Biography

Mike Kelley
(Born 1954)

Mike Kelley was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1954. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1976. Kelley’s work is extremely diverse in topic and medium. It includes performances, installations, drawings, and sculptures (made of multiple materials and non-art objects, including stuffed animals). Kelley came out of a generation that consistently blurred the traditional boundaries between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art and questioned the societal and cultural values to which art is usually bound. As a result, his works challenge traditional attitudes towards topics such as religion, sexuality, gender, education and even art history. Kelley’s work has also been influenced by vernacular American art and music. It is this constant challenge and variety of influences that makes Kelley’s works so intriguing and powerful. At times subtle or uncanny, and at times extremely blunt, their message comes across to the viewer in a myriad of forms.

Mike Kelley has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Recent solo exhibitions of his work have been held in institutions such as the WIELS Centre d'Art Contemporain in Brussels in 2008, the Musée du Louvre in Paris in 2006 and the Tate Liverpool and Museum Moderne Kunst Stiftung Ludwig in Vienna in 2004. He has also participated in exhibitions in major institutions such as the MUMOK (Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig) in Vienna, the Pinakothek der Modern in Munich, and the Stedelijk Museum CS in Amsterdam. Kelley has participated in multiple Whitney Biennials, and others held internationally. Mike Kelley is a prolific writer and critic himself, and his work has been featured in multiple publications. Mike Kelley lives and works in Los Angeles.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1982
Metro Pictures, New York (and 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2002)

1983
Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles (and 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994)
Hallwalls, Buffalo, New York

1988
The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago (catalogue)

1989
"Pansy Metal/Clovered Hoof," Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley Galerie Peter Pakesch, Vienna (and 1991)
Jablonka Galerie, Koln (and 1991, 1995, 1998, 2001)

1990
Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris (and 2000)

1991
"Mike Kelley: 'Half a Man,'" Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. (brochure)
Galeria Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid

1992
Basel Kunsthalle, Basel; Institute of Contemporary Art, London; capc, Museé, Bordeaux (cat.)
"Alma Pater (Wolverine Den)," Portikus, Frankfurt

1993
“Mike Kelley: Catholic Tastes,” Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Haus der Kunst, Munich (cat.)

1995
"Missing Time: Works on Paper 1974-1976," Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover (cat.)

1996
"Land-O-Lakes," Wako Works of Art, Tokyo (cat.)

1997
“Mike Kelley,” Museu D'art Contemporani, Barcelona; Rooseum Center for Contemporary Art, Malmo, Sweden; Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (cat.)

1999
Patrick Painter Inc., Santa Monica (and 2002)
“Mike Kelley,” Kunstverein, Braunschweig (cat.)
“Mike Kelley- Sublevel, Framed and Frame, Test Room,” Magasin, Centre National d'Art Contemporain, Grenoble (cat.); Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, Switzerland (8 April- 4 June 2000)

2000
"Unisex Love Nest," Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne
Galleria Emi Fontana, Milan
"Categorical Imperative and Morgue", Van Abbemuseum, Stedelijk, Eindhoven

2001
“Aerodynamic Vertical to Horizontal Shift,” Sperone Jr., Rome

2002
“Mike Kelley– Selected Works 1982-1990,” Skarstedt Fine Art, New York
“Test Room Containing Multiple Stimuli Known to Elicit Curiosity and Manipulatory Responses,” Art & Public, Geneva, Switzerland

2003
“Mike Kelley- Memory Ware, Wood Grain, and Carpet,” Galleria Emi Fontana, Milan

2004
Mike Kelley: The Uncanny, The Tate Liverpool, London, England; MUMOK, Museumm of Modern Art, Vienna (cat.)

2005
 

“Mike Kelley: Day Is Done”, Gagosian Gallery, New York. Exh cat. 


2006
 

“Mike Kelley: Profondeurs Vertes”, musée du Louvre, Paris, France.
 

“Mike Kelley: Liquid Diet and Related Works” Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France.
 

“Mike Kelley”, Medium, St. Bathélemy, French West Indies.


2007
 

“Kandor-Con 2000,” Jablonka Galerie in cooperation with Harold Falckenberg at Halle 037, Ackerstrasse 76, Berlin, Germany. 


“Kandors,” Jablonka Galerie, Berlin, Germany. 


“Mike Kelley: Memory Ware Flats,” Skarstedt Fine Art, New York, New York. 


“Mike Kelley: Hermaphrodite Drawings (2005-2006),” Gagosian Gallery, London, England.

2008
“Mike Kelley,” Sammlung Goetz, Munich, Germany. Exh. cat.
“Mike Kelley: Educational Complex Onwards: 1995-2008,” WIELS Centre d'Art Contemporain, Brussels, Belgium. Exh. booklet and cat.

2009
“Horizontal Tracking Shots,” Gagosian Gallery, New York, New York. Exh. cat.
“Mike Kelley: Paintings / Sculptures,” Wako Works of Art, Tokyo, Japan. Exh. cat.
“Mike Kelley: Selections from Kandors,” Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France.
“Mike Kelley: A Selection of Photo Editions,” Patrick Painter Editions, Santa Monica, California.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1983
"The First Show: Painting & Sculpture From Eight Collections 1940-1980," Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (cat.)

1984
"The Fifth Biennale of Sydney - Private Symbol: Social Metaphor," Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (cat.)

1985
"1985 Biennial Exhibition," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (cat.)

1986
"Individuals: A Selected History of Contemporary Art, 1945-1986," Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

1987
"1987 Biennial Exhibition," The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (cat.)
"Avant-Garde in the Eighties," Los Angeles County Museum of Art (cat.)
"LA: Hot and Cool: The Eighties," MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts (cat.)

1988
"The BiNational: American Art of the Late 80's," Museum of Fine Arts and Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Stadtische Kunsthalle, Kunstsammlung Nordrheinn-Westfalen and Kunstverein fur die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Dusseldorf; Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart (cat.)
"Aperto '88: La Biennale di Venezia," Venice (cat.)
"Graz 88," Grazer Kunstverein, Stadtmuseum Graz, Austria (cat.)

1989
"Whitney Biennial," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (cat.)
"A Forest of Signs: Art in the Crisis of Representation," The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (cat.)
"Prospect 89," Frankfurter Kunstverein, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (cat.)

1991
"Savage Garden," Fundacion Caja de Pensiones, Madrid (cat.)
"Whitney Biennial," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (cat.)
"Metropolis," Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (cat.)
"Carnegie International," Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (cat.)

1992
"Helter Skelter L.A.: Art in the 1990's," Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (cat.)
“Documenta IX,” Kassel, Germany (cat.)
"Doubletake. Collective Memory and Current Art," Hayward Gallery, London
"Allegories of Modernism- Contemporary Drawings," Museum of Modern Art, New York (cat.)
"Post Human," Musée d'Art Contemporain, Pully/Lausanne; Castello di Rivoli, Turin; Deste Foundation, Athens; Deichtorhallen, Hamburg; Israel Museum, Jerusalem (cat.)
"Désordres," Galerie Nationale Du Jeu de Paume, Paris

1993
"Whitney Biennial," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (cat.)
"American Art of this Century," Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin; Royal Academy of Art, London (cat.)
"Abject Art: Repulsion and Desire in American Art," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (cat.)
"The Uncanny," organized by Mike Kelley for Sonsbeek '93, Gemeentemuseum, Arnhem, Netherlands (cat.)

