Residency Dates: May 14, 2017 - June 03, 2017
Application Deadline: December 04, 2016
Rashawn Griffin uses diverse materials such as bed sheets, tassels, food, and flora to create large-scale sculpture and paintings. After receiving a MFA from Yale University in 2005, he has exhibited in multiple solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad. Often pushing the boundaries between object and installation, his work challenges viewers to engage in their own past experiences when confronting his art. A haunting installation in the 2008 Whitney Biennial, for example, is punctuated by a live audio feed from a field in Kansas, where the artist was raised. A lumbering garbage bag man/sculpture wanders through a field in “To bring love/terrible things”, highlighting his exploration of place, site specificity, and identity. Griffin’s installations explore the relationship between architecture and the traditions of painting with a series of stretched fabric walls; as the picture becomes the space, the pictorial space highlights the architecture.
Living and working in New York City, he was a 2006 resident of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s AIR program. Along with the 2008 Whitney Biennial, his work has been exhibited widely, including a two-person exhibition at the Studio Museum (RSVP), as well as “Freeway Balconies” at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, Germany, and “THREADS: Textiles and Fiber in the works of African American Artists” at EK Projects in Beijeng, China, curated by Collier Schorr and Lowery Stokes Sims respectively. Recently the subject of the solo exhibition “A hole-in-the-wall country” at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas, as well as participating in the exhibition “Minimal Baroque” at Rønnebæksholm in Næstved, Denmark.
For more information, visit http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/rashawn_griffin.htm
Residency Statement
I’m interested in talking to associate artists about what they do and why they do it. Sometimes when I’m making work I don’t remember what I’m doing, so I have to stop and ask myself what I am doing. This is a good process for making something new.
This residency is open to artists working in all media. There will be informal critiques, one on one studio visits, and group discussions informed by independent studio time or research. Associate artists should be able to work independently, be excited about working in a new environment, and ready to engage in active and open dialogue with other participants. There also should be some flexibility in the structure of the program to reflect the artists chosen to participate, but please be aware of the timeframe and what one would like accomplish.
Application Requirements
- A statement of intent is required, but please feel free to include language or something about your work or practice one might not be able to get from the images alone. This can be in any form.
- CV, 1 to 2 pages preferred
- 10 to 20 digital images of your work (no more than 10 mb each)
- Video if applicable, or links to work or website.
Residency Fee: $900
Includes a $100 administration fee, weekday meals and housing; does not include artist materials, transportation, or weekend meals.
Scholarships / Financial Assistance
Only accepted Associate Artists may apply for financial assistance. For details, please visit the master artist details page.