picUsing images of architecture and landscape, Kim Beck makes drawings, prints, paintings and installations that survey peripheral and suburban spaces. Her work urges a reconsideration of the built environment - the peculiar street signs, gas station banners, overgrown weeded lots, and self-storage buildings — bringing the banal and everyday into focus.

Kim Beck grew up in Colorado and currently lives in Pittsburgh where she teaches at Carnegie Mellon. She has exhibited widely including at the High Line in New York, the Walker Art Center, the Carnegie Museum of Art, Smack Mellon, Socrates Sculpture Park, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, and the Andy Warhol Museum. A recent fellow at Yaddo, she has also been awarded residencies at the MacDowell Colony, the Marie Walsh Sharpe Space Program, the International Studio & Curatorial Program, Cité Internationale des Arts, Vermont Studio Center, and VCCA. She has received awards from ARS Electronica, Pollock-Krasner, Thomas J. Watson and Heinz Foundations and her artist's book, A Field Guide to Weeds, was published through the Printed Matter Emerging Artist Publishing Program and is in its second edition. She received her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and BA from Brandeis University. She is represented by Mixed Greens, NYC and Pentimenti in Philadelphia.

Selected Solo Exhibitions & Projects
2012 Pentimenti Gallery, Built Futures, Philadelphia, PA
2011 The High Line, Public Commission: Space Available, New York, NY
Mixed Greens, Under Development, New York, NY
The Sky Is the Limit, NYC presented by The High Line, Mixed Greens and the Studio for Creative Inquiry
Federal Street Railroad Underpass Project Space, Blue Skies Pittsburgh, PA
Gridspace, Window Project: All Sales Final, Brooklyn, NY
2010 The Sky Is the Limit, Pittsburgh, PA
Under New Management, Everything Must Go!, Toronto, Ontario
2009 Mixed Greens Gallery, Window Project: Everything Must Go!, New York, NY
Julio Fine Arts Gallery, Ownership Society, Loyola College, MD, catalog
Incident Report, Everything Must Go!, Hudson, NY
Moroso at Moss, Minimaximum, New York, NY
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Herbicidal Tendencies, Pittsburgh, PA
2008 Pentimenti Gallery, they paved paradise, Philadelphia, PA
Artists Image Resource, Looked Overlooked, Pittsburgh, PA
2007 Printed Matter, Book Launch: A Field Guide to Weeds, New York, NY
2006 Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Emerging Artist of the Year, PA, catalog
Gardiner Art Gallery, Plot, Oklahoma State University,OK
2005 Raid Projects, Lot, Los Angeles, CA
Sonnenschein Gallery, Lot, Lake Forest College, IL
2004 Plane Space, Ideal City, New York, NY, catalog
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Video Screening – Night: Memphis, TN
2003 Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Climate Controlled, Buffalo, NY, catalog
2002 ArtLab, Coordinates, Art Museum University of Memphis, TN
Second Floor Contemporary, Drive, Memphis, TN
2001 CEPA Gallery, New Developments, Buffalo, NY, catalog
2000 Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, Suburban Lights, Grand Rapids, MI
1998 Sol Koffler Gallery, The Angel of History, Providence, RI
Market House Gallery, Wise Wicked Simple Naive, Providence, RI
1997 Edge Gallery, Self Portraits, Denver, CO
Selected Group Exhibitions
2012 Lehman College, Space Invaders: Inside & Out, curated by Karin Bravin, New York, NY
Nancy Margolis Gallery, Permanent Collection, curated by Eddie del Rosario, New York, NY
Flux Factory, Lawrence's Hanging Garden, Long Island City, NY
