Abigail DeVille

Born 1981 in New York NY

Lives and works in Bronx, NY

Born 1981 in New York, Abigail DeVille earned her BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2007, and her MFA in painting from Yale in 2011. Known for large sculptural installations and the frequent incorporation of performances into her work, DeVille often creates art that engages with themes of historical and contemporary social injustice. Drawing from personal experiences and grounded in the people and neighborhoods that frame her exhibitions, she uses found objects to represent an unadulterated, archeological artifact of a given time and place, free from the self-awareness and artifice of artistically fabricated forms.

Exhibitions

Works on Paper on Fridges

Aug 12 - Sept 6, 2022

Education

2011
Master of Fine Arts, Painting
Yale School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut
2007
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY
2000
Completed 32 credits majoring in illustration
Pratt Institute, New York, NY

Solo & Two Person

2021
Homebody
Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY
Light of Freedom
The Momentary, satellite space of Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, AK
Light of Freedom
Hirschhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Washington DC
Seeds of Empire
Galarie Michel Rein, Paris, France
2020
Light of Freedom
Madison Square Park Conservancy, New York, NY
2019
Solstice, with Carrie Schneider
The Suburban Walkers Point, Milwaukee, WI
2018
The American Future
Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
2017
No Space Hidden (Shelter)
Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, CA
Chaos or Community?
Galarie Michel Rein, Brussels, Belgium
2016
Only When It’s Dark Enough You Can See The Stars
Peale Museum, The Contemporary, Baltimore, MD
2015
AMERICA
Galarie Michel Rein, Paris, France
Nobody Knows My Name
Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Byerly Gallery, Radcliffe Institute, Cambridge, MA
2014
Cousin Suzy and the Infinite Deep
Marginal Utility, Philadelphia, PA
The New Migration
5x5 DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Washington DC
2013
Invisible Men: Beyond the Veil
Galarie Michel Rein, Paris, France
Gastown Follies
Artspeak, Vancouver, Canada
XXXXXX
Iceberg Projects, Chicago, IL
Njiedka Akunyili & Abigail DeVille: New Paintings
Gallery Zidoun, Luxembourg
2012
If I don’t think I’m sinking, look what a hole I’m in
Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Inside-Outliers’ Alchemy: Working the Edges of Perception
M55 Gallery, Long Island City, NY
Invisibility Blues
Recess Activities, The Dependent Art Fair, New York, NY
2010
Dark Star
Recess Activities, New York, NY
Gold Mountain
Marginal Utility, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Black Gold
The Bronx River Art Center, New York, NY

