Robert Pruitt | VIELMETTER LOS ANGELES

Education

: Born in 1975, Houston, TX

2003: MFA, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 2000
2000: BA, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX

Selected Exhibitions

2023: "Goodnight Prometheus," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2021: "To Control the Universe," Salon 94, New York, NY
2020: "Ad Infinitum," Salon 94, New York, NY
: "Guest Minister," Oxbow, Seattle, WA
2019: "The Banner Project," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
: "The Majesty of Kings Long Dead," Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2018: "Robert Pruitt: Devotion," California African American Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2017: "Robert Pruitt: Benediction," Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, KS
: "Robert Pruitt: Planetary Survey: New Drawings," Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2016: "Robert Pruitt: New Work," Visual Arts Center, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX
: "Escape Velocity," Robert L. Ringel Gallery, Stewart Center Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
2015: "Robert Pruitt: Flight Risk," Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
: "The Mosaic Project: Robert Pruitt & Shadra Strickland," Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, Lancaster, PA
: "Omohle Ntsudu Omnyama," Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg, South Africa
2013: "Fantastic Sagas," Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
: "Robert Pruitt: Women," Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2012: "Robert Pruitt," Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA
2011: "The Souls of Black Folk," McKinney Art Center, Dallas, TX
: "New American Voices," Fabric Workshop Museum, Philadelphia, PA
: "Them From After the End of the World," Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
2010: "The Forever People," Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston, TX
2008: "Two Tears in a Bucket: Considering The Alcubierre Metric," Mary Goldman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006: "Quiet as Kept," Clementine Gallery, New York, NY
: "Perspectives 154: Robert Pruitt," Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, TX
2004: "I call my brother sun because he shines like one," Clementine Gallery, New York, NY
: "Cold Kuts and Fresh Beef," Galveston Art Center, Galveston, TX
: "Round 18 of Artists’ Installations," Project Row Houses, Houston, TX

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023: "A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration," California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA; traveled from the Mississippi Museum of Art, Baltimore Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum
: "The Book of HOV: A celebration of the life and work of Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter," The Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY
: "Perpetual Portrait," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2022: "In Blackest Shade, In Darkest Light," Curated by Patrick Earl Hammie, Giertz Gallery at Parkland College, Champaign, IL
: "Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield South Carolina," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; traveling to The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, MA
: "Us, We, Them," Worcester Art Museum, Worcrester, MA
: "A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration," Mississippi Museum of Art; traveling to: Baltimore Museum of Art
2021: "Assembly: New Acquisitions by Contemporary Black Artists," Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
2019: "Perennial," Koplin Del Rio (Pop-up exhibition), Los Angeles, CA
: "Men of Steel, Women of Wonder: Modern American Heroes in Contemporary Times," Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
: "Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth, Exhibition," coordinated by the Smithsonian Institution, the 10-city national tour opened at the California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA, April/May
: "Black Refractions | Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem," The Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA (January 15 – April 14, 2019); Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC (May 24 – August 18, 2019);Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, MI (September 13 – December 8, 2019); Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA (January 17 – April 12, 2020); Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA (May 9 – August 2, 2020); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (August 28 – December 13, 2020)
2018: "People Get Ready | Building A Contemporary Collection," Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC
: "WOMAN," Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
: "We The People," Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ
: "Out of Africa," Art Village Gallery, Memphis, TN
: "MLK50: Beyond the Balcony," Art Village Gallery, Memphis, TN
2017: "LIBERTY.," Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
: "Anachronism and Liberation," Asteroid Tiger Strike, Philadelphia, PA
: "Z is for Zigzag: Directions Around Northern Manhattan," Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling, New York, NY
: "Impressions: African American Artists and Their Connection to African Art," Mesa College Art Gallery, San Diego, CA
: "How Far Have We Come," Koplin Del Rio, on Artsy (online exhibition)
2016: "Indivisible: Spirits in the Material World," curated by William Cordova, Prizm Art Fair, Miami, FL
: "Time + Space: Futures, Bemis Center, Omaha, NE IDENTITY," Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2015: "New Editions," Tamarind Institue, Univeristy of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
2013: "Wunderkammer: Miniatures and Curiosities," Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
: "The Shadows Took Shape," The Studio Museum Harlem, New York, NY
2012: "Self Possessed: Examining Identity in the 21st Century," Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
: "HX8(Houston Times Eight)," Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, TX
2011: "Stargazers, Elizabeth Catlett in conversation with 21 contemporary artists," Bronx Museum, Bronx, NY
2010: "Hangin’ Together," Koplin Del Rio (Guest Curated by Kerry James Marshall), Culver City, CA
2008: "Black Is, Black Ain’t" Renaissance Society, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
: "S & M: Shrines and Masquerades in Cosmopolitan Times," NYU, Steinhardt Galleries, New York, NY
: "New Works: 07.1," curated by Debra Singer, Artpace, San Antonio, TX
: "Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song," Von Lintel Gallery, New York, NY
2006: Whitney Biennial Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
: "Black Alphabet," The Zacheta Gallery, Warsaw, Poland Frequency, The Studio Museum, New York, NY
: "The Texas Prize Exhibition," ArtHouse, Austin, TX (catalog) Texas Artadia Recipients, Diverseworks, Houston, TX
: "Art on Paper," The Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC
: "Black Alphabet," the Zacheta Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
: "Intersections: Shifting Identity in Contemporary Art," John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
: "Interstellar Low Ways," Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
: "…but I was cool," Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ
2005: "Double Consciousness: Black Conceptual Art Since 1970," Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Houston, TX
2004: "Farm to Market," ArtPace, San Antonio, TX
: "Texas Prime," Diverseworks, Houston, TX
: "SuperSalon," Samson Projects, Boston, MA
2003: "Miniatures," Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston, TX
: "The Big Show, (first prize)," Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
: "Splat Boom Pow! The Influence of Cartoons in Contemporary Art," Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX
: "Come Forward: Emerging Art in Texas," Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
2002: "Soul Sonic Lustre Silk," Houston Community College, Houston, TX
: "The Big Show," Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
: "Process," Creative Research Lab, Austin, TX
: "The Debt," The Old School, Austin, TX
: "22 to Watch: New Art in Austin," Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX
: "Safety Gear," D Ramos Studios, Austin, TX

