Tony Oursler
Born in 1957 in New York; lives and works in New York. Attended California Institute for the Arts (BFA 1979). Teaches at Massachusetts College of Art, Boston.
Tony Oursler's work in the mediums of video, sculpture, installation, performance, and painting has been exhibited extensively in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, including Metro Pictures, New York; Portikus, Frankfurt; and Documenta, Kassel. A book on his work will be published this year by Portikus.
One-person Exhibitions:
1981
University Art Museum, University of California, Berkley
"Video Viewpoints," Museum of Modern Art, New York
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
1982
The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Boston Film/Video Foundation, Boston
"A Scene," P.S. 1, New York
"Complete Works," The Kitchen, New York
Soho TV M/T Channel 10, New York
1983
La Mamelle, San Francisco
"My Sets," Media Study, Buffalo
"Son of Oil," A Space, Toronto
LACE-Panic House, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles
"X Catholic," (performance in collaboration with Mike Kelley), Beyond Baroque,
Los Angeles
1984
Anthology Film Archives, New York
"L-7, L-5," The Kitchen, New York
David Mo Gallery, New York
1985 Kijkhuis, Den Haag, The Netherlands
Kunst Delft, Delft, Holland
Espace Lyonnais d'Art Contemporain, Lyon, France
Schule fur Gestaltung, Basel
The American Center, Paris
1986
"Spheres of Influence," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (exhib. cat.)
New Langton Arts, San Francisco
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Nova Scotia
Boston Film/Video Foundation, Boston
1987
The Kitchen, New York
1988
"Tony Oursler's Works," Le Lieu, Quebec City
"Constellation: Intermission," Diane Brown Gallery, New York
Western Front, Vancouver
Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies/EZTV, Los Angeles
1989
"Relatives" (video performance in collaboration with Constance DeJong), The
Kitchen, New York; Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyak; Seattle Arts
Museum, Washington; Mikery Theatre, Amsterdam; ECG-TV Studios, Frankfurt
"Drawings, Objects, Videotapes," Delta Gallery, Dusseldorf Museum
Folkwang Museum, Essen (exhib. cat.)
Collective for Living Cinema, New York
Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Basel
Bobo Gallery, San Francisco
1990 Hallwalls, Buffalo, New York
Diane Brown Gallery, New York
The Kitchen, New York
"On Our Own," Segue Gallery, New York
1991
Diane Brown Gallery, New York
"Dummies, Hex Signs, Watercolours," The Living Room, San Francisco
The Pacific Film Archives, San Francisco
The Cinematheque, San Francisco
1992
"F/X Plotter, 2 Way," Kijkhuis, The Hague, The Netherlands
"Station Project" (with James Casebere), Kortrijk Railway Station
The Space, Boston
The Knitting Factory, New York
1993
"Phobic/White Trash," Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneve; Kunstwerke, Berlin;
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York (exhib. cat.)
The Living Room, San Francisco
"Dummies, Dolls, and Poison Candy," IKON Gallery, Birmingham; Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool (split site exhibition, exhib. cat.)
1994
Lisson Gallery, London
Jean Bernier Gallery
Linda Cathcart Gallery, Santa Monica
"System for Dramatic Feedback," Portikus, Frankfurt, Germany (traveling, exhib. cat.)
