Born in New York, NY, 1978
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
2003 MFA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
2002 Artist residency, Fondazione Ratti, Como, Italy
2000 BFA, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
1999 New York Studio Program (AICAD), New York, NY
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Project Room: Matt Johnson, 303 Gallery, New York, NY
2019 Solo exhibition, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA (forthcoming)
2018 0,1,1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, Marlborough Contemporary, London, UK
2017 Wood Sculpture, 303 Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Lautner Beams, Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA
2014 Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK
2012 303 Gallery, New York, NY
2011 Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK
2009 Matt Johnson: Super System, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
2006 Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
2004 Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020
5,471 Miles, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
Friend of Ours, organized by Benjamin Godsill and Joel Mesler, Rental Gallery, East Hampton, NY
2019
303 Gallery: 35 Years, 303 Gallery, New York NY
2018
Death is Irrelevant, Hudson Valley MOCA, New York, NY (exh. cat.)
The Artist is Present, curated by Maurizio Cattelan, YUZ Museum, Shanghai, China
Seeing Eye Awareness, curated by Aaron Moulton, Match Gallery, The Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
An Homage to Hollis Benton, curated by Aaron Moulton, Over the Influence Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
This is a Pipe: Realism and the Found Object in Contemporary Art, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
2017
Fool the Eye, curated by Franklin Hill Pereel with Debbie Wells, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn, NY
alt-facts, Postmasters Gallery, New York, NY
Jump Ball, Dio Haria, Mykonos, Greece
99 Cents or Less, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI
Concrete Island, Venus Over Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Phoenix Rising: The Valley Collects, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
6’s and 7’s, Outdoor Sculpture at Marlborough Gallery Breezeway, New York, NY
Wanderlust, The Highline, New York, NY
2015
love or the lack of it, curated by Friedrich Kunath, Travesia Cuatro, Madrid, Spain
Small Sculpture, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
2014
Frieze Sculpture Park, London, UK
Broadway Morey Boogie, Broadway Malls, New York, NY, presented by Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY
2013
Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway
Lifelike, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA;
Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin, TX
2012
The Perfect Show, 303 Gallery, New York, NY
Eagles, Marlborough Gallery, Madrid, Spain
Funny, FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY
Lifelike, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; traveled to New Orleans Museum of Art, LA; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA;
Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin, TX
Blind Cut, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY
Object Fictions, James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY
2011
Burning, Bright: A Short History of the Light Bulb, Pace Gallery, New York, NY
Greater LA, 2nd Floor of 483 Broadway, New York, NY
2010
11th Triennale fur Kleinplastik, Fellbach, Germany (exh. cat.)
2009
Abstract America, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Second Nature: The Valentine-Adelson Collection, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
15th Anniversary Inaugural Exhibition, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
Born in the Morning, Dead by Night, Leo Koenig, New York, NY
2008
PM Dawn, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
The Form Itself, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY
2007
Making Do, Yale University School of Art Gallery, New Haven CT
All About Laughter: Humor in Contemporary Art, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (exh. cat.)
Makers and Modelers, Gladstone Gallery, New York, NY
Objects, Karma International, Zurich, Switzerland
Sculptors’ Drawings: Ideas, Studies, Sketches, Proposals, and More, Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Time Difference, The Frank Cohen Collection, Initial Access Gallery, Wolverhampton, UK
2006
The World is Round, Public Art Fund, MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY (exh. cat.)
Clarissa Dalrymple’s Exhibition of Young Artists to Benefit the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Bortolami Dayan, New York, NY
2005
Uncertain States of America: American Art in the 3rd Millennium, Astrup Fearnley, Oslo, Norway; traveled to Bard College, New York, NY; Serpentine Gallery, London, UK; Reykjavik Art
Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland; Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic (exh. cat.)
Art Rock, Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY
Sutton Lane in Paris, Sutton Lane c/o Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France
Thing, The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (exh. cat.)
