Carroll Dunham
(Born 1949)
Carroll Dunham was born in 1949 in New Haven, Connecticut and graduated from Trinity College in Hartford in 1972. Dunham developed a characteristic, highly personal style for which he is well known: scenes involving interactions between multiple cartoonish and biomorphic figures in colorful compositions that stage vibrant and often sexually suggestive narratives. In the early stages of his career, during the 1980s, Dunham constructed these scenes on found pieces of plywood, allowing the natural patterns of the wood to determine the overall shape and form of his fantastical creatures. In these early works figure and medium interact haphazardly, in an almost Surrealist fashion, resulting in figures reminiscent of graffiti. In time, Dunham’s paintings evolved towards more accentuated cartoon-like figures painted in a freer style and larger scale, but the psychological complexity and overall richness of style remained.
Carrol Dunham has exhibited extensively in the United States and Europe. Recent solo exhibitions of his work have been held in institutions such as the Museum Ludwig in Cologne in 2009, the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin College, New York in 2008, and the Drammens Museum in Oslo in 2006. He has also participated in exhibitions in major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Musée d´Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in Paris, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Reina Sofia in Madrid. His work has been explored in multiple essays and publications. Carroll Dunham lives and works in New York City.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020
Carroll Dunham: Paintings, Gerhardsen Gerner, Oslo
Carroll Dunham, Gladstone Gallery, Brussels
Carroll Dunham: Drawings 1990 – 2009, James Barron Art, Kent, CT
Carroll Dunham / Albert Oehlen – Bäum/Trees, Spengel Museum, Hannover, Germany
2019
Recent Paintings, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich
Carroll Dunham / Michael Williams: Drawings, Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
Carroll Dunham / Albert Oehlen – Bäum/Trees, Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Germany
2018
Carroll Dunham, Gladstone Gallery, New York
2017
Carroll Dunham, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
Prints, Gerhardsen Gerner, Oslo
2016
Carroll Dunham, Inigo Philbrick, London
Drawings 1982-96, Gladstone 64, New York
Monotypes, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich
2015
Carroll Dunham, Gladstone Gallery, New York
2014
Gerhardsen Gerner, Oslo, Norway
Drawings: Carroll Dunham, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland
2012
Gladstone Gallery, New York
Carroll Dunham: A Drawing Survey, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, California
Bernier/Eliades Gallery, Athens, Greece
2011
Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin, Germany
Gladstone Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Patrick de Brock Gallery, Knokke, Belgium
2010
Carroll Dunham: Paintings, Blum & Poe Gallery, Los Angeles
Carroll Dunham Prints: A Survey, University Art Gallery, State University of New York, Albany, New York
Carroll Dunham: Paintings, Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, Colorado
2009
Gladstone Gallery, New York
Carroll Dunham: Works on Paper, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
2008
Carroll Dunham Prints: A Survey, Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts
Caroll Dunham: Recent Paintings, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany
Carroll Dunham Paintings on Wood 1982-1987, Skarstedt Gallery, New York
Hydra Workshop, Hydra, Greece
Carroll Dunham: Painting and Sculpture 2004 – 2008, Millesgarden, Stockholm, Sweden
2007
Carroll Dunham Prints: A Survey,Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, Ohio
Carroll Dunham Paintings on Wood 1982-1987, Gladstone Gallery, New York
Carroll Dunham Monotypes, Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin, Germany
2006
White Cube, London, United Kingdom
Monotypien, Galerie Fred Jann, Munich, Germany
Small Drawings, Drammens Museum, Drammens, Norway
Galeri MGM, Oslo, Norway
2005
Drawing, Judin Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
Atle Gerhardsen Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2004
Composite Images: Paintings, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York
prints Gallery, Berlin, Germany
He, She, and It, Gladstone Gallery, New York
2003
White Cube, London, United Kingdom
Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, Colorado
2002
New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (catalogue)
Carroll Dunham: Drawings 1985-2002, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York
Mesokingdom, Metro Pictures, New York
Drawings, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
2001
The Search for Orgone, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York
The Search for Orgone, Atle Gherhardsen Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Carroll Dunham, New Paintings, Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, California
Carroll Dunham: Recent Prints and Related Works, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
2000
Atle Gerhardsen Gallery, Oslo, Norway
N.e.g., Milan, Italy
1999
Metro Pictures, New York
Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France
Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, North Carolina
No Limits Events Gallery, Milan, Italy
1998
Nolan/Eckmann Gallery, New York (catalogue)
White Cube, London, United Kingdom
London Projects, London, United Kingdom
Atle Gerhardsen Gallery, Oslo, Norway
1997
Metro Pictures, New York
1996
Carroll Dunham: Paintings and Drawings 1990-1996, Guild Hall, Easthampton, New York; Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, California; Forum for Contemporary Art, St. Louis, Missouri
Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York
Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
1995
Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, Santa Monica, California
Carroll Dunham: Selected Paintings 1990-95, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
1994
Works on Paper, Lemburg Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan
Sonnabend Gallery, New York
1993
Sonnabend Gallery, New York
Galerie Lehmann, Geneva, Switzerland
Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York
1992
David Nolan Gallery, New York
Jablonka Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Carroll Dunham: Selected Paintings and Prints,Wiedner Gallery, Trinity College,