"Dummies, Flowers, Alters, Clouds, and Organs," Metro Pictures (Oct. 29-Nov. 26)
"Tony Oursler-Recent Video Works," The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii (Nov. 16-Jan. 15)
1995 rum, Malmo, Sweden (Jan. 14-Feb. 19)
Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland (Jan. 26-May 21)
"Video Installations, Objects, Watercolors," Musee des Arts Modernes et Contemporains, Strasbourg, France (Feb. 18-April 2)
Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France
Stedlijk Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven, Holland
Wiener Secession, Austria (May 24-July 9)
Selected Group Exhibitions:
1984 "The Luminous Image," Stedjelijk Museum, Amsterdam
1987 "L'epoque, la mode, la morale, la passion," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
"Aspects of Media: Video," Department of Video/Art Advisory Service of the
Museum of Modern Art for Johnson & Johnson
"Japan 1987 Television and Video Festival, Spiral, Tokyo
"Documenta 8," Kassel
"Schema," Baskerville + Watson Gallery, New York
1988 "The BiNational: American Art of the Late 80s, German Art of the Late 80s," Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
"Film Video Arts, 17 Years," Museum of Modern Art, New York
"World Wide Video Festival," Den Haag
"Twilight, Festival Belluard 88 Bolwerk," Fribourg
"2nd Videonale," Bonn
"New York Dagen," Kunstichting, Rotterdam
"Videografia," Barcelona
"Varitish," Korea
"New York Musikk," Oslo
"Festival International du Nouveau Cinema et de la Video," Montreal
"Replacement," LACE, Los Angeles
"Interfermental 7," Hallwalls, Buffalo
"Serious Fun Festival," installation for Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center,
New York
1989 "Biennial Exhibition," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
"Video Sculpture 1963-1989," Kolnischer Kunstverein, Koln
"XII Salso Film & TV Festival," Salsomaggiore
"Masterpieces," Stadtgarten, Koln
"Nepotism," Hallwalls, Buffalo
"Video and Language," Museum of Modern Art, New York
"Sanity is Madness," The Artists Foundation Gallery, Boston
"World Wide Video Festival," Den Haag
1990 "The Technological Muse," Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York
"Tendance Multiples, Video des Annees 80," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
"Video/Objects/Installations/Photography," Howard Yezerski Gallery, Boston
"Video Transforms Television - Communicating Unease," New Langton Arts,
San Francisco
1991 "New York Times Festival," Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Ghent, Belgium
"Triune," Bluecoat Gallery, Video Positive Festival, Liverpool
1992 "Documenta 9," Kassel
1993 "Love Again," Kunstraum Elbschloss
"3rd International Biennale in Nagoya-Artec '93," Nagoya City Art Museum
"Privat," Gallery F-15, Oslo, Norway
1994 "The Laugh of #12," Fort Asperen, Amsterdam
Galleria Galliani, Genoa, Italy (May 27-Oct. 1)
"The Figure," The Lobby Gallery, Deutsche Bank, New York (April 4-May 13)
"Tony Oursler and John Kessler," Salzburg Kunstverein, Austria (exhib. cat.)
Metro Pictures (summer)
Marian Goodman Gallery, NY
Laura Carpenter Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico (July 9-Aug. 2, 2-person show
with Jim Shaw)
"Home Video Redefined: Media, Sculpture and Domesticity," Center of
Contemporary Art, North Miami
"Light," ARTprop, New York (November-December)
"Medienbiennale 94, Minima Media," Leipzig, Germany (Oct. 22-Nov. 1)
"Oh Boy, It's a Girl: Feminismen in der Kunst," Kunstverein Munich (exhib. cat.)
1995 "ARS 95 Helsinki," Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
(Feb. 11-May 28)
"The Message is the Medium: Issues of Representation in Modern Technologies,"
Castle Gallery, College of New Rochelle, NY (Feb. 12-April 7)
"Zeichen & Wunder," Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland (March 30-June 18)
Videos:
1976 "Joe, Joe's Transexual Brother and Joe's Woman," 25 mins., s/w
1977- "The Life of Phillis," 55 mins., s/w
1978
1978- "Life," 10 mins., s/w
1979 "Good Things + Bad Things," 10 mins., s/w
1979 "Diamond Head," 25 mins., s/w
"Selected Shorts," 20 mins.
"The Rosery Finger of Dawn," 10 mins., Farbe
"The Loner," 32 mins., Farbe
1981 "Grand Mal," 23 mins., Farbe
1982 "Son of Oil," 18 mins., Farbe
1983 "Spinout," 17 mins.
"Theme Song from Si Fi," 5 mins.
"Rome Hilton," 2 mins.
"My Class," 12 mins., Farbe
1984 "EVOL," 30 mins.
1985 "Spheres d'Influence," 45 mins., Farbe
1986 "Diamond the 8 Lights: Spheres d'Influence," 55 mins.
1987 "Sucker," 5 mins.
1988 "ONOUROWN" (in collaboration with Joe Gibbons), 47 mins.