2004
Magic Show, Hayworth Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Mystery Achievement, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The Project, New York, NY
Drunk vs. Stoned, Gavin Brown’s Passerby, New York, NY
Nature Study: A Selection of Artists’ from New York and Los Angeles, California State University, Bakersfield, CA
2003
Another Sculpture Show, Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, TX
Buy Contortions, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
Threedimetrical, Happy Lion, Los Angeles, CA
California Welcomes You, Scope, Los Angeles, CA Ordinary Uncanny, Scope, New York, NY
Grant Selwyn Fine Art, Beverly Hills, CA
2002
Four Times One Minus One, Hayworth Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Fondazione Ratti, Como, Italy
Nanotechnology, The Whole Gallery, Baltimore, MD
Everything Everywhere, The H. Lewis Gallery, Baltimore, MD
Bibliography
Catalogues
2017
Finessi, Beppe. Fare Luce. Mantua: Corraini Edizioni, 2017.
2016
“6s and 7s” Marlborough Gallery, New York, p. 4
2013
Mikkelsen, Egil, Magne Malmanger, and Margrethe Geelmuyden. Ekebergparken. Oslo: Orfeus, 2013.
2012
Engberg, Siri, ed. Lifelike. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2012, 61, 170-71, 180.
Freeman, Jonah and Vera Neykov. Blind Cut. New York: Marlborough Gallery, 2012, 55.
Jacobson, Heidi Zuckerman, and James Frey. Funny. New York: Flag Art Foundation, 2012.
Spengemann, Pascal. Matt Johnson: Small Sculptures. Los Angeles: Wood Kusaka Studios, 2012.
2011
Cahill, James. Frank Benson, Mark Grotjahn, Matt Johnson. London: Sadie Coles, 2011.
2010
Gülicher, Nina. “Matt Johnson: Materielle Widersprüche.” In Larger Than Life: Stranger Than Fiction. Fellbach. Germany: Stadt Fellbach; Heule, Belgium: Snoeck, 2010, 128-129.
Johnson, Matt. Dice, The Meteorite (Duchamp), and The Electron. Los Angeles: Matt Johnson, 2010.
2009
Colburn, Tyler. “Matt Johnson.” In Vitamin 3-D: New Perspectives in Sculpture and Installation. London: Phaidon, 2009, 164-165.
2007
All About Laughter: Humor in Contemporary Art. Tokyo: Mori Art Museum, 2007.
2006
Steiner, Rochelle. The World is Round. New York: Public Art Fund, 2006.
2005
Birnbaum, Daniel, Gunnar B. Kvaran, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, eds. Uncertain States of America: American Art in the 3rd Millennium. Oslo: Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, 2005.
Thing: New Sculpture from Los Angeles. Los Angeles: Armand Hammer Museum of Art, 2005, 42-45.
Articles and Reviews
2017
Stamler, Hannah. “Alt-facts at Postmasters.” Artforum, July, 2017.
Schwabsky, Barry. “Matt Johnson: 303 Gallery.” Artforum 55, no. 7 (March 2017): 265-266.
Creahan, D. “Matt Johnson: ‘Wood Sculpture’ At 303 Gallery Through February 25th, 2017.” Art Observed, January 31, 2017.
“Goings on about Town: Matt Johnson.” The New Yorker, January 30, 2017, 12.
Behringer, David. “This is Wood: The Sculptures of Matt Johnson.“ Design Milk, January 17, 2017.
“9 Art Events to Attend in New York City This Week.“ ARTNews, January 9, 2017.
2016
D’Angelo, Madelaine. “Wanderlust on the High Line.” HuffPost, October 12, 2016.
Durray, Dan. “A Walking Tour of New York’s High Line with Cecilia Alemani.” The Art Newspaper, July 28, 2016.
2015
Morrissey, Siobhan. “Art Basel Week 2015 guide: Public and free, in 3D,” The Miami Herald, Online, November 27
Carlson, Cajsa. “Art Basel 2015: Highlights.” Cool Hunting (blog), June 24, 2015.
2012
Shaw, Michael. “Matt Johnson: Turning 2x4s into Serendipity.” Notes on Looking (blog), November 2, 2012.
Plagens, Peter. “Daring Tricks for the Eye.” The Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2012.
“Goings on about Town: Matt Johnson.” The New Yorker, October 2012.
Losk, Alice. “Flag Does Funny.” Artsicle.com (blog), September 26, 2012.
Russeth, Andrew. “Laughing Matters: Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson Brings Humor to Chelsea’s Flag Art Foundation.” Observer, September 18, 2012.
2011
Daichendt, G. James. “Matt Johnson: Blum & Poe.” Artillery 6, no. 2 (November-December 2011): 64-65.
Knight, Christopher. “Art review: Matt Johnson at Blum & Poe.” Los Angeles Times, September 29, 2011.
Kleiman, Bill. “The Curious Case of Matt Johnson at Blum and Poe,” Los Angeles Art Gallery Tours.
Smith, Roberta. “A Bit of Hollywood, Minus the Tinsel,” New York Times, May 31, 2011.
Perry, Colin. “Matt Johnson.” Art Review, No. 47. January-February 2011.
2010
Rosenberg, Karen. “Venerable, Small, and Lots of Paper (Including Napkins),” New York Times, March 5, 2010.
2009
Cotter, Holland. “Matt Johnson,” New York Times, February 13, 2009.
Finch, Charlie. “Pascal’s Puzzles,” Artnet.com, February 3, 2009.
Gartenfeld, Alex. “Matt Johnson’s Routine,” Interview, January 14, 2009.
“Matt Johnson,” New Yorker, January 21-27, 2009.
Sharp, Chris. “The Idiots.” ArtReview, no. 32 (May 2009): 80-84.
2008
“Goings on about Town: Matt Johnson.” The New Yorker, February 2008.
2007
McElheny, Josiah. “Readymade Resistance.” Artforum 46, no. 2 (October 2007): 327-335.
O’Reilly, Sally. “Funny Guys: All About Laughter.” ArtReview, no. 7 (January 2007): 24.
2006
Campagnola, Sonia. “Focus on Los Angeles.” Flash Art 39, no. 246 (January-February 2006): 71.
Casadio, Mariuccia. “Intimacy.” Vogue Italia, no. 666 (February 2006): 484-489.
Hackworth, Nick and Hans Ulrich-Obrist. “Hung & Drawn Art News: Uncertain States of America.” Dazed & Confused 2, no. 33 (January 2006): 142.
Knight, Christopher. “Daring to Tread on the Turf of a Master,” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 2006.
Lee, Chris. “Master of All He Surveys.” ArtReview (International Edition) 4, no. 5 (May-June 2006): 74-79.
Searle, Adrian. “Rebels Without a Cause,” Guardian Unlimited, September 12, 2006.
2005
Finkel, Jori. “First Come the Dealers, and Then the Diplomas,” New York Times, p. 22-23, July 3, 2005.
Harvey, Doug. “Good Thing: Emerging LA Sculptors at the Hammer,” LA Weekly, February 6-10, 2005: 32-34.
Holte, Michael Ned. “Scene & Herd: West Coast Thing,” Artforum.com, Feb. 10, 2005.
Knight, Christopher. “Faces to Watch 2006,” Los Angeles Times, December 25, 2005.
Knight, Christopher. “The Next Big ‘Thing’ in L.A.: A Richly Satisfying Survey of New Sculpture from Southland Artists Energizes the Hammer,” Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2005.
Miles, Christopher. “The Idolaters’ Revenge.” Flash Art 38, no. 242 (May-June 2005): 104-108.
“On Now, On Soon.” Flash Art 37, no. 241 (March-April 2005): 45.
“Matt Johnson,” The New Yorker, November 7, 2005: 20.
Spencer, Rosie. “Thing: New Sculpture from Los Angeles.” Contemporary, no. 75 (October 2005), 69-70.
2004
DiSilverio, Victoria. “A Night Out With: New Artist in Town,” New York Times, March 21, 2004.
Saltz, Jerry. “An Artist Worms Into Some Nicely Dicey Sculptural Terrain,” Village Voice, April 6, 2004.
Sholis, Brian. “Matt Johnson,” Artforum.com, March 31, 2004.
Subotnick, Ali, Massimiliano Gioni and Maurizio Cattelan. “Everybody was There: The Wrong Guide to New York in 2004.” Artforum 43, no. 4 (December 2004): 182-183.
Museum and Public Collections
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Art, Oslo, Norway
Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY