Christian Holstad (born 1972) is an American
contemporary art
Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
ist based in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York City. He received his
BFA at the
Kansas City Art Institute
The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. The institute ...
in 1994.
Work
Holstad has shown work internationally in exhibitions including ''Greater New York 2005'' at
P.S. 1 in New York, the 2004
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...
in New York, ''Beautiful Lies You Could Live In'' at the
Victoria Miro Gallery
The Victoria Miro Gallery is a British contemporary art gallery in London, run by Victoria Miro. Miro opened her first gallery in 1985 in Cork Street, before moving to larger premises in Islington in 2000 and later opening a second space in St ...
in London, ''Domestic Porn'' at the Foksal Foundation Gallery in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and ''The New Gothic'' at Cokkie Snoei in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
. His first solo exhibition in Europe was curated by
Daniel Schmidt in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
in 2003. In 2006, he had his first museum solo exhibition ''The Terms of Endearment'' at the
Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami. He is represented by Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York, Victoria Miro in London, and Galleria
Massimo De Carlo in Milan.
In the New York Times, critic
Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith (born 1948) is co-chief art critic of ''The New York Times'' and a lecturer on contemporary art. She is the first woman to hold that position at the Times.
Education and early life
Born in 1948 in New York City and raised in Lawre ...
wrote that "Mr. Holstad is a one-artist collective, equally at ease with knitting, quilting, collage, drawing and sculpture; his work has a multimedia mix."
In an ''
Artforum
''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...
'' review of a 2006 solo exhibition, critic
Christopher Bollen
Christopher Bollen (born November 26, 1975) is an American novelist and magazine writer/editor who lives in New York City.
Describing his novels, ''The Daily Telegraph'' notes that "Bollen writes expansive, psychologically probing novels in the m ...
wrote that "Holstad's artistic career has often centered on the public spectacle and campy aestheticizing of sexual dissonance ...
n this show Holstad seemed to ask whether s/m codes of thirty years ago have lost their deviant power. More provocatively, he asked what happened to the spiritual and physical liberation once accessed through these forms.
Collections
His work is included in collections at the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, the
Carnegie Museum of Art
The Carnegie Museum of Art is an art museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum was originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was formerly located ...
, the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's ori ...
, the
Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami,
the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art art gallery, museum near Water Tower Place in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is on ...
and the
Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst in
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, Norway.
References
External links
Christian HolstadHolstad at Massimo De CarloHolstad at Victoria Miro
American contemporary art
American conceptual artists
American postmodern artists
21st-century American sculptors
21st-century American male artists
Artists from New York City
Living people
American gay artists
1972 births
Kansas City Art Institute alumni
21st-century American LGBTQ people
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