects, PPOW, New York, NY
Endless Love, DC Moore Gallery, New York, NY
2003
Cartoon, Riva Gallery, New York, NY
On and Off the Wall, Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg, New York, NY
Williamsburg, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Connecticut.
Brooklyn on 57th Street, Nohra Haime Gallery, New York, NY
Armory Show (with PPOW), Pier 88, New York, NY
2002
New-Economy Painting, ACME Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Armory Show (with PPOW), Pier 90, New York, NY
Touchy Feely, Eyewash @ Front Room, Brooklyn, NY
InterSEXion, DNA Gallery, Provincetown, MA
Small Works from the Fine Arts Work Center, Cape Museum of Fine Arts, Dennis, MA
2001
My Reality: Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese Animation, Des Moines Art
Center, Des Moines, Iowa; travels to the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Contemporary Arts
Center, Cincinnati, OH, Tampa Museum of Art, Chicago cultural Center, Akron Museum of Art, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL, and Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama (catalog)
Out of Hibernation, IM n IL, Brooklyn, NY
Skank, Plus Ultra, Brooklyn, NY
Smile, Hereart, New York, NY
Small Works, Cape Museum of Fine Arts, Dennis, Mass.
2000
Haulin’ Ass, Post Gallery, Los Angelas, CA
Art On Paper, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (catalog)
Multiple Sensations (Pierogi Flat Files), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Drawing From Pierogi 2000, Usdan Gallery, Bennington College, Bennington, VT
Yaddo Centennial Exhibition, Art in General, New York, NY; traveled to The Hyde Collection,
Glens Falls, NY
Superduper New York, Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, NY
1999
Brooklyn: New Work, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
RE: Rauschenberg, Marcel Sitcoske Gallery, San Francisco, CA (catalog)
Rage For Art, Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, NY
Pierogi 2000: the Flat Files, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts,
Philadelphia, PA
Valentine, Eyewash, Brooklyn, NY
Room with a View, Sixth @ Prince Fine Art, New York, NY
Installation (Gallery Three), PPOW, New York, NY
1998
Pop Surrealism, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT (catalog)
Fashioned, White Box Gallery, New York; traveled to White Box Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
(catalog)
Hide And Seek, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA (catalog)
Summer Group Exhibition, PPOW, New York, NY
Including Clay, Jane Hartsook Gallery, New York, NY
Mediennacht, Alten Lok Fabric, Berlin, Germany
Pierogi 2000: the Flat Files, Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria
Pierogi Goes to College, Vasser College, Poughkeepsie, NY
1997
Current Undercurrent, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Just What Do You Think You’re Doing, Dave?, WAH Center, Brooklyn, NY
New York Drawers, Gasworks, London; traveled to Cornerhouse, Manchester
1996
Painting in an Expanding Field, Bennington College, Bennington, VT. Curated by Saul Ostrow
Drawings, Rupert Goldsworthy Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Cadmium Cathode, Sauce, Brooklyn, NY
Living Room, 558 Broadway, New York, NY
Central Industrial Supply Show, 446 Broadway, New York, NY. Curated by Gene Pool
1995
Maux Faux, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
Wacko, The Work Space, New York, NY
Other Rooms, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
Works for a Fun House, E.S. Vandam, New York
Close Proximity, MMC Gallery, New York, NY
Spirit of New York (expanded exhibition), Spazio Cesare di Sesto, Pallazzo Communale,
Varese, Italy.
Crest Hardware Show II, Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Gene Pool
1994
Faux, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, NY
Page 5, 450 Broadway Gallery, New York, NY
Spirit of New York, Spazio Emilio de marchi, Milan, Italy. Curated by Florence Lynch
Crest Hardware Show, Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Gene Pool
1993
Four Walls Benefit Exhibition, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY
James Esber, Mary Behrens, Hudson Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1992
Morphologic, Art in General, New York, NY
Salon of the Mating Spiders, Herron Test Site Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
1991
FIAR International: Art Under 30, Palazzo della Permanente, Milan, Italy; travelled to Galleria
del Chiostro, Rome, L’Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris,Accademia Italiana della Arti, London,
National Academy of Design, New York and UCLA Wight Art Gallery, Los Angeles. Curated
by Dan Cameron (catalog)
High Density Abstraction, Procter Art Center, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Benefit Exhibition, White Columns, New York, NY
Maps and Madness, Bronx Council on the Arts, Longwood Arts Gallery, Bronx, NY; Curated
by Fred Wilson (catalog)
Group Show, Hudson Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1990
Dumb Animals, White Columns, New York, NY
Topologies, MMC Gallery, New York, NY
1989
Signs of Landscape, Soho Center for Visual Artists, New York, NY
No Relief—Drawing on the Walls, 124 Ridge Street Gallery, New York, NY
1988
Ten Painters, White Columns, New York, NY
AWARDS
2021
Yaddo, Artist Residency, Saratoga Springs, NY
2019
DNA Residency, Provincetown, MA
Hermitage Artists Retreat, Residency, Englewood, FL
2017
Hermitage Artists Retreat, Residency, Englewood, FL
2016
Hermitage Artists Retreat, Residency, Englewood, FL
2015

Hermitage Artists Retreat, Residency, Englewood, FL
2012
Yaddo, Artist Residency, Saratoga Springs, NY

2010
Central City Artist Project, Artist Residency, New Orleans, LA
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
2005
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
2002
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
2001
MacDowell Colony, Artist Residency, Peterborough, NH
Yaddo, Artist Residency, Saratoga Springs, NY
1998
Bucknell University, Artist Summer Residency, Cowan, PA
Cite International des Arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
1997
Yaddo, Artist Residency, Saratoga Springs, NY
1992
Macdowell Colony, Artist Residency, Peterborough, NH
1991-92
Fine Arts Work Center, Fellowship, Provincetown, MA
1991
FIAR International, Milan, Italy, Honorable Mention
1990
Yaddo, Artist Residency, Saratoga Springs, New York
Art Matters Inc., Fellowship

LECTURES / PANELS / VISITING ARTIST
2021
California State University, Long Beach, CA
2018
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2017
State University of New York, Potsdam
2016
Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
2015
Artist Lecture Series,152 Eagle Street, Brooklyn, NY
2014
Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Central Connecticut State University, New Britain,CT
Interview One Work, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
2013
Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
Talking Images. Panel moderated by Ian Berry, Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
2012
State University of New York, Potsdam
Kent State University, Kent, OH
Drawing the Mind: Neural Networks and the Emergence of Complexity, Panel moderated by Andrea Kantrowitz, Osilas Gallery, Concordia College, Bronxville, NY
2011
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT
2009
Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
2008
Queens College, Flushing, NY
Contemporary Art Classroom Project, Winston-Salem, NC
2007
Panel with Mark Veca and Bill Flick, Southeast Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC
Center for Art and Design, College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY
2006
Tang Museum at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
2004
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2002
Brooklyn Now, MacDowell panel organized by Robert Storr, Judith Rothschild Foundation, NY, NY
2001
Brooklyn Museum of Art
State University of New York,, Albany
Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA
2000
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Bennington College, Bennington, VT
1998
Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA
1997
Alfred University, Alfred, NY
1996
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
1995
University of Massachusetts, Boston

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Homes, AM, AM Homes on James Esber and Jane Fine, from Friendships in Arcadia, yaddo.org, April 24, 2020
Geers, David,”James Esber,” Bomb Magazine, Fall 2016, pp. 156 – 57.
Laster, Paul. 10 Things to Do in New York’s Art World Before May 16, Observer, May 12, 2016
Vitiello, Chris, Beat the heat at the coolest museum and gallery shows in the coming months, Indy Week, May 27, 2015
J. Fiber: One Question/ One Answer, Romanov Grave, September 9, 2015
Hunt, Stephanie, Artistic Edge, WNC Magazine, September/October, 2013.
Bisbort, Alan, The Bin Laden Bounce: An exhibit of bin Laden “portraits” has a new vibe following his death, The Hartford Advocate, May 19, 2011
Reid, Macklin, Terrorist’s Death Reverberates in Hearts and Minds –and Art, Ridgefield Press, May 5, 2011.
Maines, Stephen, The Aldrich at a Crossroads, Artcritical.com, May 5 ,2011
Miller, Robert, A Sudden Shift of History: Osama bin Laden: Images take on new meaning at Aldrich, News-Times, May 3, 2011
Schwendener, Martha, In These Portraits, a challenge to Labels of ‘Sitter’ and ‘Artist’, The New York Times, April 30, 2011
Smith, Roberta. “An Artist and His Friends Take on Bin Laden, The New York Times, December 22, 2010 P.C1 (Illus.)
Davis, Brendan. “James Esber,” Art-Interview.com, Issue 11, Feb, 2009
Kalm, James. “The Brooklyn Canon: Airbrushed Out of History,” Saatchi-Gallery.co.uk, July 29, 2008
Supanick, Jim. “Makin’ Whoopee: A Conversation with J. Fiber, James Esber and Jane Fine with Jim Supanick,” ?The Brooklyn Rail, April, 2008
Cushing, Iris Marble. “J. Fiber in Brooklyn,” ArtInfo.com, March 27, 2008
Ives, Mike. “The Handmade Tale: Crafty Artists Challenge Tradition,” SevenDays.com, Sept. 12,2007
Hankins, Evelyn. “Material Pursuits” (catalog essay), Nov 2007
“Goings On About Town: Endless Love,” The New Yorker, February 2, 2004
Johnson, Ken. “James Esber,” The New York Times, April 11,2003
Goings On About Town: “James Esber,” The New Yorker, April 7, 2003
Johnson, Ken. “The Innocent Yet Sinister Aspects of Japanese Animation,” The New York Times,
August 24, 2001.
Fleming, Jeff. “My Reality, Your Reality, My Reality: Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese
Animation,” (catalog essay), 2001
Tucker, Annie. “James Esber: Exquisite Corpse,” Juxtapoz, Jul/Aug, 2001
Wise, Suzanne. “The Many Meanings of Skank at Plus Ultra,” Wburg.com, July, 2001
Humphrey, David. “New York E-Mail,” Art Issues, Jan/Feb, 2001
Lowenstein, Drew. “James Esber at PPOW,” Artcritical.com, Dec, 2000
Goings On About Town: “James Esber,” The New Yorker, November 6, 2000
Johnson, Ken. “Galleries-Soho:James Esber and Katia Santibanez,” The New York Times, Nov 3, 2000
DiMaggio, Anthony. “James Esber,” Review, November 1, 2000
Levin, Kim. “Choices:James Esber,” Village Voice, October 31, 2000
Findsen, Owen. “‘Brooklyn’ Exhibit Quirky,” The Cincinnati Enquirer, September 12, 1999
O’Hara, Cate. “Brooklyn Makeover,” City Beat, September 9, 1999
Smith, Roberta. “Rage for Art (Pierogi Reborn),” The New York Times, February 19, 1999
Dalton, Jennifer. “Fashioned,” Review, September 15, 1998
Horodner, Stuart. “Notes on Camp, Hide and Seek” (catalog essay), 1998
Farley, Belinda. “Artists Play Hide and Seek at Bucknell,” The Daily Item, September 3, 1998
Kimmelman, Michael. “In Connecticut, Where Caravaggio First Landed,” The New York Times, July 17, 1998
Klein, Richard. “The Popular Corpse: A Brief History,” Pop Surrealism (catalog essay), 1998
Nahas, Dominique. “Not Cloning Around: The Grotesque Body in Pop Surrealism,” Pop Surrealism
(catalog essay), 1998
“Pop Surrealism,” Flash Art, Summer, 1998 (listing with image)
Smith, Roberta. “James Esber,” The New York Times, October 3, 1997
“Critic’s Picks: James Esber, Pierogi 2000,” Time Out New York, September 25, 1997
Arning, Bill. “Brooklyn in the House,” The Village Voice, August 26, 1997
Arning, Bill. “James Esber” (catalog essay), Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst,
Dec 1996
Behrens, Mary. “The Hate Images of James Esber,” Provincetown Arts, Annual Issue, 1996
Karmel, Pepe. “Maux Faux,” The New York Times, March 24, 1995
Kino, Carol. “Faux,” Art News, January 1995
Levin, Kim. “Choices,” The Village Voice, October 18, 1994
Glueck, Grace. “Forty Years of ‘Found’ Images and Campy, Corny Collage,” The New York Observer,
Oct. 17, 1994
Servetar, Stuart. “Faux,” New York Press, October 4, 1994
“In Volo ‘Spiriti’ Newyorkesi,” Lombardia Oggi, June 26, 1994
Mojana, Marina. “The Spirit of New York: Scoprendo L’America a Milano,” Il Sole 24 Ore, June 19, 1994
“Lo Spirito di New York,” L’Informazione, June 14, 1994
Behrens, Mary. “The Distorted Sign: Popular and Public Imagery in the Work of James Esber,”
MFA Thesis, Vermont College, July, 1993
Bonnardin, Simone. “Art Under 30,” La Cote des Arts, May 15, 1992
Ferroni, Cluadio. “Premio Internazionale FIAR,” Il Corriere Laziale, February, 1992
Wilson, Fred. “Maps and Madness (catalog essay),” Longwood Arts Gallery, Bronx, NY, 1991
Ravasi, Gianfranco. “Piccoli artisti (under 30) crescono,” Corriere della Sera, December 22, 1991
“Premio Internazionale FIAR,” Flash Art, December 1991
Boriskin, Peter. “High Density Abstraction,” The Bard Observer, October 2, 1991
Levin, Kim. “Choices,” The Village Voice, August 6, 1991

SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FI
The Tang Museum, Skidmore College
The West Collection, Oaks, PA
The Flag Art Foundation Collection, New York, NY
University Museum of Contemporary Art, UMass Amherst
San Jose Museum of Art
The Hyde Collection, Glenn Falls, NY
The Northern New England Museum of Art
Progressive Corporation
Stanley and Nancy Singer Collection