Biography
b.1975, Brooklyn, NY
lives and works in New York
Education
2004
MFA, University of Pennsylvania
1998
BFA, Rhode Island School of Design
Solo Exhibitions
2022
Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York (upcoming)
2018
Pneumato, Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York
2017
Aeriform, Seed Space, Nashville, TN
2015
Eclipse, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
Anemometer, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
2014
Canicular, Print Center, Philadelphia, PA (catalogue)
2013
Terrestrial, Franklin Artworks, Minneapolis, MN
2012
Azimuth, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
2011
Orrery, D’Amelio Terras, New York
Penumbra, Light Work, Syracuse, NY (catalogue)
2010
Jupiter, High Line Public Art project, New York
Albedo, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
2009
Mare, FAB Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Sidereal, Clough-Hanson Gallery, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN
2008
Observatory, D’Amelio Terras, New York
Firmament, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
2006
Demetrius Oliver, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA
Perspective 153/ Compass, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, TX
Extracts, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
Demetrius Oliver, P.S.1 MoMa project space solo exhibition, P.S.1 MoMa, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020
Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
An Infinite and Omnivorous Sky, curated by Kendra Paitz, University Galleries at Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
2019
All That Is Solid Melts Into Air, Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York, NY
The Sheltering Sky, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
The Assembly: Photography from Houston Galleries, FotoFest at Silver Street, Houston, TX
2016
Explode Everyday: An Inquiry Into the Phenomena of Wonder, Mass Moca, North Adams, MA
Hadley Holliday, Demetrius Oliver, Dario Robleto, Acme, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Works of Paper II, Acme, Los Angeles, CA
Skyward, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC
2014
Rituals, Larm Galleri, Copenhagen, Denmark
Three Thousand Times, Each Hour, a Di erent Terrain, Inman Gallery, Houston, TXSave it for Later, Sotheby’s S|2 gallery, New York, NY
2013
Touch the Moon, Louis B. James, New York, NY
11 Dimensions, Louis B. James, New York, NY
The Order of Things, NURTUREart, New York, NY (curated by Jamillah James)
Interval Measures, 143 Reade Street, New York, NY (curated by Lucien Terras)
2012
Antiy Atlas, Wellin Museum of Art, Clinton, NY (curated by Ian Berry)
Bearden Project, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2011
In Context, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA
Sculpted, Etched and Cut: Metal Works from the Permament Collection, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2010
Mequitta Ahuja, Demetrius Oliver, Dawit L. Petros, and Xaviera Simmons, Cliford Change, New York, NY (curated by Jacob Robichaux)
Cantilever, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
2009
30 Seconds of an Inch, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Harsh Terrain, Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles, CA
Gravity, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA (curated by Marisa Sanchèz)
Your Gold Teeth II, Mariane Boesky, New York, NY (curated by Todd Levin)
1992009, D’Amelio Terras, New York, NY
2008
Zero Zone, Tracy Williams Ltd, New York, NY (curated by David Hunt)
Black Is Black Ain’t, Renaissance Society, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, traveling to Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI and H & R Block Artspace Kansas City, MO (2008-2009)
Learning by Doing: 25 Years of the Core Program, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
2007
Blur: Titus Kaphar, Wardell Milan, Demetrius Oliver, Arndt & Partner, Berlin, Germany
Making Do 2, Green Gallery, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Midnight’s Daydream, Studio Museum in Harlem, Harlem, NY
Taking Aim: Selections from the Elliot Perry Collection, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN
Crossing the Line: African American Art in the Jacqueline Bradley and Clarence Otis, Jr. Collection, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Winter Park, FL
2006
Black Alphabet – Contexts of Contemporary African American Art, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland
Now!, Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC
Leg, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
2005
Frequency, Studio Museum in Harlem, Harlem, NY
Bebe Le Strange, D’Amelio Terras, New York, NY
Selected Bibliography
2017
Molloy, Audrey, Demetrius Oliver: Aeriform, Nashville Arts Magazine, September 2017.
2016
Jen, Alex, Explode Every Day underscores the fun, the inexplicable in art, The Williams Record, Sept. 21, 2016.
