CONTACT
sean@humorandtheabject.com
BIO
Sean J Patrick Carney (b. Traverse City, MI) is a visual artist, composer, and writer. His essays, criticism, and interviews appear frequently in publications including Artforum, Art in America, VICE, Artnet News, Harvard Urban Review, Glasstire, and High Country News. In 2019, Carney received the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant for short-form writing. Previously, he was part of New York artist collective the Bruce High Quality Foundation and served as faculty and co-director of their experimental, tuition-free school, BHQFU. Since 2009, he has operated an independent artist book distribution label, Social Malpractice Publishing. His podcast, Humor and the Abject, received a Net Art Grant from Rhizome and a Creators Residency at Kickstarter. As part of paranormal research collaborative GWC, Investigators, he has participated in High Desert Test Sites and received grant funding from the Oregon Arts Commission, the Precipice Fund, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Carney has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, the Virginia Commonwealth University, New York University, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Dia:Beacon, the Museum of Modern Art, BHQFU, and Grand Valley State University, where he served as Padnos Distinguished Artist-in-Residence from 2020-23. Most recently, his works and performances have been presented at venues including Canada Gallery, New York; MOCA Los Angeles; Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam; SARA’S, New York; the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin; the Banff Centre, Alberta; and Printed Matter, New York; among others.
He is currently Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studio Art at the University of Florida.
CV
EDUCATION
2009 — MFA in Visual Studies, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2004 — BFA in Art Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS + PERFORMANCES
2023 — 32.5784° N, 110.8514° W | Mass Gallery, Austin, TX
2023 — Florida, Man | SARA’S, New York, NY
2023 — The Definitive UFO Tape | The Carnegie, Covington, KY
2023 — The Archatron | Canada Gallery, New York, NY
2022 — Texas Messiahs | All the Sudden, Austin, TX
2020 — Come on, Man | WOOBA, Austin, TX
2018 — Autumn Meditation | Bureau, New York, NY
2018 — Outlaw Bozos and Yahoos | Interstate Projects, Brooklyn, NY
2017 — The Gala, Knockdown Center | Queens, NY
2016 — True Detective: Season Three | Essex Flowers, New York, NY
2016 — NEW WORLD UNLTD (with GWC, Investigators) | Shoot the Lobster, New York, NY
2015 — Chopped, Except That It’s Art Chopped | The Standard, Miami, FL
2015 — Split/Scrum | Freddy, Baltimore, MD
2015 — Hack the Planet | Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY
2014 — Ad Hoc at Home (with Taj Bourgeois) | Surplus Space, Portland, OR
2013 — Algonquin for ‘The Good Land’ | Bahamas Biennale, Milwaukee, WI
2013 — when u freak out, freak back in | Bridge Productions, Seattle, WA
2013 — RATS OFF TO YA | The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
2012 — Abjackass | Industry Lab, Boston, MA
2011 — Highway to Heaven | Worksound, Portland, OR
2009 — Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Donner Dance Party’ | Live/Work, San Francisco, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 — Long Live the Dead | Watershed PDX, Portland, OR
2023 — PERENNIALS | Essex Flowers, New York, NY
2021 — Disturbances in the Field: Art in the High Desert | Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV
2020 — SoundSpace | The Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
2019 — Transmission | Co-Lab Projects, Austin, TX
2017 — An Ephemeral History | High Desert Test Sites, Joshua Tree, CA
2017 — Helper Tiki Bar | Helper at NADA, Miami, FL
2016 — Seven-ish | The Boiler (Pierogi 2000/ Postmasters), Brooklyn, NY
2016 — Bregenz Biennale | Bregenz, Austria
2016 — Live to Tape | Links Hall, Chicago, IL
2015 — LAFF BOX | Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam, Netherlands
2015 — Feelings Film Festival | Anthology Film Archives, New York, NY
2015 — Silence (with GWC, Investigators) | The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
2014 — Live! | White Columns, New York, NY
2013 — Paper Cuts | NYABF, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY
2013 — HDTS 13 (with GWC, Investigators) | High Desert Test Sites, Joshua Tree, CA
2013 — A Study in Midwestern Appropriation | Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2012 — Artists-in-Residence Exhibition | Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, CA
2012 — HELP/LESS | Printed Matter, Inc, New York, NY
2012 — Lost, Littman Gallery | Portland State University, Portland, OR
2009 — Amsterdam Biennale | Portland Pavillion / Mediamatic, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2008 — Branding | Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
SELECTED CURATORIAL WORK (*DENOTES W/ BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION)
2023 — Soda Siphon | The Carnegie, Covington, KY
2018 — Brooklyn Art Book Fair | McCarren Park, Brooklyn, NY
2017 — Brooklyn Art Book Fair | McCarren Park, Brooklyn, NY
2016 — House of Ladosha: This is UR Brain | FUG, New York, NY*
2015 — Betty Tompkins: Real Ersatz | FUG, New York, NY*
2015 — Guerrilla Girls BroadBand: #ProvokeProtestPrevail | FUG, New York, NY*
2015 — Noah Davis and The Underground Museum | FUG, New York, NY*
2014 — Art Basel Mukwonago | Bahamas Biennale, Mukwonago, WI
2011 — The World is Not Ending, Your World is Ending | galleryHOMELAND, Portland, OR
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2024 — Workshop for Art Research and Practice, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
2024 — Graduate Thesis Committee, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
2024 — Graduate Mentor, MFA in Visual Studies, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2023 — Workshop for Art Research and Practice, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
2023 — Graduate Thesis Committee, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
2023 — Graduate Mentor, MFA in Visual Studies, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2023 — Civic Studio, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2022 — Curatorial Studio, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2022 — Senior Project, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2022 — Civic Studio, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2021 — Time Studio, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2021 — Civic Studio, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2022 — Senior Project, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2020 — Philosophy, Theory, and Criticism, the University of Texas at Austin, TX
2020 — Time Studio, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2018 — In the Making NYC Youth Program, MoMA, New York, NY
2017 — Dia Art Foundation Hudson Valley Teen Program, Dia:Beacon, Beacon NY
2017 — MFU Interdisciplinary Critique, BHQFU, Brooklyn, NY
2017 — Writing About Your Work, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY
2016 — FUG Curatorial Fellowship, BHQFU, Brooklyn, NY
2016 — Ten Arguments, BHQFU, Brooklyn, NY (organizer)
2016 — One Thousand Paintings, BHQFU, Brooklyn, NY (organizer)
2016 — In the Making NYC Youth Program, MoMA, New York, NY
2015 — FUG Curatorial Fellowship, BHQFU, New York, NY
2015 — Comedy Sketch Book, BHQFU, New York, NY
2014 — Humor and the Abject, BHQFU, New York, NY
2014 — Internships in Studio Art, BFA Program, New York University, New York, NY
2014 — Internships in Arts Administration, MA In Arts Administration, New York University, New York, NY
2014 — Chat Room, BHQFU, New York, NY
2013 — Advanced Lithography, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2013 — Intermediate Lithography, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2013 — Thesis Mentorship Program, MFA in Visual Studies, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2012 — Thesis Mentorship Program, BFA Intermedia, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2011 — Stand-Up Comedy Seminar, Conceptual Oregon Performance School, Portland, OR
2011 — Interdisciplinary Critique, Conceptual Oregon Performance School, Portland, OR
2011 — Theory & Practice, BFA Intermedia, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2011 — Professional Practices, BFA Thesis Department, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2011 — Thesis Mentorship Program, MFA in Visual Studies, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2011 — Thesis Mentorship Program, BFA Intermedia, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2010 — Theory & Practice, BFA Intermedia, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
AWARDS + RESIDENCIES
2020-23 — Padnos Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
2019 — Arts Writers Grant, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts x Creative Capital, New York, NY
2018 — Thought Leader, Kickstarter, Brooklyn, NY
2017 — Net Art Grant, Rhizome x New Museum, New York, NY
2017 — Creators Residency, Kickstarter, Brooklyn, NY
2015 — Precipice Fund Grant Recipient (GWC, Investigators), PICA, Portland, OR
2013 — High Desert Test Sites Residency (GWC, Investigators), Joshua Tree, CA
2013 — Visiting Faculty-in-Residence, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2013 — Career Opportunity Grant, Oregon Arts Commission, Portland, OR
2012 — Experimental Comedy Training Camp Residency, The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada
2012 — Professional Development Grant, Regional Arts & Culture Council, Portland, OR
2009 — Department Award, MFA in Visual Studies Program, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
SELECTED PRESS
2022 — Wallace-Wells, David. “Things to read,” The New York Times
2022 — Goldberg, Julia. “When lightning strikes,” Santa Fe Reporter
2022 — Interview on Art & Labor Podcast, Episode 155
2018 — Artspace Editors. “The Best Art Podcasts,” Artspace
2018 — Petrovich, Dushko. “Interview it Yourself: Art Podcasts,” Art in America
2018 — Interview on Deep Color Podcast, Episode 35
2018 — Interview on Dr. Lisa Gives a Shit, Radio Free Brooklyn
2017 — Lesser, Casey. “Artists on Kickstarter’s New Platform Drip,” Artsy
2017 — Howard, Lindsay. “Sean J Patrick Carney on Starting a Podcast,” The Creative Independent
2017 — Lyle, Erica Dawn. “MFA Quality,” Art in America
2017 — Abrams, Loney. “BHQFU on How to Run a Free Art School,” Artspace
2016 — Petty, Felix. “A Typically Obtuse Interview with Bruce High Quality,” i-D
2016 — Farley, Michael Anthony. “The Contemporary’s Grown-Up Art Camp,” Art F City
2016 — Indrisek, Scott. “An Art Fair Alternative Aims for Belly Laughs,” Blouin Artinfo
2016 — Sheets, Hilarie. “How to Get an MFA Without Going $100K into Debt,” Artsy
2015 — Freeman, Nate. “Can You Make Me 100 More? Art Chopped Miami,” ArtNews
2015 — Wyma, Chloe. “How Stand-up Comedy Became the New Performance Art,” Artspace
2015 — Chiaverina, John. “Who Doesn’t Like a Good Joke? Artist as Comedian,” ArtNews
2014 — Wolkoff, Julia. “Print’s Not Dead Yet,” Art in America
2014 — Staff. “Summer Reading Picks: Carney’s ‘Bajagic vs Novitskova’,” Daily Serving
2014 — Interview on State of Wonder, Oregon Public Broadcasting
2013 — Kirsch, Corrina. “Field Report from Arizona: GWC, Investigators,” Art F City
2013 — Karp-Evans, Elizabeth. “Make Something Offensive,” The Airship
2012 — Stangel, Matt. “James Franco Responds to Fucking James Franco,” Portland Mercury
2012 — Gleisner, Jacquelyn. “Baudrillard for Bozos,” Art21
2012 — Moylan, Brian. “Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Fucking James Franco,” Gawker
2011 — Stangel, Matt. “Fucking James Franco: Raw Cuts,” Portland Mercury
2011 — Pechman, Ali. “Portland Group Kickstarts Erotic Fiction About James Franco, The A/V Club