Sam McKinniss explained

Sam McKinniss
Birth Place:	Northfield, Minnesota
Nationality:	American
Field:	Painting

Sam McKinniss (born 1985) is an American abstract and figurative postmodern painter based in Brooklyn.^[1]

Education

Sam McKinniss was born in Minnesota^[2] and grew up in Connecticut.^[3] He graduated from the Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland in 2005. He received a BFA in painting from the Hartford Art School in Hartford, Connecticut in 2007, and an MFA from the Steinhardt School at New York University in 2013.^[4]

Work

McKinniss's work has been shown in galleries and museums since 2005.His first solo show in New York, entitled "Black Leather Sectional," opened at Joe Sheftel Gallery in May 2015 and his first solo show in Los Angeles, "Dear Metal Thing," opened at Team Bungalow in June 2015. His show "Egyptian Violet" opened at Team Gallery in New York in October 2016.^[5] He made his first appearance at the Miami edition of the international art fair Art Basel in 2015.^[6]

In his figurative painting, which has become the dominant practice, McKinniss works from photographs, found images as well as pictures he took. His subjects include reclining male nudes, images from popular culture, and floral still lifes. McKinniss develops a symbolist vocabulary for contemporary figurative painting; he sources material primarily from online image searching.^[7]

McKinniss has made a large number of paintings that draw on the still-lifes of the 19th-century artist Henri Fantin-Latour, for example, White Roses in a Short Glass (after Fantin-Latour). Latour’s influence on his style can be seen in the heightened colour contrasts with which he paints his figurative paintings.

McKinniss painted a series of "men in repose" for the second issue of Adult. His painting of Lorde was the cover art of her 2017 album Melodrama^[8] NME magazine selected the cover for their list of the best album art of the 21st century so far^[9] and it received praise from commentators at Billboard,^[10] Paste^[11] and Fuse.^[12]

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• Dear Metal Thing, Team (Bungalow), Venice, California, 2015^[13]
• Egyptian Violet, Team Gallery, New York, New York, October 2016^[14]
• Daisy Chain, Team (Bungalow), Venice Beach, California, January 7February 25, 2018^[15]

Group exhibitions

• 1999: A Group Exhibition, The Fireplace Project, East Hampton, New York, 2016^[16]
• Catastrophe, Albert Merola Gallery, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 2016 (curated by John Waters)^[17]
• BOTÁNICA, Curated by Todd Von Ammon, Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, California, 2017^[18]

Award

• New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowship, Greater Hartford Arts Council, Hartford, Connecticut, 2009^[19]

Further reading

• Indiana. Gary. Claim to Fame: Gary Indiana on the art of Sam McKinniss. September 2019. Artforum.
• Jen. Alex. The Artist Sam McKinniss on Capturing Lorde in the Twilight. February 14, 2019. The Brooklyn Rail.
• Eckardt. Stephanie. Your Favorite Google Images Are Now Paintings, Thanks to the Artist Sam McKinniss. February 2, 2019. W Magazine.
• Eckardt. Stephanie. In the Studio with Sam McKinniss, the Unapologetic Painter of 'Perverted" Internet Culture'. December 14, 2017. W Magazine.
• Tolentino. Jia. Jia Tolentino. The Artist Sam McKinniss on Capturing Lorde in the Twilight. March 24, 2017. The New Yorker.
• Yerebakan. Osman. Purple Reign. February 3, 2017. Cultured.
• Fateman. Johanna. Sam McKinniss. January 2017. Artforum.
• Sam McKinniss: The Artist on his new Paintings. October–November 2016. Modern Painters.
• Web site: Colucci. Emily. Bathing In The Purple Rain At Sam McKinniss' 'Egyptian Violet'. October 21, 2016. Art F City.
• Droitcour. Brian. Sam McKinniss. October 20, 2016. Art in America.

Notes and References

1. News: The Artist Behind Lorde's Album Cover Wanted To Capture Youth in All Its Glory. Huggins. Kristin. March 3, 2017. Vogue. 2017-03-24. en.
2. News: Sam McKinniss. Prickett. Sarah Nicole. June 9, 2015. Interview Magazine. 2017-03-24.
3. The Artist Sam McKinniss on Capturing Lorde in the Twilight. Tolentino. Jia. March 24, 2017. The New Yorker. March 24, 2017.
4. Web site: Students - M.F.A. Studio Art - NYU Steinhardt. steinhardt.nyu.edu. en. 2017-03-24.
5. News: 9 Must-See Art Shows Opening This Week. Pini. Gary. 2016-10-12. PAPERMAG. 2017-03-24. en.
6. Web site: Sam McKinniss. Irwin. Michael. Ocula.
7. Powers. Bill. 'It has to be tragic or somewhat manic-depressive': A talk with Sam McKinniss. October 13, 2016. ARTnews. January 24, 2018.
8. News: The Story Behind Lorde's New Album Cover, From the Artist Who Created It. Eckardt. Stephanie. W Magazine. 2017-03-24. en.
9. News: The best album artwork of the 21st Century so far. NME. Milton. Jamie. 20 November 2017. 15 March 2018.
10. 25 Best & Worst Album Covers of 2017. Billboard. Cirisano. Tatiana. 27 December 2017. 15 March 2018.
11. News: The 40 Best Album Covers of 2017. Paste. Oshinsky. Matthew. 14 December 2017. 15 March 2018.
12. News: The Best Album Covers of 2017. Fuse. 13 December 2017. 17 March 2018.
13. Web site: Sam McKinniss : Dear Metal Thing. teamgal.com.
14. Web site: Sam McKinniss : Egyptian Violet. teamgal.com.
15. Web site: Sam McKinniss : Daisy Chain. teamgal.com.
16. Web site: The Fireplace Project. www.thefireplaceproject.com.
17. Web site: James Balla. ALBERT MEROLA GALLERY.
18. Web site: Botánica - Exhibitions - Berggruen Gallery. www.berggruen.com.
19. Web site: Greater Hartford Arts Council. www.letsgoarts.org.