Curatorial Projects

2020: Drawing the Ghost, Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA
2013: Coming Through the Gap in the Mountain on an Elephant, University Musuem of Texas Southern University, Houston, TX
2012: Stacks, Art League Houston, Houston, TX

Bibliography

2023: Dozier, Ayanna. "At the Brooklyn Museum, 12 Artists Poignantly Capture the Legacies of the Great Migration." Artsy, March 7 (Link)
: Simblist, Noah. "In Abstract, Haunting, and Poignant Works, Artists Reflect on the Great Migration in a Major Exhibition," Art in America, January 30 (Link)
2022: Solly, Meilan. "See Stunning Portraits of Ava DuVernay, José Andrés and the Williams Sisters," The Smithsonian Magazine, November 16 (Link)
: Sheets, Hilarie M. "Behind 3 Champions’ Smithsonian Portraits," The New York Times, November 1 (Link)
2021: Valentine, Victoria L. "On View: ‘Robert Pruitt: To Control the Universe’ at Salon 94 in New York," Culture Type, September 29 (Link)
2020: Leung, Gabrielle. "Artists of Color Reflect on Own Identities in "Portraiture: A Private Room"," HyperArt, June 4
: “5 artists tell us the hardships—and benefits—of creating in isolation”, Document, June 12
2018: “Best of 2018: Our Top 15 Los Angeles Art Shows”, Hyperallergic, December 18
: Caldwell, Ellen C., “Robert Pruitt: Devotion”, Riot Material, December 17
: Gerwin, Daniel, “The Potent Realism of Robert Pruitt’s Black Portraiture”, Hyperallergic, December 4
: “Robert Pruitt’s ‘Devotion’ at California African American Museum”, Blouin Artinfo, November
: “Robert Pruitt”, Wall Street International Magazine, October 26
: Little, Colony. "Pay Attention to the Loaded Details in Artist Robert Pruitt’s Powerful Images of Devotion," ArtNet New, October 12 (Link)
: Onyewuenyi, Ikechukwu, “‘Robert Pruitt: Devotion’ Preview”, Artforum, September
: Drew, Kimberly, “Tina Knowles Lawson on Her Black Art Collection, Beyoncé, Solange, and Creativity”, Vanity Fair, September
: Cotter, Holland, “A Good Year for Younger Artists, Immigrant Citizens and Outrage”, New York Times, September 6
: Howe, Brian, “In Contemporary Showcase People Get Ready, The Nasher’s Progressive Vision Snaps into Blazing Focus”, Indy Weekly, September 6
: McGrath, Katherine, “Tina Knowles Lawson on Why Beyoncé and Solange Grew Up Surrounded by an Incredible Art Collection”, Architectural Digest, August 6
2017: Edge, Lisa, “Celestial Figures: Robert Pruitt’s portraits disruptt media narratives of black lives”, Real Change, March 1
: Breslaw, Cathy, “IMPRESSIONS: AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS AND THEIR CONNECTION TO AFRICAN ART”, Vanguard Culture, February 8
: “San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery Presents IMPRESSIONS”, Broadway World, San Diego, February 2
2016: Agresta, Michael, “Ward Matters: Robert Pruitt’s Art Vividly Portrays the Lives and Dreams of the People who have long called Houston’s Rapidly Gentrifying Neighborhoods Home”, Texas Monthly, December
: Mader, Elisa, “IDENTITY: A Visual Artifact”, AEQAI, March
2015: Gerwin, Daniel, “Drawing an Afro-Future with the Past and Present”, HYPERALLERGIC, Dec. 1
: Mizota, Sharon, “Critic’s Choice: Robert Pruitt: Futuristic portraits gain a real edge”, LA Times, Nov. 10
: Will, Rachel, “Robert Pruitt’s New Works Juxtapose African Culture and Space Objects”, Artsy, Nov. 1
: Word, Tanekeya, “Interview: Robert Pruitt”, Saint Heron, March 16
2013: Rosenberg, Karen, Women Inspired to Mix and Match, "Drawings by Robert Pruitt at the Studio Museum in Harlem," The New York Times, August 8
: Cembelast, Robin, "Reinventing the African American Portrait," ARTnews, August 1
: Ulysse, Gina Athena, "Immeasurable Inspiration: On Robert Pruitt’s Women," The Huffington Post, July 26
: Roffino, Sara, "25 Questions for Afrofuturist Artist Robert Pruitt," BLOUINARTINFO International, July 18
2012: Boyd, Robert, "Robert Pruitt: This Rejection of the Conqueror at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas," Glasstire, February 5
2011: Mizota, Sharon, "Robert Pruitt," ARTNews Magazine, Art Reviews, November
: Ollman, Leah, "Robert Pruitt at Koplin Del Rio," Los Angeles Times, Art Reviews, August 19
2007: Gupta, Anjali. "Glenn Kaino + Robert Pruitt + Katja Strunz," Art Papers, May/June
: Goodard, Dan R. "Caught Between Two Cultures," San Antonio Express-News, Sunday, April 22
: Salmon, Lori. "Robert Pruitt," ArtUS, March-April
: Wolff, Elaine. "The Art Capades: We Shall (Eventually) Overcome (One Way Or Another)," San Antonio Current, March 22-April 3
: Gajkowski-Hill, Sarah. "Perspectives 154: Robert Pruitt," Arts Houston Magazine, February
2006: "Goings On About Town: Robert Pruitt," New Yorker, December 25
: Baldwin, Rosecrans. "Quiet As Kept, Interview with Robert Pruitt," The Morning News, December
: Cotter, Holland. "The Collective Conscious," The New York Times, (as part of Otabenga Jones and Associates) Sunday, March 5
: Golden, Thelma, and Christine Kim. "Frequency," The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York
: Iles, Chrissy, and Phillip Verne. "Day for a Night, Whitney Biennial," Whitney Museum of Art
: Kerr, Merrily. Otabenga Jones and Associates, "Symmetrical Patterns of Def," Time Out New York, (as part of Otabenga Jones and Associates), February 2-8
2005: Cassel Oliver, Valerie, and Franklin Sirmans. "Double Consciousness, Black Conceptual Art Since 1970, Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston"
2004: Schwendener, Martha. "Robert Pruitt at Clementine," Time Out New York, August 5-12
: "Robert Pruitt at Clementine," The New Yorker, August 9 & 16
: Psyllos, Steven. "Robert Pruitt," New York Press, August 3
2003: Weaver, Suzanne. et al. "Come Forward: Emerging Art in Texas," Dallas Museum of Art

Awards, Fellowships, and Grants

2014: Idea Fund Grant
2013: Joan Mitchell Foundation Artist Grant
: William H. Johnson Prize
2009: Art Matters Travel Grant
2007: Creative Capital Foundation grant (Otabenga Jones)
: Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation fellowship grant
2004: Artadia Artist Grant
1999: The Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund award, Dallas Museum of Art
: Emerging Artist Grant, Cultural Arts Council of Houston

Residencies

2016: Joan Mitchell Foundation Artist in Residence, New Orleans, LA
2015: Tamarind Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
: Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg, South Africa
: Bemis Center for Contemporary Art A.I.R
: Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg, South Africa
2014: Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM
2007: ArtPace Residency, San Antonio, TX
2002: Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME

Public Collections

: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
: The Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX
: Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
: Art Musuem of Greater Lafayette at Purdue University, Lafayette, IN
: Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
: Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
: Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, NC
: Portland Musuem of Art, Portland, OR
: Studio Museum of Harlem, NY
: University Museum, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX
: US Embassy, Zimbabwe
: Virginia Musuem of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA