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Phoebe Washburn (born 1973) is an American
installation artist Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...
who lives and works in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Washburn is best known for producing large-scale installations: assemblages of garbage, detritus, cardboard, scrap wood, and, more recently, organic matter such as sod or plants. Her early, site-specific installations transform gallery spaces into captivating architectural experiences.


Career

She holds a BFA from
Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
and an MFA from
School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...
. Her work has been exhibited around the world at Institute of Contemporary Art 2007,
Deutsche Guggenheim The Deutsche Guggenheim was an art museum in Berlin, Germany, open from 1997 to 2013.Kuhla, Karoline"Final Exhibition: The Guggenheim's Farewell to Berlin" ''Spiegel Online'', November 15, 2012 It was located in the ground floor of the Deutsche B ...
2007 and
Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...
2008. She is represented by
Zach Feuer Gallery The Zach Feuer Gallery is a contemporary art gallery that operated from 2000 to 2016 in New York City; Hudson, New York; and Los Angeles. History Zach Feuer Gallery was founded in 2000 as the LFL Gallery by Nick Lawrence, Russell LaMontagne and ...
in New York. Washburn is a process-based artist. She creates installations with help of assistants, due to the colossal size and labor-intensive methods she requires. Processes are architectural in nature including stacking, blinding, nailing, etc. The pieces tend to look organic, mirroring the processes, but also have that haphazard, precarious appeal as they are often stacked up with chairs or other props. The overall resulting work is reliant on the gallery space. Washburn dubs this 'spontaneous architecture' and continues by adding:
"My sculptures depend a lot on the spaces where they are shown because they often are anchored into the wall but chance is definitely more of a factor in the final product than is any predetermined design. I just let the structures evolve by repeating the same action again and again. The process has a slightly neurotic element in that it involves adding little behavior habits. As silly as it sounds, I often feel as if my assistants and I are beavers building a dam. The shapes are less about form than they are about the activity involved in amassing and assembling the forms."
A sample installation, ''Vacational Trappings and Wildlife Worries'' (exhibited during the summer of 2007 at Philadelphia's Institute of Contemporary Art) involved the creation of a "barrel-vaulted walkway made from hundreds of scrap-wood pieces" featuring several niches containing water, shrimp, snails, aquatic plants, and small objects, yielding what Washburn called a 'poor man's aquarium'. An earlier work, ''Heavy Has Debt'', (exhibited in 2003 in
Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who were ...
), was a "massive, shingled wall of debris," produced largely from mounted cardboard. She chooses to give her works titles after they have been installed.


Exhibitions


Solo

* 2013—''Pressure Drop for Richard Stands (a history of one thing to another in lemon-aideness)'', Kunsthallen Brandts, Odense, Denmark * 2012—''Nudes, Housed Within Their Own Clothes and Aware of Their Individual Thirst, Descending a Staircase'', National Academy Museum, New York, NY * 2012''—My Rubies and My Diamonds'', Josée Bienvenu Gallery, New York, NY * 2011—''Nunderwater Nort Lab'', Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, NY * 2011—''Temperatures in a Lab of Superior Specialness'', Mary Boone Gallery, New York, NY * 2009—''Compeshitstem: the new deal'', Kestnergesellschaft,
Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
* 2008—''Tickle the Shitstem'', Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, NY * 2007—''Regulated Fool’s Milk Meadow'',
Deutsche Guggenheim The Deutsche Guggenheim was an art museum in Berlin, Germany, open from 1997 to 2013.Kuhla, Karoline"Final Exhibition: The Guggenheim's Farewell to Berlin" ''Spiegel Online'', November 15, 2012 It was located in the ground floor of the Deutsche B ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, Germany * 2007—''Vacational Trappings and Wildlife Worries'', Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA * 2006—''2 BLT’s (Bought and Lovely Towns)'',
Lipstick Building The Lipstick Building, also known as 885 Third Avenue and 53rd at Third, is a 453-foot (138 meter) tall skyscraper at Third Avenue between 53rd Street and 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was completed in 1 ...
, 53rd and 3rd, New York, NY * 2005—''It Has No Secret Surprise'',
UCLA Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...
, Los Angeles, CA * 2005—''It Makes For My Billionaire Status'', Kantor/Feuer Gallery, Los Angeles, CA * 2004—''Nothing’s Cutie'', LFL Gallery, New York, NY * 2004—''Bored Buys Options'', The Weatherspoon Art Gallery,
Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
, NC * 2004—''Greed. The Landscape Maker'', Lerimonti Gallery,
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Italy * 2003—''Heavy has Debt'', Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell University, Grinnell, IA * 2003—''True, False and Slightly Better'', Rice University Gallery,
Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
,
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, TX * 2002—''Between Sweet and Low'', LFL Gallery, New York, NY


Group

* 2014—''There is no such thing as a good decision'', Josée Bienvenu, New York, NY * 2013—''A Discourse on Plants'', RH Gallery, New York, NY * 2012—''Flights From Wonder'', Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA * 2012—''Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design'',
Mint Museum The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collection ...
, Charlotte, NC;
Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...
, New York, NY; Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL * 2012—''Paper Space: Drawings by Sculptors'', Inman Gallery, Houston, TX * 2011—''The Influentials'', Visual Arts Gallery,
School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...
, New York, NY * 2011—''In Bloom'', Susanne Hilberry Gallery, Ferndale, MI * 2010—''Contemplating the Void'',
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...
, New York, NY * 2010—''natural renditions'',
Marlborough Gallery Marlborough Fine Art was founded in London in 1946 by Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer. In 1963, a gallery was opened as Marlborough-Gerson in Manhattan, New York, at the Fuller Building on Madison Avenue and 57th Street, which later relocated in ...
, New York, NY * 2010—''Reconstruct + Deconstruction'', Visual Arts Center, Courtyard Gallery,
The University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
,
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, TX * 2010—''Open'',
Zach Feuer Gallery The Zach Feuer Gallery is a contemporary art gallery that operated from 2000 to 2016 in New York City; Hudson, New York; and Los Angeles. History Zach Feuer Gallery was founded in 2000 as the LFL Gallery by Nick Lawrence, Russell LaMontagne and ...
, New York, NY * 2009—''Back to the Garden'', 60 Wall Gallery,
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
, New York, NY * 2009—''microwave, seven'', Judi Rotenberg Gallery,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, MA * 2009—''Couples & Relations'', DREI Raum für Gegenwartskunst,
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, Germany * 2008—''The Whitney Biennial'', Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY * 2008—''microwave, six'', Josée Bienvenu Gallery, New York, NY * 2008—''The Way Things Go'', Susan Inglett, New York, NY * 2006—''Burgeoning Geometries'', Whitney Museum at Altria, New York, NY * 2006—''Wallpaper LAB'', Lennon, Weinberg Gallery, New York, NY * 2006—''Ping Pong Diplomacy'', The Kemper Museum, Kansas City, MO * 2006—''The Studio Visit'', Exit Art, New York, NY * 2005—''The Bench'', Kunsthalle St Gallen,
St Gallen St. Gallen or traditionally St Gall, in German language, German; it, San Gallo; rm, Son Gagl) is a Switzerland, Swiss List of cities in Switzerland, city and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of St. Gallen, St ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
* 2005—''Make It Now'', Sculpture Center, Long Island City, NY * 2005—''American Academy Invitational Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture'', American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY * 2005—''Greater New York 2005'', P.S. 1,
Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...
, NY * 2005—''Strange Architecture'', Catherine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA * 2004—''AIM 22: Artist in the Marketplace'',
Bronx Museum of the Arts The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by A ...
, NY * 2004—''Seconds of Something'', P.S. 1, Long Island City, NY * 2004—''Beginning Here: 101 Ways'', Visual Arts Gallery, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY * 2004—''Slice and Dice'', Visual Arts Gallery, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY * 2003—''Rubbish'', Cuchifritos, New York, NY; Mixture Gallery, Houston, TX; Center for Curatorial Studies Museum,
Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...
, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY * 2002—''Art New York'', kunstraume auf Zeit,
Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
* 2002—''DNA @DNA'', DNA Gallery,
Provincetown Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...
, MA * 2002—''Everyday Materials'', Westside Gallery, New York, NY * 2002—''All You Can Eat'', Visual Arts Gallery, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY * 2001—''Integrated Aesthetics'', School of Visual Arts Satellite Gallery,
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, NY * 1999—''The Shape of Things to Come'', Forma Gallery, New York, NY * 1999—''Tree'', Installation, Silverwood Street, Philadelphia, PA * 1998—''Invitational Show'', Radiance Gallery, Greensboro, NC * 1998—''An Artist’s Eye'', The Greensboro Artists' League, Greensboro, NC * 1997—''Breakout'', Rosetree Gallery,
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
, LA


References


External links


Zach Feuer GalleryWhitney Biennial 2008Pheobe Washburn at ICA PhiladelphiaPheobe Washburn at Rice University Art Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washburn, Phoebe American installation artists Living people Tulane University alumni School of Visual Arts alumni 1973 births American women artists Environmental artists Mixed-media artists Women installation artists 21st-century American women