Islip Art Museum, Urban/Suburban, curated by Karen Shaw, East Islip, NY
Rowan University Art Gallery, High/Low Density, Glassboro, NJ
2011 The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh Biennial: Gertrude's Lot, curated by Eric Shiner, Pittsburgh, PA
Chicago Humanities Festival, The City of the Future, organized by Marshall Brown, Chicago, IL
Erie Art Museum, Sculpture Exchange, Erie, PA, catalog
Sculpture Center, Sculpture Exchange, Cleveland, OH, catalog
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, FAX, Boston, MA
The Arts Exchange, The Bank and Trust Show, curated by Dara Meyers-Kingsley, White Plains, NY
Opening Borders/Opening Objects, University of Western Ontario, CA
Project 4, Drive By, Washington, DC
Hunt Gallery at Webster University, Impress(ed), St. Louis, MO
BRIC Contemporary Art, Rotunda Gallery, Neo-Nomads: What Travels with You, Brooklyn, NY
2010 The Drawing Center, Drawing Gifts: 7th Annual Benefit Auction, New York, NY
PULSE Miami, with Mixed Greens Gallery: New York, Miami, FL
Space Gallery, Paper Politics: International Exhibition of Socially Engaged Printmaking, Pittsburgh, PA
The Billboard Project, Yet Another Roadside Attraction, Richmond, VA
Under New Management, Everything Must Go, Toronto, Ontario
LA Forum Gallery, The Page: Exhibition of Artists’ Books, Los Angeles, CA
Hobart & William Smith College, Nice Place to Visit: Printmaking & the Anxious Landscape, Geneva, NY
Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University, The Page: Exhibition of Artists’ Books,Orange, CA
2009 moniquemeloche, Sign of the Times, Chicago, IL
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Learn to Read Art: A History of Printed Matter, Long Island City, NY
OK Center for Contemporary Art, Prix Ars Electronica Exhibition, Linz, Austria, catalog
Maryland Art Place, In Our Nature, Baltimore, MD, catalog
Badischer Kunstverein, Learn to Read Art: A History of Printed Matter, Karlsruhe, Germany
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, Printed Matter.Learn to Read Art, León, Spain
Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, Prints about Place, Allentown, PA
Vox Populi, Reanimation Library: Center City Branch, Philadelphia, PA
Yale School of Architecture, Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes, New Haven, CT
The Kitchen, The Kitchen Block Party, New York, NY
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Augére Pittsburgh, PA
The Space Program, Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, Open Studios, New York, NY
Pentimenti Gallery The Colors of the Week, Philadelphia, PA
Cuchifritos, Data Panic, New York, NY, curated by Franklin Evans & Amanda Church
Pier 94, The Armory Show with Socrates Sculpture Park, New York, NY
2008 Aqua Art Miami, with Pentimenti Gallery (Philadelphia), Miami, FL
Carnegie Museum of Art, Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes, Pittsburgh, PA
Socrates Sculpture Park, Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, Long Island City, NY
Mattress Factory, Meet the Made, Pittsburgh, PA
Allegheny College, 8-Hour Project, Meadville, PA
Walker Art Center, Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes, Minneapolis, MN, catalog
Francis M. Naumann Fine Art, Manufactured Unreality: The Art of Collage, New York, NY
Plane Space, Gangbusters, New York, NY
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Shuffle, Memphis, TN
Smack Mellon, Kentucky Derby, Brooklyn, NY
Virginia Commonwealth University, Southern Graphics Conference, Are We There Yet?, VA
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 2008 Biennial, Pittsburgh, PA
