Calvin Marcus
Calvin Marcus (b. 1988, San Francisco) works serially, creating stylistically distinct bodies of work that probe unsettling subjects, both psychic and social, across a variety of media. For each new suite, Marcus develops unique material processes—toppled toy soldiers depicted using thick pigment sticks made to resemble Crayolas; begonias and patches of grass rendered with striking precision in watercolor and oil; silk-screened drawings of martinis form patterns on hand-sewn linen shirts; canvases stretched to the length of limousines are the ground for paintings of abnormally long sturgeon. Marcus’s exhibitions confront viewers with tightly-constructed panoramas and maze-like displays, heightening his works’ uncanny effect. Discussing his slippery subject matter and free approach to craft, the artist explains: “I feel no loyalty to one particular medium, I let the idea dictate the form and go from there.” Marcus lives in Los Angeles.
The artist has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Karma, New York (2024); Clearing (Los Angeles, 2021; Brussels, 2020; New York, 2018, 2016, 2015); David Kordansky, Los Angeles (2019, 2016); K11 Musea, Hong Kong (2019); The Power Station, Dallas (2017); Peep-Hole, Milan (2015); and Public Fiction, Los Angeles (2014). In 2019, his work was included in the Whitney Biennial. Recent institutional group exhibitions include those at the Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2023); Start Museum, Shanghai (2022); Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Germany (2022); Louisiana Museum of Art, Humlebæk, Denmark (2021–2022); and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2020), among others. Marcus’s work is in the permanent collections of the Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway; Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris; K11 Art Foundation; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Born 1988, San Francisco
Lives and works in Los Angeles
EDUCATION
2015
MFA, University of California, Los Angeles
2010
BFA, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
SELECTED SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2024
Karma, New York, Give Up the Ghost
House of Gaga, Guadalajara, Mexico, Devotion, with Laura Owens
2021
Clearing, Beverly Hills, CA, HER
2020
Clearing, Brussels, Belgium, EVERYTHING GOING THROUGH ITSELF
2019
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, GO HANG A SALAMI IM A LASAGNA HOG
K11 MUSEA, Hong Kong, Calvin Marcus: Structure Series
2018
Clearing, New York City, New Works by Calvin Marcus
/ , San Francisco, Hannah Greely / Calvin Marcus, curated by Drew Heitzler
2017
Karma, Amagansett, NY, Harold Ancart and Calvin Marcus
The Power Station, Dallas, *the inner is the outer of the other
2016
Clearing, New York City, Were Good Men
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, Malvin Carcus
Clearing, Brussels, Belgium, M*A*S*H, with Chadwick Rantanen
2015
Clearing, New York City, Green Calvin
Peep-Hole, Milan, Italy, Calvin Marcus at Peep-Hole, curated by Vincenzo de Bellis and Bruna Roccasalva
2014
Chin’s Push, Los Angeles, So Cal
Public Fiction, Los Angeles, 43° 42′ 46.4148” N, 79° 20′ 30.5988” W
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
Bel Ami, Los Angeles, Tell Me What You Want
Matthew Brown, Los Angeles, Papertrail
Clearing, Belgium, A Mind Made of Silk
Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Denmark, Ridiculously Yours! Art, Awkwardness and Enthusiasm
Clearing, New York City, Maiden Voyage
Gratin, New York City, Greenhouse
2022
Start Museum, Shanghai, START
Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Denmark, Ridiculously Yours! Art, Awkwardness and Enthusiasm
Casa da Cultura, Comporta, Portugal, I Could Eat You – Part II
ADZ Gallery, Lisbon, ‘What is it Like to be a Bat?’, curated by Ted Targett
Parker Gallery, Los Angeles, Nothing is to be Done for William T. Wiley
2021
Anton Kern Gallery, New York City, Brian Calvin Marcus Jahmal, curated by Chris Martin
Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Curated by Jannis Varelas
Clearing, New York City, OFTEN VARY NEVER CHANGE
Clearing, Paris, Grand Ménage
Louisiana Museum of Art, Humlebæk, Denmark, New Works in the Collection – From Abramovic to Warhol
2020
Parker Gallery, Los Angeles, Sculpture from a Distance, Part I
Massimo De Carlo, London, Junque, curated by Jamian Juliano-Villani
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Just Connect
Karma, New York City, (Nothing but) Flowers
Clearing, Knokke-Heist, Belgium, The Secret Life of Lobsters
Clearing, New York City, Life Still
2019
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, Whitney Biennial 2019, curated by Rujeko Hockley and Jane Panetta
214 Projects, Dallas, How it looks to be you in Egyptian Cotton
Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway, Private Passion – New Acquisitions in the Astrup Fearnley Collection, curated by Gunnar B. Kvaran
Clearing, Brussels, Belgium, L’Âge de Raison
The Power Station, Dallas, Good Moves, organized by The Power Station, in collaboration with James Cope of And Now Gallery
Clearing, New York City, Dog Days
2018
Clearing, New York City, Keep Me Warm
2017
Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon, The Trick Brain, curated by Massimiliano Gioni
Real Estate, New York City, Mixed Bag: Drawings, curated by Joe Bradley and Jeremy Willis
Syz Collection, Geneva, Switzerland, Inaugural Exhibition
Gladstone 64, New York City, Fall is Cancelled
Parker Gallery, Los Angeles, Nut Art
Karma International, Beverly Hills, CA, Hot Mess
Magenta Plains, New York City, The Garden of Forking Paths, organized by Adam Marnie
Clearing, New York City, 43 E. 78th Street
2016
Rubell Family Collection, Miami, High Anxiety: New Acquisitions
Clearing, New York, Fritto Misto
Galerie Patrick Seguin, Paris, Olympia, curated by Karma
Ditch Projects, Springfield, OR, Paper Paper, organized by Calvin Marcus and Donald Morgan
Massimo de Carlo, London, Fields of War
The Green Gallery, Milwaukee, WI, Paper Paper, organized by Calvin Marcus and Donald Morgan
C. Nichols Project, Mar Vista, CA, Teen Choice, organized by Drew Heitzler
M+B, Los Angeles, PLEASE HAVE ENOUGH ACID IN THIS DISH!, organized by Vinny Dotolo
Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland, Inside Out, curated by Alexandra Economou
2015
356 S. Mission Rd., Los Angeles, Tickles, organized by Michael Dopp and Isaac Resnikoff
White Cube, London, England, Tightrope Walk: Painted Images After Abstraction, organized by Barry Schwabsy
Grice Bench, Los Angeles, Jeff
Greene Naftali, New York City, Works on Paper
Lefebvre & Fils, Paris, Le Musée Imaginaire
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon
Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino, Italy
K11, Hong Kong/Shanghai/Beijing, China
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (MAMVP), Paris
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Modern Art, New York City
Rubell Family Collection, Miami
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City
