Education

Born in 1975, Houston, TX

2003

MFA, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 2000

2000

BA, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX

Selected Solo and Two Person 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

2022-2024

"A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration," Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MI; Traveling to Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (2022-2023); Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (2023); California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2023-2024), Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) Berkeley, CA (2024)

2023

"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 Museum of Texas Southern University, Houston, TX

2012

Stacks, Art League Houston, Houston, TX

Bibliography

2023

Akers, Torey. "Artists including Sheila Hicks and Hank Willis Thomas receive US State Department's Medal of Arts," The Art Newspaper, September 18 (Link)

Valentine, Victoria L. "Art & Diplomacy: U.S. Dept. of State Medal of Arts Bestowed on Robert Pruitt and Hank Willis Thomas at White House Ceremony," CultureType, September 17 (Link)

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 disrupt 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

2022

Studio Museum in Harlem's Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize

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, Omaha, NE

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 Museum 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 Museum of Art, Portland, OR

Studio Museum of Harlem, NY

University Museum, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX

US Embassy, Zimbabwe

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA