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Mark Armijo McKnight

Mark Armijo McKnight’s work expands the traditions of his photographic predecessors: shooting in the landscape of Southern California, New Mexico and Arizona with a formalist eye towards the textures and patterns of rock, sky, water and grasses. The bodies in his photographs are representative of friends and acquaintances, a mostly queer community largely absent from the photographic histories he engages. Through careful printing, arrangement and installation, McKnight draws formal and figurative parallels that speak to the ways in which a geography both inscribes upon and is inscribed by our histories, traumas, intimacies, and subjectivities. The photographs describe queer intimacy with and within a landscape queerly registered and reconsidered: in terms of the mythopoetic, the sexual and the psychological.

Award

Mark Armijo McKnight Awarded 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship

The Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded Mark Armijo McKnight a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship for his achievement and potential in the field of photography.

Outside Exhibition

Mark Armijo McKnight Show at Paul Soto Gallery

Mark Armijo McKnight is presenting new work in Posthume, a two-part exhibition at Paul Soto Gallery. The exhibition updates the memento mori art historical motif by imbuing it with ambiguity and connecting it to celebrations of the Día de Muertos. The first half of the exhibition is a solo show at Paul Soto's Los Angeles gallery and is up June 3 through July 22, 2023. The second half juxtaposes McKnight's work with drawings by the modern Belgian artist James Ensor and will be on view at Paul Soto's Brussels location June 9 through July 22, 2023.

Press

Mark McKnight and the Bodies that Modernist Photography Didn't See

A photo essay with writing by Chris Wiley was published in The New Yorker online on June 15, 2020.

interview

Mark McKnight on Frederick Sommer, a Conversation with Audrey Sands

McKnight and Sands discuss the legacy of acclaimed twentieth-century photographer Frederick Sommer and McKnight’s long-standing interest in Sommer’s life and work.

Interveiw

Mark Armijo McKnight in conversation with Garth Greenwell at Aperture

Aperture Foundation, in collaboration with Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, presented a conversation between acclaimed writer Garth Greenwell and photographer Mark Armijo McKnight, winner of the 2019 Aperture Portfolio Prize. Greenwell and McKnight spoke about the mystery and beauty of rendering queer life in words and photographs.

Acquisition

LACMA acquires Mark McKnight's Photographs

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has acquired of Bodyfold, 2019 and Destructive Distillation (Tar Cosmos), 2019.

Review

Photographer Mark McKnight Turns Queer Bodies Into Abstract Landscapes

Harry Tafoya reviews Mark McKnight's shows at Aperture and Klaus von Nichtssagend in Art In America, March 2020 issue.

Review

Mark McKnight: Park View / Paul Soto

Andy Campbell reviewed Hunger for the Absolute, Mark McKnights's solo show at Park View / Paul Soto in Los Angeles.

Review

Mark McKnight’s Exuberant Tribute to Queer Tenderness

Novelist and poet Garth Greenwell writes on Mark McKnights photographs in the December 2019 Issue of Aperture.

Review

Mark McKnight: Hunger for the Absolute

Zach Ritter reviews Mark McKnight's solo show at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, in the Brooklyn Rail, March 2021 issue.

Review

Liberating the Taxonomic

Steven Warwick reviewed Hunger for the Absolute, Mark McKnights solo show at Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery and Park View / Paul Soto in the March 2020 issue of Bomb Magazine

Outside Exhibition

Mark McKnight at the Riverside Art Museum

Mark McKnight has photographs included in Defining Photographs and Radical Experiments in Inland Southern California, 1950 to Present, at the California Museum of Photography & Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA.

Mark Armijo McKnight

b. 1984 Los Angeles, CA
lives and works between Los Angeles, CA and Albuquerque, NM

EDUCATION

2015
M.F.A., University of California, Riverside, CA

2007
B.F.A., San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

SOLO + TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2023
Mark McKnight & Maria Antelman, Outer Space, Bedford, NH (forthcoming)
Posthume, La Maison de Rendez-Vous, Brussels, BE
Posthume, Paul Soto Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2022
Kiss of the Sun, Kendall Koppe Gallery, Glasgow, U.K.

2021
Hunger for the Absolute, Park View / Paul Soto, Los Angeles, CA
Hunger for the Absolute, Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York, NY

2020
In this temporarily prevailing landscape, Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York, NY

2019
Aperture Portfolio Prize, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY

2018
Turn Into, James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA
…if water forgets how to play mirror, QUEENS, Los Angeles, CA

2015
He’s Time. I’m Just a Clock., Strongroom, Los Angeles, CA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023
This Long Century, Dunes, Portland, ME
Light Work, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY

2022
Hot Concrete, K11 Museum, Hong Kong
Dewdrops in the Garden, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
87 Franklin Inaugural, Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York, NY
Perris, co-curated with The Fulcrum Press, Tyler Park Presents, Los Angeles, CA
Aqux, The Mistake Room, Los Angeles, CA
Garage Sale II, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA

2021
Queer Moments, Lightwork, Syracuse, NY
Frieze London, Kendall Koppe Gallery, UK

2020
Working from Home: New Commissions from Tucson, curated by Laura Copelin, The Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, Tucson, AZ
Hold on Tight, Koppe Astner, Glasgow, Scotland
A Time for Monsters, Fort Gansevoort, New York, NY
Voidpull, Koppe Astner, Glasgow, Scotland

2019
The Procession, VACATION, New York, NY
Automatic Door, Park View / Paul Soto, Los Angeles, CA
Shadow & Shadow of Shadow, Roger’s Office, Los Angeles, CA (two person exhibition)
20 / 20, James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA
Close to Home, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, CA
Defining Photographs and Radical Experiments in Inland Southern California, 1945 to Present, California Museum of Photography & Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA

2018
Monotasking, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA

2017
A Spaghetti Dress for World Peace, Park View / Paul Soto, Los Angeles, CA
Facing, BBQLA, Los Angeles, CA
La Mesa Brutal, Arturo Bandini, Los Angeles, CA
The Upper Deep, Open House, Los Angeles, CA

2016
The Upper Deep, Open House, Los Angeles, CA
9-11, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA

2015
Russian Doll, M+B, Los Angeles, CA
Surface of Color, The Pit, Los Angeles, CA (catalogue)
20/20 Vision: An International Photography Biennial, Christophe Guye (Selection of Grupa o.k.), Zurich, Switzerland
The Year of the Goose, Either Way, Los Angeles, CA

2013
Dressed in Gray, Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2011
California Continued: New Approaches in West Coast Photography, Smith Andersen North, San Rafael, CA

2010
Gray Day, Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles, CA
The Informers, J-MoCA, Los Angeles, CA
The Lightbearers, POST Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2009
10 x 10 x 10, San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco, CA
Involved, Socially, Triple Base, San Francisco, CA

2008
Young Curators, New Ideas, Bond Street Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Various Photographs, curated by Tim Barber, The New York Photo Festival, New York, NY

2007
TinyVices, White Flag Projects, St. Louis, MO
TinyVices, La Esquina, Kansas City, MO

PUBLICATIONS

2023
Mark McKnight and John Keene, Image Text Press

2022
Situating Queer in Photography, New York, NY: Routledge

2021
The Debris of an Unknown Celebration, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson
Photo No-Nos, New York, NY: Aperture
Humans, New York, NY: Abrams
Primal Sight, Brooklyn, NY: Gnomic Books

2020
Heaven is a Prison, London / Marseilles: Loose Joints
Contact Sheet Annual 2020, Syracuse, NY: Light Work
New Queer Photography, Dortmund, Germany: Verlag Kettler

2019
In the Sunshine of Neglect: Defining Photographs & Radical Experiments in Inland Southern California 1950 – Present, Riverside, CA: Inlandia Institute

2017
NOUNS, Los Angeles, CA: Bread & Butter

2015
Pescador, Pau, Surface of Color, Los Angeles, CA: The Pit
Myers-Szupinska, Julian & Szupinska-Myers, Joanna. 20/20 (Exhibition Catalog), Zurich, Switzlerland: Sturm & Drang

2010
Smoke Bath, New York, NY: Seems Books
Icons & Allegories, Los Angeles, CA: Bread & Butter Books

2009
Involved, Socially, San Francisco, CA: Triple Base

2008
Various Photographs, New York: TV Books
Vol. 1, Remain in Light, Cambridge, MA: Lay Flat

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2021
Humans, edited by Henry Carroll, Abrams Books, October
Suzuki, Emika, “Between the Legs: Photography as Ars Erotica”, Museé Magazine, issue #26
Akers, Tyler, “Mark McKnight,” Gayletter, Issue 14
Campbell, Andy, “Mark McKnight : Park View/ Paul Soto”, Artforum, Summer
Beradini, Andrew, “Captured and Released: Mark McKnight”, Mousse Magazine issue 75, Spring
O’Leary, Erin F., “Mark McKnight at Park View/ Paul Soto”, Contemporary Art Review LA, April 15
“Mark McKnight at Park View/Paul Soto”, Contemporary Art Writing Daily, April
Ritter, Zach. “Mark McKnight: Hunger for the Absolute”, The Brooklyn Rail, April
Warwick, Steven, “Liberating the taxonomic: Mark McKnight reviewed by Steven Warwick, BOMB Magazine, March 16
Hadland, Gracie, “Mark McKnight Photographs Hardcore Vistas, Hunger for the Absolute Reviewed”, Frieze, March 16
Knight, Christopher. “Review: Landscape and body, in sensuous shadow: The photos of Mark McKnight“, LA Times, March 3
Diner, Eli, “Five Los Angeles Shows to See this Month”, Cultured Magazine, March 1
Kwon, R.O., Greenwell, Garth. “On Taking Kink Seriously: A Reading List”, Literary Hub, February 11
Shinkle, Eugénie, “Heaven is a Prison” book review, 1000 Words Magazine, January 17

2020
“The Best Photo Stories of 2020”, AnOther Magazine, December 24
“Sex, Sand, and Seduction: Ten Photo Books to Buy This Month”, AnOther Magazine, November 10
Dorris, Jesse, “Heaven is a Prison: Jesse Dorris on Mark McKnight” Aperture:PhotoBook Review, Fall
Campion, Darren. “Mark McKnight, Heaven is a Prison”, Paper Journal, October 29
Feuerhelm, Brad, “Episode 100: Mark McKnight”, Nearest Truth, October 24
Park, Frederika, “Mark McKnight: Objects, Landscapes, Queer Bodies”, Metal Magazine, October 15
“Heaven is a Prison, Mark McKnight”, Tank Magazine, October 8
Jean, Ciara, “MOCA’s first pandemic-era in-house exhibition looks at life in a COVID bubble”, Arizona Daily Star, October 3
Zhengova, Linda, “Mark McKnight: Heaven is a Prison”, Gup Magazine, October 1
Greenwell, Garth, “The Pornographic High Art of Photographer Mark McKnight”, GQ Magazine, September 29
Benson, Louise, “These are the Essential Art Books You Need to Know Right Now”, Elephant Magazine, September 29
Yerebakan, Osman Can, “Inside a Sensual New Photo Book Capturing Lovers in the California Desert”, AnOther Magazine, September 14
Abel-Hirsch, Hannah, “Sex as Meaning-making in the work of Mark McKnight”, British Journal of Photography, September 14
White, Ryan. “A Queer Photographer Explores the Pain and Euphoria of Sex”, i-D Magazine, September 11
Greenwell, Garth, “Cleanness Author Garth Greenwell Interviews Mark McKnight About His Daring, Dirty Pictures” Interview Magazine, September 9
Yáñez, Marcelo Gabriel, “Mark McKnight. Contact Sheet Annual 2020,” Light Work, September
Wiley, Chris, “Mark McKnight and the Bodies That Modernist Photography Didn’t See”, The New Yorker, June 15
“ARTnews in Brief… May 11, 2020”. ARTnews, May 11
Hance McElroy, Nich, “Portfolio: Mark McKnight”, BOMB Magazine, March
Tafoya, Harry, “Review: Mark McKnight Turns Queer Bodies Into Abstract Landscapes”, Art in America, March
Harries, Jack, “Q&A: Mark McKnight”, The Heavy Collective , March 29
Zelony-Mindell, Efrem, “Mark McKnight: Concrete as Surely as Flesh”, Humble Arts Foundation, February 4

2019
Kim, Eonnam, “Art Out: Mark McKnight at Aperture Gallery”, MUSEE’ (Online), November 26
“Highlights from Paris Internationale: Mark McKnight at Park View / Paul Soto” Purple Fashion Magazine (Online), October 23
Greenwell, Garth, “Spotlight: Mark McKnight”, Aperture Magazine #236, September 10
Staff, “Mark McKnight in Automatic Door at Park View / Paul Soto”, Contemporary Art Writing Daily, September 4
Aperture Magazine, no. 236, Aperture Foundation, September
Luquet-Gad, Ingrid, Derhee, Aurélie. “Mark McKnight fait corps avec la nature”, Les Inrockuptibles, July 23
Weitzman, Jordan, “Episode 29: Mark McKnight”, The Magic Hour: Conversations on Photography
Weber, Jasmine, “Art Movements: Accolades” HyperAllergic. April 24
Embser, Brendan, “2019 Portfolio Prize Winner: Mark McKnight”, Aperture, April 19
Gladstone, Sophie, “Inspiring Photography from the Wallpaper Picture Desk”, Wallpaper*, April 3
Miranda, Carolina, “Datebook: An Artistic Space Station, Experimental Sound, and Riotous Pattern”, Los Angeles Times, January 23
“Meet Mark McKnight” , Voyage LA Magazine: City Guide, February 11

2018
Feinstein, Jon, “Review: Mark McKnight at James Harris Gallery,” Photograph Magazine, December
Cameron, Andrew, “Mark McKnight: Object Permanence,” (Supplementary exhibition text), James Harris Gallery
Darling, Nikki, “Shadow Boxing Mark McKnight” (Supplementary exhibition text), QUEENS, Los Angeles, CA
“Mark McKnight: Turn Into, Paul Berger: Multiplex, and more”, City Arts Magazine
“Photography Highlights…Seattle Art Fair,” Humble Arts Foundation
Adams, Thomas, “Episode 19: Mark McKnight”, Art Traffic

2015
Myers-Szupinska, Julian & Joanna Szupinska-Myers, “20/20: Mark McKnight” (Exhibition catalog text), Sturm & Drang
Ahn, Abe, “Forging Queer Identity with Abstraction,” HyperAllergic, October 19

2009
“Artists meld life and art.” SFGate. August 20

COLLECTIONS

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
The Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
LightWork, Syracuse, NY

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2022
;, Vielmetter, Los Angeles, CA

2015
FLASH! (September), The California Museum of Photography, Riverside, CA

2010
Icons & Allegories, Sight School, Oakland, CA

GRANTS, AWARDS, RESIDENCIES

2023
Guggenheim Fellowship

2020
Rema Hort Mann Foundation Artist Grant, Los Angeles
Light Work Photo Book Award

2019
Aperture Portfolio Prize, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY

2019
Light Work Artist in Residence, Light Work, Syracuse, NY