Group

2021
Daisy Chain, To Be Continued...
Institute for the Humanities, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Brand New Heavies
Pioneer Works, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
2020
Pedestrian Profanities
Simon Lee, New York, NY
Ministry of Truth 1984/2020
curated by Barbara Pollock & Anne Verhallen, Bronx, NY
Untitled, 2020
Punta della Dogana, Venezia, Italy
Another Country
Terrault Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2019
Figuring the Floral
Wave Hill Art Gallery, Bronx, NY
MoMA PopRally & the Bronx: Beauteous
Andrew Freedman Home, Bronx, NY
Baneful Medicine
John Jay College, New York, NY
Assemblage
Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
2018
Postcard From New York II
Anna Marra Contemporenea, Rome, Italy
Out of East Reach
DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
The Tesseract
Cinque Mostre 2018, American Academy in Rome, Italy
"Black Value
Black History Florence, Fondazione Biagiotti Progwtti Arte, Florence, Italy,
Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction...
National Museum of Women in Arts, Washington DC
2017
Sculpture Garden Commission
Miami Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
Empire State Works in Progress 2017
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY"
20/20:
The Studio Museum in Harlem and Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA"
A Picture of the Universe in Clock Time
Momentum 9, Moss, Norway"
Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction...
Kemper Museum, Kanas City, MO"
Harlem: Found Ways
Cooper Gallery at Hutchins Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA"
Urban Planning: Contemporary Art and the City 1967-2017
Contemporary Art Museum St, Louis, MO"
Platform at the Armory
Armory Show Pier 92, curated by Eric Shiner, New York, NY"
The Intersectional Self
The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, New York, NY"
2016
Strange Oscillations
University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
Home
Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, New York, NY" 2016[] = "Material Girls, Contemporary Calgary, Canada
LANDMARK
Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY
Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women...
Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles, CA
2015
If You Leave Me can I Come Too
Hunter East Harlem Gallery, New York, NY
From the Ruins...
601 Artspace, New York, NY
Consequential Translations
Centro Cultural de Espana en Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
When You Cut Into the Present the Future Leaks Out
Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, NY
Material Girls
Central Gallery & Mediateque, Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Canada
2014
Puddle, Pothole, Portal
Sculpture Center, Long Island City, NY
Playing With Fire: Political Interventions...
El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
Material Histories
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Sensitive Instruments
Corbett vs, Dempsey, Chicago, IL
Rites of Spring
Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Houston, TX
2013
Guts
Abrons Art Center, Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY
Black in the Abstract
Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Houston, TX
Gastown Follies
Artspeak, Vancouver, Canada
Who Wants Flowers When You’re Dead?
The Poor Farm, Little Wolf, WI
Bronx Calling: The Second AIM Biennial
Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY
Future Generation Prize Exhibition
The 55th Venice Biennial, Italy
They might as well have been remnants of the boat
Calder Foundation, New York, NY
2012
Future Generation Prize Exhibition
Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev, Ukraine
Space Invaders
Lehman College Gallery, Bronx, NY
First Among Equals
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA
The Ungovernables
The New Museum Triennial, New York, NY
2011
Bosh Young Talent Show
Stedelijk Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
The (S) Files 2011
El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
The Un-nameable Frame
Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
Reflecting Abstraction
Vogt Gallery, New York, NY
2010
Bonzai
Red Lotus Room, New York, NY
Planet of Slums
Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
Be Black Baby: Dark Star
Recess Gallery, New York, NY
MFA 2011: Second Year Exhibition
Green Gallery, New Haven, CT
Rompe Puesto
The Bronx River Art Center, New York, NY
2009
The Open
Deitch Studios, New York, NY
2008
Bronx Council of the Arts Open Studio Tour
Haven Gallery, New York, NY
2007
Untitled
The Bronx River Art Center, New York, NY
DK Magazine
Pro qm, Berlin, Germany
Fine Arts BFA 2007 Thesis Exhibition
The Museum at F I T. New York, NY
CAA & NYCAMS BFA Exhibition
New York Center for Art & Media Studies, NY
2006
Selections 2006
F I T, New York, NY
ArtStar
Deitch Projects, New York, NY
2005
Prints in Motion
F I T, New York, NY
Hurricane Katrina Benefit Show
Gallery 27, New York, NY
Painting, Drawings
F I T, New York, NY
Narcissus Portrait Show
F I T, New York, NY
Metamorphosis
F I T, New York, NY
2004
Graduate Student Show
The Museum at F I T, New York, NY

Awards

2018
United States Artists Fellow
The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant
2017
Rauschenberg Artists in Residency
Chuck Close Henry W and Marion T Mitchell Rome Prize
2016
William H. Johnson Prize, (honored finalist)
2015
William H. Johnson Prize, (honored finalist)
Theo Westenberger, Estate Award
Cite Internationale Des Arts Paris, Artist in Residence
OBIE Award for Design, (sets& costumes) for Prophetika: An Oratorio, LaMaMa
Creative Capital Visual Artist award recipient
2014
Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist Grant Recipient
The Radcliffe Institute for Advance Study Fellowship, Cambridge, MA
2013
The Studio Museum of Harlem Artist in Residence, New York, NY
2012
The Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, New York, NY
Artist in the Marketplace, Bronx Museum of Art, Bronx, NY
LMCC Swing Space Resident, Governors Island, New York, NY
Recess at Pioneer Works, Artist in Residence, Brooklyn, NY
The Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of the New York Community Trust
International Studio and Curatorial Program, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Alice Kimball Traveling Fellowship, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT
2007
Camille Hanks Cosby Fellowship, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME
2005
The Frank Shapiro Memorial Award for Excellence in Fine Arts

Press

2021
Newark Announces Proposed Designs For Harriet Tubman Monument Project
New Jersey Stage, April 29
3 Artists Are Urged to Go Big. They Didn’t Hold Back, Siddhartha Mitter
The New York Times, April 9
Artists Selected to propose designs for Harriet Tubman Monument..., Cyril 2021[] = "Josh Barker
New York Amsterdam News, March 11
How the Studio Museum in Harlem Transformed..., Salamishah Tillet
Harper’s Bazaar, February 26
We’re All Participants in History: Watch Artist Abigail DeVille Reimagine..., Caroline Goldstein
Artnet News, January 28
2020
Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom, Lilly Wei
Studio International, December 24
Art Matters Now–12 Writers on 20 years of Art..., Andrew Russeth
Los Angeles Review of Books, December 11
The Most Important Moments in Art in 2020, Holland Cotter,
The New York Times, December 4
The Best Public Art 2020, Kendal Henry
Artsy, December 2
Reimagining Lady Liberty’s Torch to Meet This Moment, Hilaire M. Sheets
The New York Times, October 23
Were Going to Get There: Watch Artist Abigail DeVille Stage Guerilla Performances...
Artnet News, June 18
2019
Artists Examine the Troubling Histories of Medical Abuse and Human Experimentation
Dominic DeLuque, June 19
The Enemies Will be Dismantled: Artists Reflect...
ARTnews, May 7
2018
A new year and so many possibilities for Street Roots, Kaia Sand
Street Roots, December 28
The Surf Lodge and Waris Ahluwalia Host a Dinner for Artists..., Lilah Ramzi
www.vogue.com, December 6
Street Roots zine, "I Am,' highlights vendors voices, Cole Merkel
Street Roots, November 23
Artist Abigail DeVille's Critique Of The American Paradox, Claudia Meza, April Baer
OPB State of Wonder, NPR, November 3
Para Other Performances: Expanding Territories..., Kwame Boafo
Accra Dot ALT, September 19
Chale Wote Street Art Festival 2018, Hakeem Adam
Okay Africa, September 13
An Exhibition that Frustrates Our Grasp of Abstraction, Seph Rodney
Hyperallergic, August 2
Abigail DeVille: Everyday Processions, Susan Canning
Sculpture Magazine, July/August 2018
The Tesseract" American Academy in Rome, Marta Silvi
Flash Art, March 27
Seeing the Invisible at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Michael Loria
On Tap Magazine, January 12
2017
Harlem at Harvard, John Paul Rollert
Huffington Post, December 12
These 3 Women Are Redefining The Way We Look At Art..., Amanda Benchley
Ocean Drive, December 1
Downtown's Newest Museum Is a Bright Brilliant Addition..., Catherine Womack
LA Weekly, September 5
Women of Color Find Their Rightful Place..., Karen Emenhiser- Harris
Hyperallergic, August 22
20/20 at the Carnegie: A passionate family gathering..., Tony Norman
Pittsburgh Post- Gazette, August 13
In Profile: Abigail DeVille, Emily McDermott
Frieze Interviews, July 3
Finding Harlem, Alisha Ukani
Harvard Magazine, June 27
In St. Louis Blues, Abigail DeVille Explores the City Through Its Trash
Berwin Song, May 17
Urban Planning Art and the City 1967-2017
Adam Turl, May 17
Urban Planning: Art and the City 1967-2017 now at the Contemporary
Chris King May 9
Exhibit Explores Racism, White Flight and the results of Poor Urban Planning
Willis Ryder Arnold, May 5
Eric Shiner: On An Incident at The Armory Show, Lilia Ziamou
The Huffington Post, March 12
Three to see: New York, Victoria Stapley-Brown
The Art Newspaper, March 9
2016
Can I Get a Witness? Takes James Baldwin's Message to Church, Charles Isherwood
The New York Times, December 8
CAN I GET A WITNESS to Make World Premiere..., Meshell Ndegeocellos
BWW News Desk, December 7
Lost And Found A Pilgrimage to the Desert Shrine..., LaToya Ruby Frazier
The New York Times Magazine, October 26
Pegasus Warning Is In Pursuit Of The Best Thang, ZO
okayplayer.com, October 26
Baltimore's Joy Postell channels Billie Holiday, Nina Simone..., Wesley Case
The Baltimore Sun, October 25
Abigail DeVille Baltimore, The Contemporary, Lexie Mountain
Art in America, Reviews, September 15
