Nick McPhail

Overview
Nick McPhail

Combining elements from sculpture and functional objects, McPhail’s work offers a contemporary perspective on a range of subjects including landscape and architecture as well as themes of light and access. Based on snapshots and glances taken from ordinary moments, McPhail positions himself as a voyeur, playing with impossible views and that which lies just out of reach.

 

A fascination with the ordinary—that is, with the unremarkable rather than the rare—stands out in contemporary art for its earnestness, it’s almost strange absence of irony or sarcasm.  This is not to say that McPhail’s works are uncomplicated, or even all that ordinary—merely that their success, irrespective of contemporary art’s fickle tastes and finicky appetite, does not depend on being read as such."  -Contemporary Art Review

 

Nick McPhail was born in Laingsburg, MI. He studied painting and ceramics at Michigan State University, graduating in 2006. Most recently he has held solo exhibitions at Ochi Projects in Los Angeles (2020), Untitled_1983 in Geneva, Switzerland (2019), and Holiday in Los Angeles (2018). He has completed residencies at Untitled_1983 in Geneva (2019), Ochi Gallery in Ketchum, ID (2019), 100 West Corsicana in Corsicana, TX (2018), and in 2017 he was awarded a grant to attend a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT. His work has been exhibited and collected throughout the United States and Europe. 

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Works
Exhibitions
Biography
Nick McPhail

LIVES AND WORKS IN LOS ANGELES.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024   (upcoming)  MAYBAUM GALLERY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 

2023     MASSEY KLEIN, NEW YORK, NY

2022     AMÉLIE MAISON D’ART, PARIS, FRANCE 

2020    "WINDOWS" OCHI PROJECTS, LOS ANGELES
2019     "LIGHTS" UNTITLED_1983, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2018     "PICTURES" HOLIDAY, LOS ANGELES
2009     "STREET AND SKY" MINA DRESDEN, SAN FRANCISCO
2006     "FRAGMENTS" KRESGE ART CENTER, EAST LANSING, MI

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022    “SPRIALING” REYNOLDS GALLERY, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
2022    “ARCHITEKTUR UND MALEREI” CURATED BY KATHARINA BENJAMIN, NIDUS KOSMOS, DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY
2022    GROUP EXHIBITION CURATED BY AMÉLIE DU CHALARD AT BELLE BEAU GALLERY, ARLES ,FRANCE
2021     “PAPERWORKS VOL. 2” NBB GALLERY, BERLIN
2021     “ROOM SERVICE" NBB GALLERY & LITZ, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
2021     “INSIDE OUT” GAMBLE HOUSE, IN COLLABORATION W/ MUSIC FOR YOUR INBOX, PASADENA, CA
2021     "DAY TRIP" REYNOLDS GALLERY, RICHMOND, VA
2021     "MATCH" UNTITLED_1983, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2020     "INSIDE/OUTSIDE" CIRCLE CONTEMPORARY, CHICAGO, IL
2019     UNTITLED ART FAIR, GROUP BOOTH WITH OCHI PROJECTS, MIAMI
2019     "CHAINS" CENTRAL PARK GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2019     "ABSOLUTE SPACE" OCHI GALLERY, KETCHUM, IDAHO
2019     "WHOLLY COAST" MONTE VISTA PROJECTS, LOS ANGELES
2018     "FULL HOUSE" HALF GALLERY LA, LOS ANGELES
2017     "SOFT SERVE" HOLIDAY, LOS ANGELES
2017     "SELF RELIANCE 2017" NOWSPACE, LOS ANGELES
2014     "RECURRENCE" FRIDMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK
2013     "FUNNY HAHA" NORTON SPACE, LOS ANGELES
2013     "HOT BOXES" VELVET NOIR, LOS ANGELES
2011      "WHAT IS RIVER OF LOVE?" 1646 TEMPLE SPACE, LOS ANGELES
2011      "NEW WORK" 1646 TEMPLE SPACE, LOS ANGELES
2010     "ANACHRONOUS MIND TREE" BLIECHER GOLIGHTY GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2010     "LET'S GET LOUD" DIY GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2009    "CONCEPTUAL MINING" DIY GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2009    "HOME" PHYLLIS STEIN ART, LOS ANGELES
2009    "SFTS GROUP SHOW" SILVER ECHO GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2009     LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (LACMA), 4-PERSON GROUP SHOW, LOS ANGELES
2008     GROUP SHOW, SPRING ARTS COLLECTIVE GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2008     ARTSEEN "A TASTE OF LA" DOWNTOWN GALLERY ROW, LOS ANGELES
2008     FREE ARTS NYC ANNUAL BENEFIT ART AUCTION, NEW YORK
2008     GROUP SHOW, SPRING ARTS COLLECTIVE GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2008     GROUP SHOW, SPRING ARTS COLLECTIVE GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2008     GROUP SHOW, SPRING ARTS COLLECTIVE GALLERY, LOS ANGELES
2007      "VIEWS OF PICO" 16:1 GALLERY, SANTA MONICA, CA
2007      "ART A LA MODE" HOUSESPACE, ENCINITAS, CA
2006     "UNDERGRAD EXHIBITION" KRESGE ART CENTER, EAST LANSING, MI
2006     "ART EXPO" COLLECTIVE SPACE, LANSING, MI
2006     "REACTION TO THE 60'S" KRESGE ART CENTER, EAST LANSING, MI
2006     "PEWABIC INFLUENCE" LANSING CAPITAL LIBRARY, LANSING, MI

PRESS/PUBLICATIONS
2022    LITERARY HUB “14 CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS ON HOW READING INFLUENCES THEIR WORK“ BY LITERARY HUB
2022    WARM MILK PUBLISHING, VOLUME 4
2021     WRAP MAGAZINE "EXPLORING THE REALMS OF POSSIBILITY" BY HANNAH VALENTINE
2020    THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR "NICK MCPHAIL: WINDOWS TO THE SOUL" BY NOELANI KIRSCHNER
2020    NEW AMERICAN PAINTINGS #145, VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6
2020     ART NOW LA 'NICK MCPHAIL: WINDOWS' BY JODY ZELLEN
2020     BOOOOOOOM 'ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: NICK MCPHAIL'
2020    KCRW “NICK MCPHAIL AT OCHI PROJECTS”
2019     ART MAZE MAGAZINE "LANDSCAPES THAT GLOW" BY LAYLA LEIMAN
2019     IT'S NICE THAT "PAINTER NICK MCPHAIL USES..." BY REBECCA IRVIN
2019     FULL BLEDE - ISSUE 9: THE CLEAVE
2019     ART MAZE MAGAZINE - SPRING ISSUE 12 - EDITORIAL FEATURE
2019     ANGELENO MAGAZINE APRIL - SOCIETY & CULTURE 'LA STATE OF MIND' BY ABIGAIL STONE
2018     CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW LOS ANGELES, 'NICK MCPHAIL AT HOLIDAY' REVIEW BY AARON HORST
2017     ART AND CAKE, "'SELF RELIANCE 2017' AT NOWSPACE," REVIEW BY SYDNEY WALTERS
2014     CARETS AND STICKS, "ONE WORK WITH NICK MCPHAIL" INTERVIEW BY ANNA BRENINGER
2014     'RECURRENCE' EXHIBITION CATALOG WITH ESSAYS BY GEORGIA HORN AND LUISA AGUILAR SOLIS
2014     TWO COATS OF PAINT, "INSPIRED BY FICTION: RECURRENCE AT FRIDMAN" REVIEW BY SHARON BUTLER
2009     SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, "DON'T MISS: 'STREET AND SKY'" REVIEW BY MARY EISENHART
2009     ART BUSINESS, 'STREET AND SKY' REVIEW BY LAURA CHENAULT
2009     DOWNTOWN ARTS BEAT, SPRING ARTS COLLECTIVE REVIEW
2008    I MAKE PICTURE, "FEATURED ARTIST: NICK MCPHAIL"

RESIDENCIES
2019     UNTITLED_1983, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2019     HOLIDAY FOREVER RESIDENCY, JACKSON, WY
2019     OCHI GALLERY, KETCHUM, IDAHO
2018     100 WEST CORSICANA, CORSICANA, TX
2017     VERMONT STUDIO CENTER, JOHNSON, VT

EDUCATION
2006     BFA MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, EAST LANSING, MI
2004     UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS & INSTALLATIONS
2019    ‘POWER LINES’ PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION ON SUNSET BLVD, LOS ANGELES
2006     CENTER FOR ETHICS, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, EAST LANSING, MI

AWARDS & GRANTS
2017     ARTIST'S GRANT, VERMONT STUDIO CENTER
2006   JENS PLUM AWARD, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

ARTIST TALKS & LECTURES
2020     ARTIST TALK, ARTS OF LIFE, CHICAGO, IL
2020     ARTIST TALK, OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, LOS ANGELES
2020     ARTIST TALK AND GALLERY WALK-THROUGH, OCHI PROJECTS, LOS ANGELES
2017      ARTIST LECTURE, VERMONT STUDIO CENTER, JOHNSON VT

CURATORIAL
2018     "FULL HOUSE" HALF GALLERY LA, LOS ANGELES
2018     "STUDENT EXHIBITION" NAVARRO COLLEGE, CORSICANA, TX
2014     “DOMESTIC EDGE” HALF GALLERY LA, LOS ANGELES
2014     “SWIM LAPSE” HALF GALLERY LA, LOS ANGELES

 
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Events