"Joy Ride TM" (in collaboration with Constance DeJong)
1990 "Tunic (for Karen)," 6 mins.
1991 "Kepone," 10 mins.
Selected Bibliography:
1982
J. Hoberman, "The Weak Bullet; The Loner; Grand Mal," Voice, 23 March
1983
Robert Atkins, "Chicago," Artforum, April
1984
Arlene Zeichner, "Critique of Pure Reason," Voice , 3 April
Constance DeJong, "Tony Oursler L7-L5, 1984," The Luminous Image exhib. cat., Stedelijk Museum)
1985
Kim Gordon, "American Prayers," Artforum, pp 73-77
Ann-Sargent Wooster, "Tony Oursler at MO David," Art in America, December
1986
Centre Georges Pompidou, "Spheres d'Influence, Tony Oursler" (exhib. cat.)
Dorothee Lalanne, "Tony Oursler: Dernier Soir," Cinema, February
1987
Jean Paul Fargier, "Installation a Beaubourg," Le Journal Cahiers du
Cinema, 380, February
Dorothee Lalanne, "Tony Oursler: Dernier Soir," Cinema, 10, February
1988
John Berlinsky, "The Light Fantastic," Metro , October
Jurgen Hohmeyer, "Die Fernbedienung der Kunstgeschichte," Der Spiegel, 52
Elspeth Sage, "The Joy of Collaboration: An Interview with Constance DeJong nd Tony Oursler," Vancouver Guide , 4
1989
C. Carr, "Constance DeJong and Tony Oursler: Relatives, The Kitchen," Artforum, 27, May
Charles Hagen, "Video Art: The Fabulous Chameleon," Artnews, 88, Summer
Regina Lange, "Media Power, Video-arbeiten von Tony Oursler," Apex-Heft, 70
Margaret Tiberio, "Method to this Media: An Interview with Tony Oursler,"
Visions, 3, (a publication for the media arts by the Boston Film/
Video Foundation), Summer
Michael Blowen, "A Stunning Mix of Images and Words at ICA," The Boston
Globe
1990 Jaako Lintinen, "Uudella Mediataiteella Taitaa Olla Halussaan 90-luvun Avaimet"
(To Break into the New Media Arts is to Possess the Key to the 1990s),
Taide (Finland), 2
Andy Grundberg, "Review/Photography, Tony Oursler, Diane Brown Gallery,"
The New York Times, 8 June
Amy Taubin, "Choices," Village Voice, 20 June
Doug Hall and Sally Jo Fifer eds., Illuminating Video: An Essential Guide to Video Art, New York: Aperture Foundation
David Joselit, "Mind Over Matter-- Tony Oursler and Ericka Beckman Master the
Politics of Art," The Boston Phoenix, 7 Sept.
Joshua Decter, "Tony Oursler, Diane Brown Gallery," Arts Magazine, 65,
October
John Miller, "Tony Oursler, Diane Brown Gallery," Artforum, 29, October
1991 Tony Labat, "Tony Oursler," Shift, 5
Heather Mackey, "Something Fishy Going On," After Dark, February
1992 Peter Iden, "Trotz groBer Fulle sehr, sehr wenig," Frankfurter Rundschau,
13 June
Alan G. Artner, "Matter Over Mind," The Chicago Tribune, 28 June
Regina Cornwell, "Great Videos, Shame About the Show," Art Monthly, Sept.
Y. Ramirez, "Diane Brown Gallery," Art in America , May
1993 Tony Oursler: White Trash and Phobic, Introduction by Elizabeth Janus;
Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneve and Kunst-werke, Berlin, (exhib. cat.)
Stephen Sarrazin, "Tony Oursler en de nieuwe gedaante van de videokunst,"
Metropolis M, 6
Chris Meigh-Andrews, "Tony Oursler," Art Monthly , November
Amy Taubin, "The Big Sleep," Voice, 3 Aug.
Gertrud Sandquist, "Privat," Parkett
1994 Waldemar Januszczak, "Heart of the Matter," The Sunday Times, 27 Feb.
Sarah Kent, "Dummy Copy," Time Out, 16 Feb.