1994
"Hors Limites - L'Art et La Vie," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
"Temporary Translation(s): Sammlung Schurmann," Deichtorhallen Hamburg (cat.)
"Zimmer in Denen die Zeit Nicht Zahlt," Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Basel

1995
"Whitney Biennial," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (cat.)
"ARS 95 Helsinki," Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki
"Paul McCarthy/Mike Kelley," Hamburg Kunstverein
"Zeichen & Wunder," Kunsthaus Zurich; Centro Galego de Arte Contemporanea; Santiago de Compostela, Spain (cat.)
"Feminin-Masculin: Le Sexe de l'Art?," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
"Passions Privees," Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

1996
"Everything that's interesting is new: The Dakis Joannou Collection," (organized by the DESTE Foundation, in conjunction with The Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen), Athens School of Fine Arts "the factory", Athens (cat.)
"L'Informe: le Modernisme a Rebours," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (cat.)
"DISTEMPER: Dissonant Themes in the Art of the 1990s," Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. (cat.)
"Shift," Eine Ausstellung der Neuen Geselleschaft fur Bildende Kunst, Berlin

1997
"Gothic," The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (cat.)
"Sunshine & Noir: Art in L.A. 1960- 1997," Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg; Castello di Rivoli,Museo d'Arte Contempotnae, Turin; Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (cat.)
“Documenta X,” Kassel, Germany (cat.)
“The Poetics Project: 1977-1997,” (collaboration with Tony Oursler), Watari-um, the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo

1998
"Out of Actions: Between Performance and the Object, 1949-1979," Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; MAK, Vienna; MAC Barcelona; MOCA, Tokyo; NMA, Osaka
“Mike Kelly and Paul McCarthy,” Wiener Secession, Vienna
“Destroy All Monsters Archive,” Museum Boymans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
"LA Times," Palazzo Re Rebaudengo, Guarene, Italy
"Plaisir déplaisir," capc Musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux
"Emotion," Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (cat.)
“The Poetics Project: 1977-1997,” (collaboration with Tony Oursler), Metro Pictures, New York

1999
"...on the sublime...", Rooseum, Malmö
"American Century," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (cat.)

2000
"Let's Entertain," Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, (cat.); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Portland Art Musuem, Oregon; Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico (cat.); Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany (2001); Miami Art Museum, Miami (2001) “Apocalypse: Beauty and Horror in Contemporary Art,” Royal Academy of Arts, London (cat.)
“Consolation Prize- Mike Kelley & John Miller,” Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver (cat.)
"Many Colored Objects Placed Side by Side to Form a Row of Many Colored Objects", Casino Luxembourg, Belgium (cat.)
“Open Ends,” Museum of Modern Art, New York

2001
“Almost Warm & Fuzzy,” P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York; Centre Cultural de la Fundació “la Caixa”, Barcelona (cat.)
“Collaborations with Parkett: 1984 to Now,” Museum of Modern Art, New York (cat.)
“American Art,” Galerie Rudolfinum, The Centre of Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic (cat.)
“Artists Take on Detroit,” The Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan
“Conversation?,” Athens School of Fine Arts, Rentis, Greece

2002
“Sonic Process,” Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
“The Object Sculpture,” Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, England (cat.)
“Video Acts,” P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York (cat.);
traveled to Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
“Life, Death, Love, Hate, Pleasure, Pain,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (cat.)

2003
“Drawings,” Metro Pictures, New York
“Capp Street Project: 20th Anniversary Exhibition,” CCAC Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, Logan Galleries, California College of Arts and Crafts, San Francisco (cat.)
“The Poetics Project: 1977-1997,” (collaboration with Tony Oursler), Barbican Centre, London
“Micro Utopías, Art and Architecture, 2nd Valencia Biennial,” Valencia (cat.)
“C’est Arrivé Demain,” Biennale D’Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France
“Fast Forward, Media Art Sammlung Goetz,” KZM, Karlsruhe, Germany (cat.)

AWARDS AND GRANTS
1997 Skowhegan Medal for Mixed Media

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Art Institute of Chicago
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
Capc Musée, Bordeaux
Goetz Collection, Munich
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Museum für Moderner Kunst, Vienna
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Ghent
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York