Whitney Lynn (b. 1980 Williams Air Force Base, AZ)
Whitney Lynn is an artist who restages props, artifacts, and familiar gestures to examine the false certainties, buried narratives, and modes of authority that quietly structure what is inherited, valued, feared, and believed. For many years,various forms of traps have conceptually anchored her work, and she draws from an eclectic set of references: historical events, mythological narratives, stock footage, canonical art, tourist spectacles, advertising gimmicks, DIY tutorials, and military culture.
Working across sculpture, video, performance, drawing, sound, and installation, Lynn’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, de Young Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, El Espacio 23, and Listasafn Árnesinga Art Museum. She has created public art for the San Diego International Airport, the city of Reno, and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and is currently completing a monumental installation adjacent to the former Nevada Test Site as an Artist Fellow with Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum.
Lynn’s work has been featured in numerous news outlets including the San Francsico Chronicle, The Denver Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal, BOMB Magazine, and TRT World. She was an Artist-in-Residence at The Neon Museum, Internet Archive, and de Young Museum, and her work has been supported by the VIA Art Fund, Mellon Foundation, and Royalty Research Fund.
Born into a military family, Lynn was raised througout the United States. She attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, received a BFA in Sculpture + Extended from Virginia Commonwealth University, and MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute. She is currently an Associate Professor in Photo/Media + New Genres at the University of Washington and lives and works between Seattle and Miami.
Whitney Lynn is an artist who restages props, artifacts, and familiar gestures to examine the false certainties, buried narratives, and modes of authority that quietly structure what is inherited, valued, feared, and believed. For many years,various forms of traps have conceptually anchored her work, and she draws from an eclectic set of references: historical events, mythological narratives, stock footage, canonical art, tourist spectacles, advertising gimmicks, DIY tutorials, and military culture.
Working across sculpture, video, performance, drawing, sound, and installation, Lynn’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, de Young Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, El Espacio 23, and Listasafn Árnesinga Art Museum. She has created public art for the San Diego International Airport, the city of Reno, and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and is currently completing a monumental installation adjacent to the former Nevada Test Site as an Artist Fellow with Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum.
Lynn’s work has been featured in numerous news outlets including the San Francsico Chronicle, The Denver Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal, BOMB Magazine, and TRT World. She was an Artist-in-Residence at The Neon Museum, Internet Archive, and de Young Museum, and her work has been supported by the VIA Art Fund, Mellon Foundation, and Royalty Research Fund.
Born into a military family, Lynn was raised througout the United States. She attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, received a BFA in Sculpture + Extended from Virginia Commonwealth University, and MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute. She is currently an Associate Professor in Photo/Media + New Genres at the University of Washington and lives and works between Seattle and Miami.
CONTACT: whitneylynnstudio AT gmail DOT com
Upcoming:
Multiples and Editions
Available through Open Editions, Auxiliary Projects, and Catharine Clark Gallery
Selected Press
SELECTED REVIEWS, FEATURESHall W. Rockefeller, “Women of the Pacific Northwest: Whitney Lynn,” less than half
Kim Beil, “An Act of Gathering: Whitney Lynn Interviewed by Kim Beil: A public artwork layers history and language,” BOMB
Brangien Davis, “ArtSEA...new installations at the University of Washington’s Jacob Lawrence Gallery...,” PBS Crosscut
Charles Desmarais, "Whitney Lynn’s ‘Sirens’ Enchant at Bass & Reiner, San Francisco Chronicle
Kristen Peterson, “Biblical Temptresses In Neon: San Francisco-Based Whitney Lynn Looks At Las Vegas In The Larger Context Of Time,” Las Vegas Weekly
Sarah Corsa, “Artist explores ‘industry of fantasy’ in Las Vegas,” Las Vegas Review-Journal
SELECTED INTERVIEWS
Fred Wasser, “Las Vegas: Glass Half Full Or Half Empty?,” KNPR RADIO
Elif Bereketli, Interview, TRT World, (Turkish News Broadcast)
Carlos Nieto, “Whitney Lynn and Till the Teeth New Media Gallery Podcast,” New Media Gallery Podcast
Internet Archive Artist in Residence feature
SELECTED REVIEWS AND FEATURES: CURATORIAL PROJECTS
Kimberly Chun, “‘Mistaken Impressions’ explores the inspiration of trash,” SF Chronicle
Charles Demarais, “Make no mistake, catch latest Root Division exhibit,” SF Chronicle
Recent Fellowships & Awards
VIA Art Fund Production Grant,Black Cube Artist Fellow, Royalty Research Fund (RRF) Scholar, Mellon Faculty Fellowship, Hermine Pruzan Faculty Fellowship
Residencies
The Neon Museum, Las Vegas; de Young Museum; Internet Archive; Jack Straw New Media Residency; LightSource SF
Teaching
Current: Associate Professor, University of Washington, SeattlePast: Stanford University, UC Berkeley, University of San Francisco, Sonoma State University, University of the Pacific, et al.