Cherie Henderson, "Household items star in art show," The Miami Herald,
6 Feb.
Helen L.Kohen, "Home video never looked like this," The Miami Herald,
27 Feb.
Geraldine Norman, "Saatchi Swoops for Video Pieces," The London Times,
February
Richard Dorment, "Portraits for the Age of Anxiety," Daily Telegraph,
London (Feb. or March)
Kim Levin, "Trans-Europe Express," Voice, 27 Sept., Vol. XXXIV, No. 39,
page 94
Carlo McCormick, "True Terror," Paper, November, page 31
Elizabeth Janus, "Sue Williams, Renee Green, Tony Oursler," Furor (Voltaire), September, No. 26
Renate Puvogel, "Tony Oursler-System for Dramatic Feedback," Kunstforum,
November, pages 403-404
Rudolf Schmitz, "Frankfurt: Tony Oursler im Portikus," Kunstbulletin,
October, page 39
Let Geerling, "De lach van de gehangene," Metropolis M, No. 4, page 34-39
Din Pieters, "Het geheim achter het lachen," NRC Handelsblad, Oct. 6
Marijn Van Derjagt, "Reis van onder-naar bovenlichaam," De Groene
Amsterdammer, June 15
Martin Pesch, "Tony Ourslers Videoskulpturen in Frankfurt: Mehr als Medien-
Feedback," Frankfurt Neue Presse (Die Tageszeitung) , Sept. 30
GN, "Der Betrachter wird selber zum Objekt," Frankfurter Neue Presse,
Aug. 27
GN, "Der Mensch von heute schreit sein Angst heraus," Frankfurter Neue Presse
Dorothee Baer-Bogenschutz, "Beobachter der Beobachter," Frankfurter Rundschau, Sept. 22
Peter Schjeldahl, "Get Out of Here," Village Voice, Nov. 29, page 97
Roberta Smith, "Tony Oursler," The New York Times , Friday, Nov. 25,
page C24
Jorg Heiser, "Den Plot ernst nehmet-- Tony Ourslers Installation 'System for
Dramatic Feedback'," Texte Zur Kunst, pages 191-194
Andreas Spiegel, "Jon Kessler/Tony Oursler," Arti , Nov./Dec., Vol. 22,
page 208-211
1995 Martha Schwendener, "Tony Oursler: Dummies, Flowers, Alters, Clouds, and
Organs," Art Papers, January/February, page 59
Michael Duncan, "Tony Oursler at Metro Pictures," Art in America, January,
page 105
Joshua Decter, "Tony Oursler, Metro Pictures," Artforum, February, page 89
Gregory Volk, "Tony Oursler, Metro Pictures," Artnews , February, page 127
Robert G. Edelman, "Tony Oursler," Art Press , February, No. 199, pages VI-VII
Friedemann Malsch and Elizabeth Janus, eds., Dummies, Clouds, Organs,
Flowers, Watercolors, Videotapes, Alters, Performances and Dolls,
published by: Portikus Frankfurt, Les Musees de la Ville do Strasbourg,
Centre d'Art Contemporain Geneve, Stedelijk Van Abbe Museum Eindhoven,
Tony Oursler
Isabelle Bratschi, "Tony Oursler Parvient a Faire Parler d'Etranges Poupees,"
Le Courrier, Geneva, Feb. 3
Monique-Priscille Druey, "L'Americain Oursler Hurle a Geneve," Tribune des
Arts, March, page 15
J.P.F., "Tony Oursler," Le Monde, March 19-20
Selected Publications by the Artist:
1987 "Phototrophic" in Forehead Bd. 2, reprinted in Illuminating Video: An Essential Guide to Video Art, Aperture Foundation
1988 "Vampire," Communications Video, 48, November
1990 "Phototrophic," Illuminating Video: An Essential Guide to Video Art, Eds. Doug Hall, Sally Jo Fifer, New York, Aperture Foundation
1991 "Triune: A Work in Progress," Visions, 5, Summer
Collections:
The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
The Depont Foundation, Tilburg, Amsterdam
The Museum of Modern Art, NY
The Saatchi Collection, London
The Whitney Museum of American Art, NY
March 1995