Skip to content

About

Math Bass (b. 1981, New York, NY, lives and works in Los Angeles, CA) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans across painting, performance, sculpture, and video.

Throughout the work of Math Bass, recognizable forms appear and yet turn abstract, becoming shapes rather than signifiers, like shadows manipulated by the sun. Repetition is used as a tool to foreground these forms as part of a visual lexicon Bass has been developing over the last several years in the Newz! series — where forms and symbols exist in a multitude of perspectives and (re)interpretation — suggesting the possibility of mutable meaning.

Though graphic in the flatness of the forms, there is a crispness and lightness to Bass’s geometric abstraction–thin layers of opaque paint are delicately applied to the raw canvas. In their artistic practice, the artist explores breaking down the common boundaries found within the medium(s) and modes of presentation in order to actively engage the viewer in both surreal and everyday ways.

Bass received a BA from Hampshire College and an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles. Recent solo exhibitions include: Tanya Leighton, Berlin (2019); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2018); Mary Boone Gallery, New York (2018); The Jewish Museum, New York (2017); Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2017); and MoMA PS1, New York (2015). Bass has also participated in selected group exhibitions at Martos Gallery, New York (2019); Fredericks & Freiser, New York (2019); Gordon Robichaux, New York (2018); and the Made in L.A. Biennial at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, (2012). They will have a solo exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, Seattle, Fall 2021 – Winter 2022. Their work is included in the permanent collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; and Yuz Museum, Shanghai, CN.

Selected Works

This image depicts an artwork by Math Bass titled "About Face." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 60" x 52" x 1 ¹⁄₄" [HxWxD] (152.4 x 132.08 x 3.18 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.
Math Bass
"About Face," 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Math Bass titled "Headless Horse." This artwork was created in 2021 and measures 52 ¹⁄₈" x 60" [HxW] (132.38 x 152.4 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.
Math Bass
"Headless Horse," 2021
This image depicts an artwork by Math Bass titled "Legs (verso)." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 60" x 52" [HxW] (152.4 x 132.08 cm). Its medium is Oil on linen.
Math Bass
"Legs (verso)," 2022
Math Bass “Sirens I,” 2022
Math Bass
“Sirens I,” 2022
This image depicts an artwork by Math Bass titled "Newz!." This artwork was created in 2019 and measures 44" x 42" [HxW] (111.76 x 106.68 cm). Its medium is Gouache on canvas.
Math Bass
"Newz!," 2019
Math Bass “Gemini II,” 2022
Math Bass
“Gemini II,” 2022
Math Bass “Newz!,” 2020
Math Bass
“Newz!,” 2020
This image depicts an artwork by Math Bass titled "Newz!." This artwork was created in 2020 and measures 50" x 66" x 1" [HxWxD] (127 x 167.64 x 2.54 cm). Its medium is Gouache on canvas.
Math Bass
"Newz!," 2020
Math Bass “Snake skin ring,” 2020
Math Bass
“Snake skin ring,” 2020
Math Bass "Newz!," 2019
Math Bass
“Newz!,” 2019
Installation view of "Math Bass: Murals of La Jolla," 2021
Installation view of "Math Bass: Murals of La Jolla," 2021
Installation view, "Math Bass: Hammer Projects," 2018
Installation view, "Math Bass: Hammer Projects," 2018

Exhibitions

1981
Born in New York, NY
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
2011
MFA, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
2003
BA, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2024
"Math Bass: Full Body Parenthesis," Lumber Room, Portland, OR
2023
"Math Bass: Roses Are Red," Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, NY
2022
"clown alley," Tanya Leighton Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2021-2022
"a picture stuck in the mirror," Henry Art Gallery, The University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2021
"Math Bass," Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
"Desert Veins," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2019-2020
"Fill It Up Silver,” Various Small Fires, Seoul, Korea
2019
"Cherry Baby," The Gallery At, Los Angeles, CA
"To Name A Few," Tanya Leighton, Berlin, Germany
2018
"Hammer Projects: Math Bass," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
"My Dear Dear Letter," Mary Boone Gallery, New York, NY
2017
"Domino Kingdom," Tanya Leighton, Berlin, Germany
The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
"Math Bass: Serpentine Door," Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China
"Over the Top: Math Bass & the Imperial Court SF," Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
2016
"Bloomies," Michael and Jon Alan, Miami Beach, FL
2015
"Off the Clock," MoMA PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, NY
2014
"Lies Inside," Overduin & Co., Los Angeles, CA
2013
"Newz!," Michael Jon Gallery, Miami, FL
"Monte Cristo," with Leidy Churchman, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA
2012
"And then the words came out," with Leah Glenn, Artist Curated Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2011
"G.L.O.W.," with Mariah Garnett, Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles, CA
"Pass the Line," UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024
"Reverberations," The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles, CA
2023
"Next Door," Yuz Project Space of Art, Panlong, Shanghai, China
2022
"A Maze Zanine, Amaze Zaning, A-Mezzaning, Meza-9," David Zwirner and Performance Space New York, New York, NY
"Dreams," Artist Curated Projects, Los Angeles, CA
"Plants Now!" Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
"Not Me, Not That, Not Nothing Either," Leslie Lohman Museum of Art New York, New York
2020
"20 Years," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2019
"The Light Touch," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
"Eight Ball," Martos Gallery, New York, NY
"Throwback Jack," curated by Amanda Schmitt, Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, New York, NY
2018
"A Page from My Intimate Journal (Part I)," Gordon Robichaux, New York, NY
"Nothing Will Be As Before," Tanya Leighton, Berlin, Germany
2017
"Abstract/Not Abstract," Moore Building, Art Basel, Miami Beach, FL
"New Modernism," Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR
2016
"Los Angeles – A Fiction," Aaturp Fearnly Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway
"OVERPOP," Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China
"Gesture Play," Simone Subal, New York, NY
"Flavr Savr," curated by Alexandra Gaty, The Pit, Los Angeles, CA
"A Shape That Stands Up," Hammer Museum and Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA
"Wasteland," curated by Shamin M. Momin, Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, Paris, France
2015
"Artist Theater Program," with Shannon Ebner, Lauren Fisher, Dylan Mira, Silke Otto-Knapp, Adam Putnam, and Nora Slade, Performa 15, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
Artist Theater Program, with Shannon Ebner, Lauren Fisher, Dylan Mira, Silke Otto-Knapp, Adam Putnam, and Nora Slade, Performa 15, Roulette, Brooklyn, NY
"Bring Your Own Body," Glass Curtain Gallery at Columbia College, Chicago, IL
"Bring Your Own Body," Cooper Union, New York, NY
"The Answer. The Question," Artist Curated Projects, Los Angeles, CA
"No Joke," curated by Sanya Kantarovsky, Tanya Leighton, Berlin, Germany
Drawing Biennale 2015, The Drawing Room, London, UK
"My Own Private Los Angeles," curated by Math Bass, Artist Curated Projects, Los Angeles, CA
"Initimate Paintings," Half Gallery, New York, NY
"Joshing the Watershed," Del Vaz Projects, Los Angeles, CA
"With & Width," Chapter NY, New York, NY
"VESTAL VIRGINS," curated by Sylvie Lake, Lummis House, Los Angeles, CA
2014
"Bavarian Fire Drill," 247365, New York, NY
"Shit Like Hair," White Flag Projects, Saint Louis, MI
"Flex," Kent Fine Art, New York, NY
"Another Cats Show," 356 Mission, Los Angeles, CA
"New Dawn," curated by Leidy Churchman, Silberkuppe, Berlin, Germany
"Duck Soup," Galerie Nordenhake, Stockholm, Sweden
"Darren Bader," Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, NY
"Drowning and swallowing this text," Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
"Autograft," Laurel Gitlen, New York, NY
2013
"Culm," Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"356 Sculptures," 356 Mission, Los Angeles, CA
"B.B.S.Q.," Wallspace, New York, NY
"Cast Recording," Prism Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"P&Co.," Thomas Duncan Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2012
"Made in LA," The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
"This is It With It As It Is," Lora Reynolds Gallery, Austin, TX
"Il Regalo," Overduin and Kite, Los Angeles, CA
2011
"Gloria Hole," The Fire Place Project, East Hampton, NY
2010
"Almost Outline," 2nd Floor Projects, San Francisco, CA
"Says I," Parker Jones Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009
"riDYKEu-lous HITS BOTTOM," Leo Koenig Inc., New York, NY
"Somethings Gonna Soon," Artist Production Fun, New York, NY
2008
"Our bodies, our selves," Montehermosos Cultural Centre, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
"The Way That We Rhyme," Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
"Oceans of Potions," Pens and Needles, San Francisco, CA
2007
"Shared Women," Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
"The Tent Show," Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
2006
"Not A Marathon, Just a Traffic Jam," Art in General, New York, NY
"New Ghost Entertainment Entitled," Or Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
"New Ghost Entertainment Entitled," Stadtische Galerie Kunsthaus, Dresden, Germany
"Esthetics of Resistance," CareOf Gallery, Milan, Italy
2005
"Macerate," Around the Coyote Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003
"Listen Translate Translate Record," Andrew Kreps, New York, NY
"Man, I Feel Like A Woman," Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA

Performances

2022
"if i could sing you back" with Eden Batki, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
2017
"Quiet work in session," with Lauren Davis Fisher, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
2015
Artist Theater Program Performa 15 + The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Roulette, Brooklyn, NY
2014
Overduin & Co., Los Angeles
Artist Theater Program, Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, Troy, New York, NY
Paramount Ranch, Malibu, CA
Quiet work in session, with Lauren Davis Fisher, curated by Summery Guthery, Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, Portland, OR
2013
"Planets Making Planets," with Anna Sew Hoy and Claire Kohne, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA
2012
The Actors Studio, Wilfred Yang Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Brutal Set," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
"Blasting Voice," Suzanne Geiss Company, New York, NY
2011
"Dogs and Fog," Overduin and Kite, Los Angeles, CA
2010
"Perform Now!," Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA

Screenings and Lectures

2015
Coulisse Effect, Overduin and Kite, Los Angeles, CA
2014
Marmalade Me, South London Gallery, London, UK

Bibliography

2024
Noteboom, Kaya. "Hidden bodies, hoards of feeling: Math Bass at lumber room," Variable West, July 10 (Link)
2023
Dorris, Jesse. "A Painter Who Flattens to Find Expanse," Surface Magazine, September 19 (Link)
Art In America Staff. "The Ruscha Effect: Seven Artists Weigh In on the Impact of the Great Ed Ruscha," Art In America, September 8 (Link)
2022
Bass, Math and Chloe Stead. "Barbara Kruger’s Teaching Legacy: “She Always Cut Through the Bullshit," Frieze Magazine, February 14 (Link)
2021
Simmons, William J. "Queer Formalism: The Return," Floating Opera Press, Berlin, Germany
Simmons, William J. "On Math Bass “Got a Light?” Artillery, January 5
2019
"Larry Pittman with Terry R. Myers," The Brooklyn Rail, September (Link)
Simmons, William J. "Portfolio: Math Bass," Bomb, June 14 (Link)
2015
Locks, Mia, “The Body is a Location: Math Bass in conversation with Mia Locks”, Art Journal Open, December 14
Rosenthal, Tracy Jeanne, “Waveforms”, Art in America, October
Fox, Dan, “The Eyes Have It”, Frieze, Issue 173, September
Tattersall, Lanka, “Ones to Watch”, sleek Magazine, Summer
Small, Rachel, “Geometry Lessons with Math Bass”, Interview Magazine, May 20
Zhong, Fan, “Codes and Keys”, W Magazine, May 7
Braithwaite, Hunter, “A New Way of Thinking: Introducing Math Bass”, Modern Painters, May
Powers, Bill, “’People Have Anxiety about Ambiguity’: A Talk with Math Bass”, ARTnews, March
2014
Gavin, Francesca, “The Materiality of Math”, Twin Magazine, November
“Initiation”, Art in America, October
Hudson, Suzanne, “Math Bass”, Frieze, Issue 163, May
Wagley, Catherine, “Math Bass: Lies Inside at Overduin & Co.”, LA Weekly, March 18
Ebner, Shannon, “Math Bass: FutureGreats 2014”, ArtReview, March
2013
Raoli, Martha, “Newz!: Math Bass”, The Miami Rail, Winter
Cha, Olivian, “Monte Cristo”, Art Papers, September/October
2012
Made in L.A., essay by Amanda Hunt, published by Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Griffin, Jonathan, “Made in LA 2012”, Frieze, September
2009
Doyle, Jennifer, “Managing Desire: Girls, Boys and Queer Sport Spectacles”, X-TRA, Spring
Mixed Signals: Artists Consider Masculinity in Sports, essay by Julia Bryan Wilson, published by Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, Los Angeles
2008
Bordowitz, Gregg, “Sentiment, Belief, and Medium”, Film, Avant-Garde and Biopolitics, published by Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Vienna
Brewer-Ball, Kate, “In Sight, Out of Focus: Marriage, the union of Wu Tsang and Math Bass” Performance Studies International #14: Interregnum: In Between States.
Summers, Robert, “The Way That We Rhymes”, Art US, Issue 23
The Uncertain States of America Reader, essay by Matt Wolf, published by Sternberg Press, Berlin.
Wolf, Matt, “New Lives Queer Art”, LTTR.

Public Collections

Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA
Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China