Hartford, Connecticut
1991
Carroll Dunham: Drawings, Gallery Mukai, Tokyo, Japan
Galerie Jahn und Fusban, Munich
Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Santa Monica, California
1990
Sonnabend Gallery, New York
1989
Jablonka Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Sonnabend Gallery, New York
1988
Selected Drawing, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
Drawings 1982-1983, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
1987
Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York
1986
Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Baskerville & Watson Gallery, New York
1985
Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Baskerville & Watson Gallery, New York
1981
Artists Space, New York
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020
Drawing 2020, Gladstone Galery, New York
Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL
New Images of Man, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
2019
Some Trees, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Samaritans, Eva Presenhuber, New York
Driving Forces: Contemporary Art from the Collection of Ann and Ron Pizzuti, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
2018
Four Rooms, Blum & Poe, New York
Syphilis, Rental Gallery, East Hampton, New York
Out of Control, Venus Over Manhattan, New York
Art Crush 2018, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, Colorado
2018 White Columns Benefit Auction, White Columns, New York
2017
Discomposure, Telles Fine Arts, Los Angeles
Vanishing Points, James Cohen Gallery, New York
Drawing Island, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Fast Forward: Painting from the 1980s, Whitney Museum of Art, New York
2016
Nice Weather, curated by David Salle, Skarstedt, New York
Olympia, Galerie Patrick Seguine, Paris
Two Palms, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin
Before Sunrise, Karma, Amagansett, New York
In the Making: Artists, Assistants, and Influence, Luxembourg & Dayan, New York
Off-Site Exhibition: A Shape That Stands Up, Art + Practice, Los Angeles
2015
Light/Dark, White/Black, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Acadamy, Massachusetts
Pretty Raw: After and Around Helen Frankenthaler, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
Works on Paper, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland
True Monotypes, International Print Center New York, New York
America is Hard to See, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
The Guston Effect, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Des histoires sans fin, Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland
Coleccion Jumex, In Girum Imus Nocte et Consumimur Igni, Museo Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico
2014
Disturbing Innocence, FLAG Art Foundation, New York
Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Room by Room: Monographic Presentations from the Faulconer and Rachofsky Collections, The Warehouse, Dallas, Texas
2013
Summer Drawings, The Journal Gallery, New York
Comic Future, Ballroom Marfa, Texas. Traveled to the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio in 2014
Reinventing Abstraction, Cheim & Read, New York
Post Picasso Contemporary Reactions, Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain
This Will Have Been: Art, Love and Politics in the 1980s, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts
Der Zweite Blick (The Second Chance), Stadtische Galerie, Nordhorn, Germany
Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out, White Flag Projects, St. Louis, Missouri
FULL HOUSE, Schönewald Fine Arts, Düsseldorf, Germany
The Age of Small Things, Dodge Gallery, New York
Hello Goodbye Thank You, Again, and Again, and Again, Castillo/Corrales, Paris, France
2012
Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out, White Flag Projects, St. Louis, Missouri
Twenty Days Later, Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York
Group Shoe, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York
Print/Out, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Painting Now, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland
2010
Nature, Gerhardsen Gerner, Berlin, Germany
The Visible Vagina, David Nolan, New York
Your History is not Our History, Haunch of Venison, New York
Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, California
Pastorale, 80WSE, New York University, New York
2009
Jr. and Son’s, Zach Feuer Gallery, New York
Collection: MOCA’s First Thirty Years, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California
15th Anniversary Inaugural Exhibition, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, California
Small Packages, The Art Production Fund Lab, New York
Listen Darling… The World is Yours, Ellipse Foundation, Alcoitão, Portugal
2008
rom nature, Carolina Nitsch Project Room, New York
Red Wind, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles
2007
Contemporary Painters and Their Influences, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia,
Virginia Beach, Virginia
2006
XXL: Size Matters, Hudson Vallery Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, New York
Couples Discourse, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park, Pennsylvania
Group Show, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York
Counterparts: Contemporary Painters and their Influences, CAC Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia
2005
Remote Viewing, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
2004
Fabulism, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska
SITE Santa Fe Biennial, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2003
Funny Papers, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, California
We Love Painting, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
160 Meisterzeichnungen, Oldenburger Kunsteverein, Germany
2002
Metro Pictures, New York
Bildmis und Figur, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
2001
Some Options in Abstractions, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Pop & Post Pop (On Paper), Texas Gallery, Houston, Texas
Locating Drawing, Lawing Gallery, Houston, Texas
American Art, Galerie Rudolfinum, The Center for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic
2000
End Papers, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York
Superorganic, Hydroponic Warfare: Carroll Dunham, David Dupuis, Alexander Ross, Derek Eller Gallery, New York
Art in America 2000, US Department of Art in Embassies Program, Washington, D.C.
Land & Houses, Two Sequences of Drawings, Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York
The Figure: Another Side of Modernism, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, New York
00, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York
The Figure in the Landscape Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York
Open Ends, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Olav Chr. Jensen, Sarah Morris, Carroll Dunham, Atle Gerhardsen Gallery, Berlin, Germany
1999
Drawn By…, Metro Pictures, New York
Gorney, Bravin + Lee, New York
Art at Work: Forty Years of the Chase Manhattan Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
American Century, Part II, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Drawing into Paint, Foskick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred, New York
Examining Pictures, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois
1998
Young Americans 2: New Art in the Saatchi Collection, The Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Exterminating Angel, Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France
Pop Surrealism, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut
Codex USA: Works on Paper by Ameican Artists, Entwistle, London, United Kingdom
Now and Forever Part 1, Pat Hearn Gallery and Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
The New Surrealism, Pamela Auchincloss, New York
Art and the American Experience, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Michigan
1997
Now on View, Metro Pictures, New York
Painting Project, Basillico Fine Arts and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York
Abstract Painting, Carrie Hadad Gallery, Hudson, New York
1996
The Carpenter Center for Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
How the Chicken Crossed the Road, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Nuevas Abstracciones, Museo Nacional Centro de Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
1995
The Whitney Biennial, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
New York Abstract, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Carroll Dunham, Lari Pittman, Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York
Contemporary Drawing: Exploring the Territory, The Aspen Art Museum, Colorado
Under Glass, Charles Cowles Gallery, New York
1994
Collectively Speaking: A Sampling of Private Collections, The Art Museum of Santa Cruz County, California
What’s wrong with this Picture?, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Inc., Chicago, Illinois
In the Spirit of Things, Stux Gallery, New York
Dysfunction, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York
Summer Group Show, Baumgartner Galeries Inc., Washington, D.C.
Deadpan, The Work Space at Dolgenos Newman & Cronin, New York
Sonnabend Gallery, New York
1993
Projects, Betsey Senior Contemporary Prints, New York
What’s wrong with this Picture?, Postmasters, New York
A Series of Anniversary Exhibitions: Part II Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Santa Monica, California
Group Show, Postmasters, New York
Extravagant: The Economy of Elegance Russisches Kulturzentrum, Berlin, Germany
Drawings: 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
1992
American Art of the ’80s, Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporani di Trento e Rovereto, Trento, Italy
Carroll Dunham + Nicola De Maria, Thomas Segal Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Works on Paper,” David Nolan Gallery, New York
Carroll Dunham and Mel Kendrick: A Selection a Recent Work, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts
Drawn in the ’90s, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York
Illinworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta Gallery of Art, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama
Emerging New York Artists, Fine Arts Building, College of Fine Arts, Omaha, Nebraska
1991
Carroll Dunham, Mike Kelley, Cindy Sherman, Metro Pictures, New York
Sieben Amerikanische Maler, Bayerischen Staatgemaldesammlungen, Munich, Germany
Mel Bochner, Carroll Dunham, Barry Le Va, Galerie Faust, Geneva, Switzerland
Whitney Biennial, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Paintings and Drawings, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Santa Monica, California
The Thing, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York
Fall & Winter: 1991–1992, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Santa Monica, California
Ralph Humphrey, Matthew Weinstein, and Carroll Dunham, Perry Rubinstein, New York
1990
With the Grain: Contemporary Panel Paintings, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Fairfield County, Stamford, Connecticut; Whitney Museum of American Art at Phillip Morris, New York
Amerikanische Zeichnungen inden achtziger Jahren, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Museum Morsbriosh, Leverkusen, Vienna, Austria
Galerie Faust, Geneva, Switzerland
Carroll Dunham and Terry Winters, Gallery Mukai, Tokyo, Japan
Waterworks, ULAE, New York
The Last Decade: American Artists of the ’80s, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York
Organic Abstraction, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
1989
Horn of Plenty, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Flanders Contemporary Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Wiener Diwan: Sigmund Freud-heute, Museum des 20, Jahrunderts, Vienna, Austria
A Decade of American Drawing: 1980–1989, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, California
First Impressions: Early Prints by Forty-Six Contemporary Artists, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
New Works by Gallery Artists, Sonnabend Gallery, New York
ULAE Prints, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
1988
NY Art Now: Part II, Saatchi Collection, London, United Kingdom
Group Show: Carroll Dunham, Kenji Fujita, Peter Nadin, Laurie Simmons, Meyer
Vaisman, Jablonka Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Vital Signs: Organic Abstraction from the Permanent Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Altered States, Kent Fine Arts, New York
Scott Hanson Gallery, New York
Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Amerikanische Druckgraphik: Recent American Prints, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich, Germany
1987
Drawing Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Schizophrenia, Josh Baer Gallery, New York
Coleccion Sonnabend, Centro de Art Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; CAPC, Centre d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, France (catalogue); Art Köln, Cologne, West Germany; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, West Germany; Galleria Nazionale D’Arte Moderna, Rome; Museo D’ Arte Moderna e Contemporani, Trento, Italy; Musée Rath, Geneva, Switzerland; Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan; The Miyagi Museum of Art, The Fukuyama Museum, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
1986
Paintings & Sculpture: Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Private and Public: American Prints Today, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York
Intuitive Line, Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York
Paravision, Margo Leavin Gallery, curated by Collins and Millazzo, Los Angeles, California
Art on Paper (22nd Annual Exhibition), Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Reading, Pennsylvania
Drawing: Carroll Dunham, John Newman, Terry Winters, Jeffrey Hoffeld & Co., New York
1985
Painting as Landscape, Parrish Art Museum, Southhampton, New York; Baxter Gallery, Pasadena, California
Currents: Carroll Dunham, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts
International with Monument, New York
BAM Benefit, Mary Boone Gallery, New York
Whitney Biennial, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Real Surreal, Lorence Monk Gallery, New York
1984
Brilliant Color, Baskerville & Watson, New York
Wedge Magazine Benefit Exhibition, Nature Morte Gallery, New York
Inner Vision: Drawing, Barbara Krakow, Boston, Massachusetts
Drawing Show, Barbara Toll Gallery, New York
Summer International, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Figure in Paint, Cable Gallery, New York
New York I Dag, Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Aalborg, Denmark
10 Year Anniversary Exhibition, Artists Space, New York
1983
Nine Painters, Hallwalls, Buffalo, New York
Carroll Dunham & Terry Winters, Jan Bernier Gallery, Athens, Greece
“Tradition, Transition, New Vision, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts
“New Biomorphism and Automatism, Patricia Hamilton Gallery, New York
1981
Four Painters, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
New Talent, New York, New Gallery, Cleveland; Hayden Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1980
Watercolors, Institute for Art & Urban Resources/P.S. 1, Long Island City, New York
1979
Selector’s Choice, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
1978
Lineup, The Drawing Center, New York
Young American Artists, Schema Gallery, Florence, Italy
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH
Drammens Museum, Drammen, Norway
Ellipse Foundation, Cascais, Portugal
Fort Wayne Art Museum, Fort Wayne, IN
Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY
Inhotim Institute, Brumadinho, Brazil
Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth, Forth Worth, TX
Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, MO
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS
Olbricht Collection, Essen, Germany
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
St. Louis Museum of Art, St. Louis, MO
Tate Gallery, London, UK
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Whitney Museum of American Art, NY