Best Museum Show: Abigail DeVille, Only When It's Dark...
Best of Baltimore 2016, September 13
Best of Baltimore, Gabriella Souza, Amy Mulvihill, and Lydia Woolever
Baltimore Magazine, August 22
Abigail DeVille Looks to Disrupt New York's History of Gentrification, Isaac Kaplan
Artsy Editorial, August 1
Socrates Sculpture Park Rides the Waves of a Changing Queens, Jen Kinney
Next City, June 23
Abigail DeVille Unburies Bodies at The Contemporary, Owen Duffy
MoMus
The Many Lives and Losses of the Western Hemispheres Oldest Museum, Alex Ebstein, Hyperallergic, June 10
10 Years Later, A Look Back at Art's First Reality Show, Kat Herriman
The Creators Project, June 1
Eight New Installations at Socrates Sculpture Park..., Audrey Wachs
The Architects Newspaper, June 1
Abigail DeVille dwells in history, interpretation, and power at the formal Peale Museum, Rebekah Kirkman
City Paper, May 25
Descending a Staircase Darkly, Bret McCabe
Bmore Art, May 23
The Shipwreck and the Beehive: A Sculpture Park Claims Space for Itself and Others, Joel Kuennen
Artslant.com, May 8
Here's Every Painting You Need to See at NADA New York 2016, Andrew M. Goldstein
Artspace.com, May 6
New Project From The Contemporary Explores our Relationship with History, Gabriella Souza
Baltimore. Magazine, May 5
REVOLUTION IN THE MAKING: ABSTRACT SCUPLTURE, WOMEN
Rafu.com, March 18
Jenni Sorkin on Revolution in the Making..., Thea Ballard
Modern Painters, March 16
Are All Women Shows Good or Bad for Art?, Holland Cotter
The New York Times, March 16
34 Revolutionary Women Artists Who Shaped Abstract Sculpture..., Jessica Simmons
Artsy Editorial, March 11
Bronx's arts community grows, Shant Shahrigian
The Riverdale Press, January 7
Art that Acknowledges Death Without Showing the Body, Allison Meier
Hyperallergic December 28
If You Leave Me Can I Come Too? A Show Whose Subject Is Death, Holland Cotter
The New York Times, December 24
Year in Black Art 2015, Victoria L. Valentine
Culture Type, December 13
18 Artists to Watch in 2016
Blouin Modern Painters, December
Hauser Wirth & Schimmel to inaugurate L.A. gallery with exhibition of female sculptors, Caroline A. Miranda
Los Angeles Times, November 23
Abigail DeVille/ America
Art Matter Editorial, November 10
From The Ruins
The New Yorker, September 10
From the Ruins, Tobi Haslett
Artforum, July 17
Afrofuturism Inspired Theatrical Event with a Message for Today, Peter ‘Souleo’ Wright
Huffington Post, Blackvoices, July 15
In the Bronx a Pop Up Art Show is a Lightning Rod for Fear of Gentrification, Jillian Steinhauer
Hyperallergic, July 13
2015
Brooklyn Film Festival Winners, Catherine Gioino
theyoungfolks.com
Future Perfect Trash, Lisa Hallerbaggesen
Practice. Practice. Practice. June 8
The Art of Accumulation At a New Orleans Shrine to the Plague Saint, Allison Meier
Hyperallergic, June 3
From the Ruins, Tom McGlynn
The Brooklyn Rail, June 3
Here are Your 2015 Obie Award Winners, Village Voice Staff
The Village Voice, May 19
Massive Bronx Art Exhibit Reignites Boroughs Gentrification Debate, Eddie Small
Dnainfo.com
Top Ten Booths at the Top 10 Booths at Armory Show 2015, Rozalia Jovanovic
Artnews, March 6
Concert at Snug Harbor will be both Funky and Atmospheric, Laura Steussy
SILive.com, February 24
2014
Best of 2014 Our Top 10 Exhibitions Across the United States
Hyperallergic, December 26
ART BURN Just how much public input should there be in public art? Christina Cauterucci
Washington City Paper, November 14
Washington DC Becomes a Playground of Public Art, Jillian Steinhauer
Hyperallergic, October 13
Rema Hort Foundation Names 2014 New York Artist Grant Winners, Andrew Russeth
ArtNews, October 8
After debate about aesthetics and politics..., Sarah Kaplan
The Washington Post, October 5
Marion Barry on Anacostia Art Project..., Perry Stein
Washington City Paper, September 11
The Stuff of Life, Urgently Altered, Holland Cotter
The New York Times, August 28
Beyond Shakespeare's Wildest Dreams, Charles Isherwood
