Michael Brenson
Michael Brenson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1943 (age 81–82) |
| Education | Rutgers University (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA; PhD) |
| Occupation(s) | Art critic, curator |
| Years active | 1974–present |
Michael Brenson is an American art critic and curator. From 1982 to 1991 Brenson worked as a critic for The New York Times.
Early life and education
Michael Brenson was born in 1943.[1] He was raised in New York and traveled often to Paris with his father.[1]
Brenson attended Rutgers University, graduating with a BA in sculpture.[2] He later received an MA in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University, followed by a PhD in art history from Johns Hopkins in 1974.[1]
Career
Immediately after receiving his PhD, Brenson moved to Paris to teach and write, eventually publishing art reviews in the International Herald Tribune.[1] He returned to the United States in 1982 to work for The New York Times first as an art reporter and then an art critic.[1] Brenson worked at the Times for nine years.[1]
In 2000, Brenson joined the faculty of Bard College's curatorial studies department.[1] In 2001, he published Visionaries and Outcasts, a book exploring the legacy of the various culture wars in American politics involving the National Endowment for the Arts.[3]
In 2022, Brenson published a biography of the artist David Smith.[4]
Awards
Brenson was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008.[5]
Publications
Books
- Brenson, Michael (2001). Visionaries and Outcasts: The NEA, Congress, and the Place of the Visual Artist in America. New York: The New Press. ISBN 9781565846241. OCLC 44174242.
- Brenson, Michael (2004). Acts of Engagement: Writings on Art, Criticism, and Institutions, 1993–2002. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780742529816. OCLC 54817522.
- Brenson, Michael (2022). David Smith: The Art and Life of a Transformational Sculptor. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374281465. OCLC 1289246600.
- Brenson, Michael; Anastas, Rhea, eds. (2006). Witness to Her Art: Art and Writings by Adrian Piper, Mona Hatoum, Cady Noland, Jenny Holzer, Kara Walker, Daniela Rossell, and Eau de Cologne. Annandale-on-Hudson, New York: Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College. ISBN 9781931493550. OCLC 80597295.
- Brenson, Michael; Jacob, Mary Jane, eds. (1998). Conversations at the Castle: Changing Audiences and Contemporary Art. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262100724. OCLC 38216516.
Chapters
- Brenson, Michael (1993). "Lynch Fragments". In Gedeon, Lucinda H. (ed.). Melvin Edwards Sculpture: A Thirty-Year Retrospective, 1963–1993. Purchase, New York / Seattle: Neuberger Museum of Art / University of Washington Press. pp. 20–33. ISBN 9780295973005. OCLC 28161746.
- Brenson, Michael (1998). "Elizabeth Catlett's Sculptural Aesthetics". In Gedeon, Lucinda H. (ed.). Elizabeth Catlett Sculpture: A Fifty-Year Retrospective. Purchase, New York / Seattle: Neuberger Museum of Art / University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295977225. OCLC 38962438.
- Brenson, Michael (1998). "Joel Shapiro and Figurative Sculpture". In Teicher, Hendel (ed.). Joel Shapiro: Sculpture and Drawings. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 9780810941786. OCLC 37432707.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Jacques, Geoffrey (19 February 2001). "Michael Brenson: Visionaries and Outcasts". Publishers Weekly. OCLC 2489456. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ "Michael Brenson". Bard College. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ Gurstein, Rochelle (22 April 2001). "The Artists and the Artocrats". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ Greenberger, Alex (6 October 2022). "Should We Cancel David Smith? An Epic New Biography Takes Up the Famed Sculptor's Violent Side". ARTnews. OCLC 2392716. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ "Michael Brenson". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
Further reading
Interviews
- Brenson, Michael (February 2005). "Committed and Engaged: A Conversation with Art Critic Michael Brenson". F Newsmagazine (Interview). Interviewed by Tetin, Dimitry. School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 15 February 2025.