2015
Zastudil, Nancy, Critic’s Pick: Houston, Paper City Magazine, Oct 2015, p. 78
2014
Hirsch, Jennie, Demetrius Oliver, Art in America, May 2014, p. 171-172
Melamed, Samantha, Fabric of the Universe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 9, 2014, p. C, C6
Gerwin, Daniel, Canicular: Demetrius Oliver at the Print Center, Huffington Post, Feb 28, 2014
Crimmins, Peter, Not easy to catch dog star exhibit in Philadelphia, WHYY, Jan. 10, 2014
Valdes, Lesley, Getting Sirius, Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 2014, p. 65-66
Monnier, Annette, Canine accouterments and a mini-planetarium make for an otherworldly art experience, City Paper, Feb. 20, 2014
2012
Britt, Douglas, Azimuth, Art Ltd, May/June 2012
Barliant, Claire, Photography Object Manque, Art in America, Mar. p. , 2012
Paper Monument, Draw It With Eyes Closed: The Art of the Art Assignment p. 33, 2012
2011
Baker, R.C. Turpentine Jukebox, Village Voice, Jul. 20-26, 2011 p. 27
Contact Sheet No. 160, Penumbra, Essay by Mary Goodwin, Light Work Syracuse, NY 2011
Lori Salmon Nature’s Transcendent Image IRAAA, vol. 23 no. 3, pp. 19-23, 2011
2011
Baker, R.C. The Best Art of 2010, Village Voice, Dec 29, 2010 p. 21
Stargazing, The New Yorker, Sept 20, 2010 p. 42
Mack, Joshua Demetrius Oliver: Jupiter, Art Review, posted Sept 17, 2010
2010
Contact Sheet No. 157, Light Work Annual, essay by Anne Wilkes Tucker 2010 pp. 4-9
2009
Mueller, Kurt, Firmament, Art Lies, No.64 Winter 2009 pp. 68-73
Brown, Becky, Your Gold Teeth II, Brooklyn Rail, Sept 2009
Smith, Roberta, A Beating Heart of Social Import, New York Times, Dec 10, 2009, pp. C29 & C32
Doran, Anne, Your Gold Teeth, Time Out New York, Jul 30- Aug 5, 2009, Issue 722, p.
Smith, Roberta, Your Gold Teeth II, New York Times, July 2, 2009, p.
Carlin, T.J., Studio Visit: Demetrius Oliver, Time Out New York, Mar 19-25, 2009, Issue 703, p. 56-57
2008
Copeland, Huey, The Blackness of Blackness, Artforum, Oct. 2008 pg. 151-154
Zero Zone, New Yorker, Aug 11&18, 2008 p. 14
Cotter, Holland. Art in Review: Demetrius Oliver, Observatory, The New York Times, September 18, 2008, p. E31
Carlin, T.J., Demetrius Oliver, Observatory, Time Out New York, September 19-25, p. 97
Baker, R.C., Best in Show: Demetrius Oliver’s ‘Observatory’ at D’Amelio Terras, The Village Voice, September 17, 2008, p. 42
2007
Richard, Frances, Midnight’s Daydream: Titus Kaphar, Wardell Milan II, Demetrius Oliver, Artforum, Nov. 2007 p. 371
Roberts, Frank Leon, Nina, Meet Jesus, Village Voice, Sept. 12-18, 2007 p. 58
Schwendener, Martha, Three Contemporaries, Each with a Different Way to View the Past, New York Times, August 11, 2007 p. B13
Maine, Stephen, The Dark Side of the Brain, New York Sun, August 23, 2007 pp. 15& 17
Beckwith, Naomi, Midnight’s Daydream, catalog essay, Studio Museum in Harlem 2007 p. 10-12
Stillman, Nick, Introducing Demetrius Oliver, Modern Painters, July-August, 2007, pp. 48- 50
Sirmans, Franklin, Visual Foresight, catalog essay, Crossing the Line: African American Art in the Jacqueline Bradley and Clarence Otis, Jr. Collection, Rollins College Cornell Fine Arts Museum, 2007
2006
Cassel-Oliver, Valerie, Compass, catalog essay, Demetrius Oliver, Pespective 153, Contemporary Arts Museum, 2006
Molon, Dominic, Demetrius Oliver, catalogue essay, Frequency, Studio Museum In Harlem, 2006, p. 64-65
Schwendener, Martha, Color-Field, Time Out New York, Feb, 2006
Stillman, Nick, Frequency, Brooklyn Rail, Feb, 2006, p. 22
Kastner, Je rey, Frequency, Artforum, January, 2006, p. 217
2005
Carter, Holland, Fanciful to gurative to wryly inscrutable, New York Times, July 8, 2005, p.29
Smith, Roberta, Where Issues of Black Identity Meet the Concerns of Every Artist, New York Times, November 18, 2005, p. B35
Public Collections
Blanton Museum of Art
Birmingham Museum of Art
Cleveland Clinic
Henry Art Gallery
International Center of Photography
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
RISD Museum of Art
Tang Museum