The New York Times, August 12
Stratford Festivals A Midsummer Nights Dream: A Chamber Play, Lauren Glenow
broadwayworld.com, August 2
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jon Kaplan
www.nowtoronto.com, July 31
Dream fulfilled: You have to see Stratford's radical rethink of Shakespeare, J. Kelly Nestruck
The Globe And Mail, July 25
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in Stratford..., Richard Ouzounian
Toronto Star, July 25
Two Works Share a Common Thread, Molly Glentzer
The Houston Chronicle, January 31
She Talks to Beethoven is a Fever Dream of a Play, Jason Fitzgerald
The Village Voice, January 22
2013
Abigail DeVille's Cosmic Cacophony Heads To Harlem, Priscilla Frank
Huffington Post, September 5
Studio Museum in Harlem Names Three Resident Artists..., Benjamin Sutton
Blouin ARTINFO.com, August 21
By Appointment Only: Viewing Art Privately in Chicago, Jason Foumberg
Art in America, July 10
Art and Ageism: The Decisive Eye of Fellow Artists
NY Arts, June 2013
Future Generation Art Prize Goes To Venice For First Global Event
ArtLyst, May 20
Abigail DeVille, Iceberg Projects, Alicia Eler
artforum.com critics’ picks, May 15
Fore, Lloyd Wise
Artforum, May 2013
Review: Abigail DeVille/Iceberg Projects, B. David Zarley
Newcity Art, April 23
Eye Exam: New Moves in Chicago Sculpture, Jason Foumberg
Newcity Art, April 16
Edition #7, Bad At Sports, Caroline Picard
contemporary art talk, April 15
2012
Racial Redefinition in Progress..., Holland Cotter
The New York Times, November 29
6 From Fore
Modern Painters, November 2012
Artistic invasion of Lehman College life, Adam Wisnieski
The Riverdale Press, October 11
Space Invaders arrive, Robin Elisabeth Kilmer
The Bronx Free Press, Volume 3-No.41 October 10-16
The Ungovernables, Suzanne Cotter
Artforum, May 2012
Review: The Ungovernables, Howard Halle
Time Out New York, April 3
Eight Hours at the Comfort Inn, Jerry Saltz
New York Magazine, March 18
The Ungovernables is more serious..., Max Rosenberg
CAPITAL, February 17
Quiet Disobedience, Holland Cotter
The New York Times, February 16
Mob of People Packs Into New Museum for Opening of The Ungovernables
Observer.com
Local Talent Leads Downtown Triennial, Kimberly Chou
The Wall Street Journal, February 10
30 Artists to Watch in 2012: Part 1
Jason Stopa, Kate Meng & Leah Schlackman
2011
Exhibitions of style; celebrating Hispanic art in New York, Gorgett Roberts
NY Post, September 21
Reflecting Abstraction, Corrine Fitzpatrick
artforum.com critics’ picks
2010
Abigail D. DeVille's America, Alexi Kukuljevic
Machete, Vol. 1 No.11, September
Art: Gold Mountain, Roberta Fallon
Philadelphia Weekly, August 24
First Friday: We kvetch, We look, We clap
www.theartblog.org, August 2010
2009
Black Gold in the Bronx
www.nyartbeat.com, August 2009
2006
The Art of Reality TV
Interview, August 2006
Project Deitch
Black Book, July 2006
All Most Famous
Nylon, July 2006
Art Talk, Famous in Eight Episodes?
Art News, June 2006
You’re Either In or You’re Out
Paper Magazine, June 2006
Reality Show ArtStar to Begin on the Dish Network
Artdaily.com, May 30
ArtStar on Gallery HD, The Art World Tries Realism (the TV kind)
The New York Times, May 28
ArtStar: A Deitch Project for the Television Masses
Artinfo.com, May 25
Art World Idol
TimeOut New York, May 11
Stroke of Genius? Artists to Mix it Up on Reality TV
The Chicago Tribune, 2006
Reality Bites
Artforum, May 17
Future, Unscripted Fall Pilots, Real Deal, or No Deal?
Village Voice, May 9
Fly on the Wall Street
Art Review, January/February 2006
2005
Because at Least One Person on This Page Will be Justly Famous by 2010
New York Magazine, December 26
The Dye is Cast
Artforum, March 4
Reality (on TV) Reaches Art World
The New York Times, March 2

Public Collections

Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY
Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Paris, France
Kaviar Factory, Henningsvaer, Norway
The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY