BIO

 

I was born in Maine to German parents living in America under the Marshall plan. In 1973, my family moved to Iran, which we fled during the revolution in 1979. Back in Germany, I studied painting at the University of Arts in Berlin from 1986-1989. I dropped out and travelled the world as a street musician and performance artist. In 1991, I picked up my brushes again and started organising art shows wherever I travelled. 1995 I moved to New York. In 2000, I opened a restaurant to showcase my work in Brooklyn. In 2005, I started to narrow down my color spectrum to teal, white, black and rust. In 2009 I reintroduced collage and this element created a real conversation that keeps evolving.

Photo by Shannon Greer

Photo by Shannon Greer

EDUCATION

 

1987-1989

  • University of the Arts (HDK)
    Berlin, Germany

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

 

2014

  • Threads of a Story: History Inspiring Art
    National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee
    Curated by Barbara Andrews

2013

  • Threads of a Story: History Inspiring Art
    National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee
    Curated by Barbara Andrews

  • Threads of a Story: History Inspiring Art
    Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atrium Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

2012

  • The Day Bayard Rustin Came to Town
    Memphis Public Library, Goodwyn Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee
    Curated by Wang-Ying Glasgow

  • Freedom Riders: Threads of a Story
    Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana

  • Threads of a Story: Continued
    Gallery on High, Pottstown, Pennsylvania
    Curated by Erika Hornburg-Cooper

  • Danke Fred Series
    John Davis Gallery, Hudson, New York

  • Freedom Riders: Threads of a Story
    The African American Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Threads of a Story: History Inspiring Art
    Troy University Rosa Parks Museum, Montgomery, Alabama
    Curated by Georgette M. Norman

2011

  • Freedom Riders
    Playmakers Theatre, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina

  • Threads of a Story: History Inspiring Art
    Nashville Public Library Courtyard Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee
    Curated by Elyse Adler

  • Freedom Riders
    WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts
    Curated by Germaine Frechette

2010

  • Freedom Riders
    Mountain Film Festival, Aha School of Art, Telluride, Colorado
    Curated by Barbel Hacke

  • Freedom Riders and Bus Boycotters
    President's Gallery, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, New York
    Curated by Lisa Farrington

2009

  • Can't Live the Commonest Way on Six Bits a Day
    NYSG Gallery, New York, New York

  • Inappropriately Dressed
    Boltax Gallery, Shelter Island, Long Island, New York

  • Americana and Recent Works
    Bridge Art Fair, New York, New York

2008

  • Americana
    Bread, New York, New York

  • Annals of America
    Gloria Kennedy Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

  • Americana
    Gloria Kennedy Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2007

  • Americana
    The Stairwell, Brooklyn, New York

2006

  • Recent Works
    East West Gallery, Milano, Italy

2002

  • Cocoa Cultures
    The Boathouse in Central Park, New York, New York

2001

  • Twisted Bag Mouths, Knifethrust Eyes and Legs, Legs, Legs: "Anyway Let's Dance!"
    Paris NY Studio, New York, New York

2000

  • Anyway Let's Dance
    Paris NY Studio, New York, New York

1999

  • Carnivores, Kitchen Cowboys & Dirty Dishes
    Paris NY Studio, New York, New York

1998

  • Bitch Icons, Freak Fables & Lucid Two Faced Smiles
    Paris NY Studio, New York, New York

1996

  • Sailors, Drunkards, & Prostitutes....
    Bell Café, New York, New York

1995

  • The Red Door — It Was Once Red
    La Voile Rouge, Miami Beach, Florida

1994

  • Miami Twilight Zone: Warming Up The Atmosphere
    Miami Beach, Florida

1993

  • Old World / New World
    Tresor, Berlin, Germany

1992

  • Big Foot in Blue Door
    Artist Incubator, Tokyo, Japan

  • Charlotta Janssen
    Café de La Poste, Paris, France

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

 

2012

  • Resurrected Walt Cessna
    MUNCH Gallery, New York, New York

2011

  • Mountain Film Festival
    Telluride Gallery of Fine Arts, Telluride, Colorado

  • Prints and Paintings
    Bowery Beef and Lounge, New York, New York

  • Triumph, Ritual, and Remembrance: SONY Artists Celebrate Black History Month
    Tillies of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York

2009

  • Fountain Art Fair
    Art Basel, Boltax Gallery, Miami, Florida

2007

  • Art London
    Simon Sieff Gallery, London, England

  • East West Art
    Stragapede, Perini Gallery, Milano, Italy

2006

  • Recent Work
    East West Gallery, Milano, Italy

2003

  • Shanghai Spring Art Salon
    Commerce Center, Shanghai, China

1999

  • Gate To Berlin
    Zionskirche, Berlin, Germany

1997

  • Brainthang
    Thread Waxing Space, New York, New York

  • Not the Biennial
    New York, New York

1995

  • Biennial
    New York, New York

LECTURES / GALLERY TALKS

 

2012

  • Freedom Riders: Democracy in Action Community Event (lecture)
    Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

  • Facing History and Ourselves (lecture)
    Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

2011

  • Nashville Public Library Courtyard Gallery (gallery talk), Nashville, Tennessee

2010

  • President's Gallery (gallery talk), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, New York

2009

  • Boltax Gallery (gallery talk), Shelter Island, Long Island, New York