BRENNA YOUNGBLOOD
Born in Riverside, CA, 1979
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
2006 MFA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
2002 BFA, California State University, Long Beach, CA
Solo Exhibitions
2021
the LIGHT and the DARK, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2020
Lavender Rainbow, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2017
Affection, Tilton Gallery, New York, NY
The Game of Life, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels, Belgium
2016
WHAT A FEELING, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA
2015
abstracted realities, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Project Series 50: Brenna Youngblood, Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA
Stairway, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris, France
2014
Brenna Youngblood: Loss Prevention, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
A Phrase That Fits, Tilton Gallery, New York, NY
2013
Spanning Time, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Brussels, Belgium
ACTIVISION, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA
2011
The Mathematics of Individual Achievement, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA
2010
When-Win, Tilton Gallery, New York
2009
Susanne Vielmetter Berlin Projects, Berlin, Germany
2008
Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles
2007
Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles
Murder by the Bank, Project Room, Wallspace Gallery, New York
Wignall Museum, Rancho Cucamonga, CA,
2006
Susanne Vielmetter (Project Space) Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles
Armand Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Group Exhibitions
2023
The Alchemists, curated by Seph Rodney & Donovan Johnson, Johnson Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Colliding Visions: Contemporary California Collage, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
Change Agents: Women Collectors Shaping the Art World, Southampton Arts Center, Southampton, NY
2022
9th Street and Beyond: 70 Years of Women in Abstraction, Hunter Dunbar, New York, NY
Adornment | Artifact, curated by jill moniz and Jeffrey Spier, Gettay Villa satellite sites, Los Angeles, CA
2021
Art of California: Greater than the Sum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Irresistable Delights: Recent Gifts to the Art Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2020
Synchronicity, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Abstract! Minimalism to Now, Tilton Gallery, New York, NY
Collective Constellation: Selections from The Eileen Harris Norton Collection, Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA
Wish You Were Here, Roberts Projects, Culver City, CA
2019
Dust My Broom: Southern Vernacular from the Permanent Collection, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
LA Blacksmith, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Natani Notah / Mitzi Pederson / Lisa Williamson / Brenna Youngblood, /, San Francisco, CA
Specific Abstractions, Mt. San Jacinto College Art Gallery, San Jacinto, CA
Summer, Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Open House: Elliot Hundley, MOCA Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
STORIES: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Montgomery Art Center, Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA
2018
Conceptual Feedback, Curated by Emily Gonzalez-Jarrett, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA
Out of Easy Reach, DePaul Art Museum, Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Rebuild Foundation, Chicago, IL; traveling to Grunwald Gallery, Indiana University, Bloomington, IL
SUPERSHADOWPOWERWOMAN, Five Car Garage, Los Angeles, CA
2017
50th Anniversary of the Levis Trucker Jacket, Fred Segal, Los Angeles, CA
Sonic Rebellion: Music as Resistance, Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, MI
Artists of Color, The Underground Museum, Los Angeles, CA
POWER, curated by Todd Levin, Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles, CA
In the Abstract, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, M
Man Alive, curated by Wendy White, Jablonka Maruani Mercier Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
The future is abstract., The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture, Levine Center for the Arts, Charlotte, NC
Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; traveling to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, and the Museum of Fine Arts, St Petersburg, FL
Signifying Form, curated by Jill Moniz, The Landing, Los Angeles, CA
Face to Face: Los Angeles Collects Portraiture, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Big Picture, The Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Victory Over the Sun: The Poetics and Politics of Eclipse, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
2016
L.A. Exuberance: New Gifts by Artists, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
A Shape That Stands Up, Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA
Africa Forecast: Fashioning Contemporary Life, Spelman College of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
Wasteland, Los Angeles Nomadic Division, Paris, France
2015
I Know You Got Soul, ARDNT Singapore, Singapore
Surface of Color, The Pit, Los Angeles, CA
Hard Edged: Geometrical Abstraction and Beyond, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2014
Selections from the Permanent Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Saying yes to everything, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA
Attunement, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
Please Enter, curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY
TRAINS, curated by Sterling Ruby, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
...but that joke isn’t funny anymore, Tilton Gallery, New York, NY
Point of View: African American Art from the Elliot and Kimberly Perry Collection, Flint Institute of the Arts, Flint, MI
Rites of Spring, Contemporaty Arts Museum, Houston, TX
Black in the Abstract, Part 2: Hard Edges/Soft Curves, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX
2013
Demolition Woman, organized by Commonwealth & Council, Chapman University, Orange, CA
Murmurs: Recent Contemporary Acquisitions, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA
Turn of Phrase, Pepin Moore, Los Angeles, CA
Fanatic, Post, Los Angeles, CA
Psychosexual, Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago, IL
2012
Dark Flow Lurking, David Castillo Gallery, Miami, FL
Fore, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
What We Do for Fun: Kristin Calabrese with Caitlin Lonegan and Brenna Youngblood, The Green Gallery East, Milwaukee, WI
Made in L.A. 2012, organized by the Hammer Museum in collaboration with LAXART, Los Angeles, CA
Going Public – Telling it as it is?, performance with OJO, organized by the European Network of Public Art Producers, Bilbao, Spain
TAG! you're it, curated by Amber Noland, Royal/T, Culver City, CA
2011
G.L.O.W. Match Four: Kelly Cline & Brenna Youngblood, Commonwealth & Council, Los Angeles, CA
Romare Bearden Centennial Exhibition, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
A Painting Show, Harris Lieberman, New York, NY
Unfinished Paintings, curated by Kristin Calabrese and Joshua Aster, LACE: Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
Suelto, curated by Pilar Tompkins Rivas and Adrian Rivas, La Central, Bogotá, Colombia
The Space Between, curated by Glenn Kaino and Derek DelGaudio, LAXART Annex, Los Angeles, CA
2010
Severed Arrangements, Latned Atsar, Los Angeles, CA
Second Story, Pepin Moore, Los Angeles, CA
50 Artists Photograph The Future, curated by Dean Dardeko, Higher Pictures, New York, NY
Works in Edition, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
From My Universe: Objects of Desire Part II, curated by Janet Levy, See Line Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Panorama: Los Angeles, ARCO Madrid, curated by Kris Kuramitsu and Christopher Miles, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009
With You I Want to Live, Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Glue, Paper, Scissors, Luckman Gallry, Los Angeles
Reading Standing Up, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles
Feelings and Power, Five Thirty Three, Los Angeles
2008
California Biennial, in collaboration with Eamon Ore-Giron, Estacion Tijuana, Mexico
Shana Lutker, Anna Sew Hoy, and Brenna Youngblood: CB08, the California Biennial, University Art Museum, UC Santa Barbara
Half-Life: Twenty-five Emerging LA Artists, LACE: Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get, What You Don't See (Is Better Yet), 533 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Asylum, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Fall in, Fall out, Fall down, Get ready!, Five Thirty Three, Los Angeles
Aspects of Mel’s Hole: Artists Respond to a Paranormal Land Event Occurring in Radiospace, curated by Doug Harvey, Grand Central Art Center, California State University at Fullerton
2007
Hammer Contemporary Collection Part II, Armand Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Big Secret Cache, Angstrom Gallery, Los Angeles
"hovering over the universe I aim my laser pistol into the eye of the universe and time slows down, is splayed out so I can see the interlocking spirals and splatted fractal glowing shapes, all different sizes and moving different speeds, but when seen from this vantage point, their spiney glorious and gorgeous perfection when seen alltogether...",Honor Fraser Gallery, Venice Beach, CA (curated by Kristin Calabrese)
Blacks In and Out of the Box, California African American Museum, Los Angeles
2006
Bling, Palos Verdes Art Center, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (curated by Mark Greenfield)
Gray Korfmann Youngblood: New Forms in Photography, Carl Berg Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
New American Talent: the 21st Exhibition, Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin, TX (curated by Aimee Chang)
Then and Now and Again, Black Dragon Society, Los Angeles, CA
25 Bold Moves, House of Campari, Los Angeles, CA
Locale, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Kris Kuramitsu,)
Good Times For Never, Queen's Nails Annex, San Francisco, CA (curated by Eamon Ore-giron),
Effacé, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Malik Gaines)
LA25, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Ilene Kurtz-Kretzschmar)
2005
Handmade, curated by Tim Davis, Wallspace Gallery, New York
Greater LA MFA Exhibition, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
State of Emergence: Unsuspected Cracks in the Art-World Infrastructure, curated by Doug Harvey, Track 16 Gallery, Los Angeles
2004
Macrae Semans and Brenna Youngblood, Hayworth Gallery, Los Angeles
Bibliography
Goldstein, Caroline. "See Sculptures by Kehinde Wiley, Alison Saar, and More Commissioned for Destination Crenshaw, L.A.'s $100 Million Black Arts Initiative." Artnet News, October 26, 2021.
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/destination-crenshaw-renderings-2025909
Conner, Allison. "Brenna Youngblood Revises the Language of Abstraction." Hyperallergic, April 15, 2021.
https://hyperallergic.com/638134/brenna-youngblood-the-light-and-the-dark-roberts-projects/
Jaye Young, Lisa. “When Racism and Sexism Are No Longer Fashionable. Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction.” Art Pulse, Fall 2018.
Knight, Christopher. “Sol LeWitt and ‘Conceptual Feedback’ at Honor Fraser Gallery.” Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2018.
Roffino, Sara. "10 Emerging Artists to Watch at Art Basel Miami Beach 2017." Galerie, December 1, 2017.
Davis, Ben, “Yes, Black Women Made Abstract Art Too, as a Resounding New Show Makes Clear,” Artnet News, October 20, 2017.
Delaney, Lashea, “Contemporary Black Artists are Redefining Portraiture in a Show at CAAM,” LA Weekly, July 21, 2017.
Schwab, Helen. "Art goes Inside|Out in CLT." The Charlotte Observer, May 4, 2017.
Neuendorf, Henri, “In Los Angeles, Sprüth Magers Celebrates the Artistic Contributions of African American Women,” Artnet News, March 31, 2017.
"Power and African American Women." KCRW, March 30, 2017.
Germin, Daniel, “Letting go of the Distinction Between Figuration and Abstraction,”Hyperallergic, June 14, 2016.
Graves, Jen, “Two New Art Shows Foreground the Secret Language of Black Abstraction Against a White Background,” The Stranger, February 20, 2016.
Ahn, Abe. "Forging Queer Identity with Abstraction." Hyperallergic, October 19, 2015.
Tattersall, Lanka. "Ones to Watch." Sleek, July 2015.
Elbaum, Sarah. "Brenna Youngblood at Pomona College Museum of Art." Artillery, March 3, 2015.
"Brenna Youngblood at Pomona College Museum of Art." Art Talk. KCRW, March 12, 2015.
Micallef, Carlisle. "Project Series Stars Youngblood." The Student Life, February 6, 2015.
"Highlights of 2015." Art Talk. KCRW, January 1, 2015.
Tung, Robin. "Saying yes to everything at Honor Fraser." Daily Serving, December 2, 2014.
Williams, Maxwell. “Meaningful Expression.” Cultured Magazine, Summer 2014.
Li, Jennifer S. “Brenna Youngblood.” Art in America, January 2014.
James, Erica and Jaqueline Francis. Point of View: African American Art from the Elliot and Kimberly Perry Collection, January 2014.
Wilk, Deborah. "50 Under 50: The Next Most Collectible Artists." Art + Auction, June 2013.
Wise, Lloyd. “Fore: Studio Museum in Harlem.” Artforum, May 2013.
Harvey, Doug. “Art of the City: The Artist: Brenna Youngblood.” New American Paintings, Issue 103, p. 154. 2013.
Ramírez-Montagut, Mónica. "Juror's Pick: Brenna Youngblood."New American Paintings, Issue 103, p. 154. 2012.
Cotter, Holland. "Racial Redefinition in Progress: 'Fore' at Studio Museum in Harlem." The New York Times, November 29, 2012.
Garcia, Cesar. "Brenna Youngblood." Made in L.A. 2012, May 2012.
Ziemba, Christine N., "Pencil This In: 'Slake' Readings, 'Memes' Art Show, First, 2012.
Fridays and a Rogue Taxidermy Show." LAist, May 2012.
Chang, Ian. "Brenna Youngblood." Frieze, April 2012.
Ore-Giron, Eamon. “Brenna Youngblood.” CB08, Newport Beach, CA: Orange County Museum of Art 2008, p. 212 - 213.
Miles, Christopher. Review. Artforum 47. no. 4, December 2008, p. 310 - 311.
Beil, Kim. "Artist Profile: Brenna Youngblood." art ltd. November/December 2008, p. 68 - 69.
Aspects of Mel's Hole, Santa Ana, CA: Grand Central Press, CSUF GrandCentral Art Center, 2008.
Donohue, Marlena. Review, ArtSceneCal.com, October 2008.
Mizota, Sharon. "The details tend to accumulate," Los Angeles Times (Calendar), 10 October 2008, p. E19.
“Brenna Youngblood: Light Bulb; Color Checker; Horses,” BLIND SPOT no. 37, 2008, n.p.
Psyllos, Steven, "USA Today:A Visual Mixtape, The Best of the Best From Our Neck of the Woods", Trace Magazine, Issue 8, February 2008.
Miles, Christopher, "Our Favorite Shows and Artifacts, by L.A. Weekly Art Critics," LA Weekly, December 26, 2007.
Kim, Christine, "3 Questions," STUDIO, Fall 2007.
ArtNews, November 2007.
Pagel, David, "Kristin Calabrese show at Honor Fraser Gallery invites the imagination into action", Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2007.
Brooks, Amra, "Hovering Over the Universe... at Honer Fraser," Honor Fraser Gallery, LA Weekly, August 8, 2007.
Summers, Robert, "Brenna Youngblood," ARTUS, Summer 2007.
Miles, Christopher, "Brenna Youngblood," Flaunt, June 2007.
Beil, Kim, “Powers of Ten,” Art Ltd., December 2006.
Christie, Tom and Myers, Holly, “L.A. Weekly’s Annual Biennial”, LA Weekly, 2006.
Brooks, Amra, "Must See Art," LA Weekly, December 27, 2006.
Brooks, Amra,"Los Angeles Roundup: A Report on Current Gallery, Museum Shows," Art Info, July 21, 2006.
http://www.artinfo.com/News/Article.aspx?a=13632
Brooks, Amra, "Must See Art," LA Weekly, July 26, 2006.
Muchnic, Suzanne, "Giving Local Artists a Good First Shot," Los Angeles Times, July 7, 2006.
Myers, Holly, "Photo Installations That Aim High," Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2006.
Harvey, Doug, “A full serving of Rauschenberg, with a side of Youngblood and Hundley”, LA Weekly, May 24, 2006.
Harvey, Doug, “State of Emergence: Undiscovered Cracks in the Art-World Infrastructure: A Catalog”, LA Weekly, October 27, 2005.
Publications
Brenna Youngblood. Claremont: Pomona College Museum of Art, 2015.
Arning, Bill, Valerie Cassel Oliver, and Dean Daderko. Outside the Lines. Minneapolis: Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 2014.
Garcia, Cesar, Naima J. Keith, Franklin Sirmans and Brenna Youngblood. The Mathematics of Individual Achievement: Brenna Youngblood. Los Angeles: MISPRINT Press, 2013.
Ore-Giron, Eamon. "Brenna Youngblood." CB08. Newport Beach: Orange County Museum of Art, 2008.
Awards
2015 Seattle Art Museum Gwendolyn Knight/Jacob Lawrence Prize
2014 The Hermitage Artist Retreat, Englewood, FL
2012 Los Angeles Country Museum of Art Young Talent Award/AHAN Award
Public Collections
Art, Design, and Architecture Museum at UC Santa Barbara, CA
The Blake Byrne Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles, CA
Eileen Harris Norton, Santa Monica, CA
Fundación/Colección Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
JP Morgan Chase Art Collection
Kadist Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, Amherst, MA
Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
The Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY