Artist's Biography

Michael Decker’s body of work spans an array of media: installation, drawing, sculpture, video, and performance art. Decker’s process involves sourcing the peculiarities of contemporary Americana to create intuitive forms made in response to the materials’ physical limitations, oftentimes resulting in a cohesive work that seems less familiar than the sum of its parts. He invites a conceptual approach to discovering the material essence or poetic potential of an artwork. Born in Spokane in 1982, Michael Decker received a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts (2005). He has had solo exhibitions at Steve Turner Contemporary (2010, 2011), Dan Graham (2010) and Circus Gallery (2009). Recently, his work has been included in group shows in Paris and Los Angeles at Helene Bailly, Cirrus Gallery, LACE, Las Cienagas Projects, and Actual Size.

Curator's Biography

Sam Durant (born 1961 in Seattle, WA) is a multimedia artist whose works engage a variety of social, political, and cultural issues. Often referencing American history, his work explores the varying relationships between culture and politics, engaging subjects as diverse as the civil rights movement, southern rock music, and modernism. Durant's work has been widely exhibited internationally and in the United States. He has had solo museum exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium, and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Zealand. His work has been included in the Panama, Sydney, Venice, and Whitney Biennales. Durant shows with several galleries including Blum and Poe in Los Angeles, Paula Cooper Gallery in New York, Praz-Delavallade in Paris and Sadie Coles HQ in London. His work has been extensively written about including seven monographic catalogs and books. Durant’s work can be found in many public collections including The Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth, Tate Modern in London, Project Row Houses in Houston, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Durant teaches art at the California Institute of the Arts. He received a BFA in sculpture in 1986 from the Massachusetts College of Art and an MFA from CalArts.