2007 Williamson Gallery at Scripps College, LA Live: Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Claremont, CA
Artists Image Resource, Cut, Copy, Fold, Pittsburgh, PA
Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Being Open, Grand Rapids, MI
Nashville International Airport, Arts at the Airport, Nashville, TN
Smack Mellon, Kentucky Derby, Brooklyn, NY
2006 Aqua Art Miami, with Bank (Los Angeles), Miami, FL
Rochester Contemporary, Land Tracking Land, Rochester, NY, catalog
Kontekst Galeriya, Guide with Next Question, Belgrade, Serbia
Smack Mellon, Site 92, Brooklyn, NY
Pierogi 2000 Flat Files, The Armory Show, New York, NY
2005 Sherman Gallery, Skyline, Boston University School of Visual Art, Boston, MA
Material Art Space, ...and everythings picking up speed..., Memphis, TN
Cornell University, In Exchange, Ithaca, NY
Smack Mellon, Fifteen Paces, Brooklyn, NY
2004 Plane Space, Drawing, New York, NY
Santa Fe Art Institute, SElections, Santa Fe, NM
2003 Art Museum University of Memphis, MAX 2003; curated by Beth Venn, catalog
Bradbury Gallery, Arkansas State University, Photo Album, Jonesboro, AR, catalog
2002 Annex Gallery, Mentor, Houston, TX
Zeitgeist Gallery, Switchyard, Nashville, TN
2001 Central Academy of Fine Arts, Open Source, Beijing, China, travelling show, catalog
International Studio & Curatorial Program, New York, NY
SUNY Geneseo Gallery, CIT ’01 Digital Media, Purchase, NY
George Mason University, Media/Matrix, Fairfax, VA
2000 George Sherman Gallery, Bon á Tirer, Boston, MA
1999 Attleboro Museum, New England Printmaking, MA
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, MFA Thesis, Providence, RI
Elam School of Art, Works on Paper, Auckland, New Zealand
1998 Sol Koffler Gallery, Works on Paper, Providence, RI
1997 Market House, One-Minute-Limit Video Show, Providence, RI
Movimiento Artistico del Rio Salado, Phoenix, AZ
1996 Denver Art Museum, Recent Acquisitions, Denver, CO
Selected Awards & Residencies
2012 Helsinki International Artist Programme & Tokamak, Suomenlinna, Finland
Artist-in-Residence, Reanimation Library, Brooklyn, NY
2011 Sprout Downtown Public Art Finalist with Brett Yasko, Pittsburgh, PA
Visual Artist Fellowship, Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY
The Studio for Creative Inquiry, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Smack Mellon, Hot Picks 2011, Brooklyn, NY
2010 MacDowell Colony Fellowship
The Sky Is the Limit Project Grants: The Sprout Fund, The Pittsburgh Foundation,
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The Andy Warhol Museum
2009 Prix Ars Electronica, Award of Distinction in Interactive Arts, Linz, Austria
2008 The Space Program, The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, New York, NY
Emerging Artist Fellowship Program, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY
Visual Artist Fellowship, Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY
2007 Publishing Program for Emerging Artists, Printed Matter, New York, NY
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership Project with Heinz Endowment Grant
2006 Heinz Endowment Creative Heights Production Grant
Berkman Development Grant, "Transitional Cities: Pittsburgh & Belgrade"
Emerging Artist of the Year, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
2005 Heinz Endowment Grant, Virginia Center for Creative Arts
Center for the Arts in Society Project Grant, Carnegie Mellon University
2004 Artist-in-Residence, Plane Space, New York
2003 Cité Internationale des Arts Residency, Paris
2002 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
Vermont Studio Center, Full Fellowship
Tennessee Arts Commission, Professional Artist Support Grant
2001  International Studio & Curatorial Program, NYSCA Grant, New York
1999 RISD Award of Excellence in Printmaking
RISD Graduate Studies Award
1998 Leopold Schepp Scholarship
1993 Artist-in-Residence, College of Fine Arts, Sidney, Australia
1992 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship: Travel Award, “Process & Product in Art: Europe, Australia & Japan”
Viewing Programs
Artist Pension Trust, New York
Pierogi 2000 Flat Files
The Drawing Center Viewing Program
White Columns Curated Artist Registry
Public Collections
Carnegie Museum of Art
Denver Art Museum
Northern Territory Museum, Australia
Urban Arts Commission, City of Memphis
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
The Capitol Group, Los Angeles
Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children's Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Commissions
Public Art Dialogue. Artist Project: "Landscape with Ruins," Vol 1 #2, Fall 2011
Ideal Cities. Cover & interior image / Poetry by Erika Meitner, HarperCollins, National Poetry Series Award, 2010
Moroso, Outdoor: ICFF, 2009
Zone 3 Police Station with Office of Public Art & City of Pittsburgh, 2009
Aufgabe: Journal of Poetry. Cover & interior image / Issue #8, Litmus Press, 2009
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Mellon Park, 2008-present
Moroso, Salone Internazionale del Mobil, Milan, Italy, 2008
Selected Bibliography
Newhall, Edith. "Galleries: Exegesis of Exurban Landscape…." Philadelphia Inquirer. February 19, 2012
Greenberg, Alyssa. "Exurban sprawl and the built environment." theartblog.org. February 15, 2012
Friedman, Zack. "Art/Reanimation Library." BOMBlog. January 23, 2012
Cartiere, Cameron. "Innovations in Art Parks." Public Art Review. Fall/Winter 2011
Ross, Lauren & Kim Beck. "Situating Sculpture in the Urban Landscape." Public Art Dialogue. Routledge Press. Fall 2011
"Artist Reviews: Kim Beck / In Her Own Words." New York Arts Magazine. November, 2011
"The Lookout: Shows You Won't Want to Miss." Art in America Online. November 3, 2011
Chun, Cindy Yewon. "High Art: Kim Beck's The Sky Is the Limit." The Architect's Newspaper. October 11, 2011
Einhorn, Erin, Edgar Sandoval, Barry Paddock. "City Council Member Criticizes." The Daily News. October 11, 2011
Johnston, Garth. "Add Skywriting To The List." The Gothamist. October 11, 2011
Doll, Jen. "Skywriting Freaking People Out Just Art." The Village Voice. October 10, 2011
Johnston, Garth. "Artist Confuses New York With Cloudy Messages." The Gothamist. October 10, 2011
Amira, Dan. "Jittery New Yorkers Fear Skywriting Terrorists." New York Magazine. October 10, 2011
McEnery, Thornton. "New Yorkers Now Officially Afraid of Art." The New York Observer. October 10, 2011
Kavner, Lucas. "Skywriting in New York Causes Confusion." The Huffington Post. October 10, 2011
Paddock, Barry. "Last Chance Skywritten Messages." The Daily News. October 9, 2011
Harris, Elizabeth. "Art Is Fleeting, at Least When It's in the Sky." New York Times. October 9, 2011
Lynch, Elizabeth. "Commissions: Kim Beck." Sculpture Magazine. Fall 2011
Schmicker, Chris. "Seven Artists to Know Right Now." City Unlisted. July 19, 2011
Hodara, Susan. "In a Former Bank, Money Still Talks." New York Times. April 24, 2011
Pitt, Amy. "Public Art on the High Line" TimeOut New York. April 20, 2011
Piseno, Tabitha. "Friends of the High Line" Bomblog. April 19, 2011
Video Interview with Heinrich Schmidt. Vernissage TV. March 25, 2011
Scheck, Olivia. "High Line Art Exhibit Looks Like Empty Billboards." DNAinfo.com. March 7, 2011
Miller, Leigh Ann. "Kim Beck Riffs on Meatpacking Ads With Empty Signs." Art In America Online. March 1, 2011
Ferrando, Alexander. "The High Line: Interview with Lauren Ross." Flash Art International. March – April, 2011
Klayko, Branden. "Space Available on the High Line." The Architect’s Newspaper. February 28, 2011
Rapkins, Rochana, "Neo-Nomads." New York Times. February 24, 2011
Radio Interview with Larkin Paige-Jacobs. "Artists On Air," NPR WDUQ 90.5 FM Pittsburgh, January 31, 2011
Radio Interview with Kevin Gavin. NPR WDUQ 90.5 FM Pittsburgh, October 1, 2010
Beras, Erika. "Sky Art Floats Above Pittsburgh," WDUQnews 90.5 FM Pittsburgh, October 1, 2010
O'Driscoll, Bill. "Local Artist's Skywriting Venture,." Pittsburgh City Paper. September 30, 2010
Topping, David. "Extra, Extra: New Management." Torontoist. July 26, 2010
"Top 5 Shortlist." Canadian Art. July 25, 2010
Whyte, Murray. "Queen West has a Surprise in Store." The Toronto Star. July 24, 2010
Dobrzynski, Judith. "The High Line As Art Venue." Arts Journal. March 7, 2010
———"Taking the High Line: the art park that rivals MOMA." The Art Newspaper. March 5, 2010
Jeffers, Joe. "Recommended / Review: Sign of the Times/Monique Meloche Gallery." New City Art. Nov 23, 2009
Weinberg, Lauren. "Sign of the Times." Time Out Chicago, Issue 248. Nov 26, 2009
Ebstein, Alex. "Learning the Trade: Maryland Art Place." Baltimore City Paper. Nov 21, 2009
Holmes, Gretchen. "Featured / Sign of the Times at Monique Meloche." Chicago Art Magazine. Nov 18, 2009
New American Paintings. #81, April/May, 2009
“Five Things in New York” MoLoco, May 21, 2009
Fabbri, Anne R. "In the Multi-Dimensional City" Broad Street Review. Nov 22, 2008
Donohoe, Victoria. "Art and Environment" The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nov 21, 2008
Rosoff, Libby. "The People’s Landscape" Artblog. Nov 11, 2008
Strauss, R.B. "First Fridays" Philadelphia Weekly Press. Nov 5, 2008
Levy, Alison. "EAF08 at Socrates" Artslant New York. Sept 21, 2008
Shaw, Kurt. "Mattress Factory's 'Gestures'" Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Aug 7, 2008
Oisteanu, Valery. "Prefabricated Art, Undesirable Surreality" The Brooklyn Rail. June 2008
Flick, Sherrie. "The Re-Examined Life" Pittsburgh City Paper. May 21, 2008
Miller, Leigh Ann. "Reviews: Pittsburgh / Kim Beck / Center for the Arts" Art in America. Feb 2007
Kalb, Peggy Edersheim. "Sharing the Wealth" Art + Auction. Fall 2007
Thomas, Mary. "Best of 2006" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Dec 28, 2006
Thomas, Mary. "Art Review: Beck uses the Mundane..." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Oct 11, 2006
Shaw, Kurt. "Let there be light" Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Sept 10, 2006
"Shortlist: Fifteen Paces" Village Voice. May 4-10, 2005
“Arts & Leisure.” The New York Times. Sunday, Sept 26, 2004
Karlins, N.F. “Drawing Notebook.” ArtNet Magazine. July 2004
Anthes, Bill. “Memphis.” Contemporary Magazine. Fall 2004
Koeppel, Fredric. “Arts Profile” Commercial Appeal. June 26, 2004
Koeppel, Fredric. “Not Exactly” Commercial Appeal. Memphis, TN, Sept 21 2003
DeForest, Kate. “Ordinary Objects” Buffalo News. July 11, 2003
Sparks, Jon. Commercial Appeal. July 20, 2003
Gaasch, Cynnie. “Reworking Concepts of Beauty” ArtVoice, Buffalo, NY July 2003
Snodgrass, Daryl. “Interview on New Video Works” WKNO/NPR Memphis, TN Feb 4 2003
Hall, David. “Reviews: Memphis – DriveArt Papers, Fall 2002
“Memphis Top Ten” Number 44. Fall 2002
Dobbins, Hamlett. “A Conversation” Number 43. Summer 2002
Catalogue / Book Essays
On the High Line: Exploring America's Most Original Urban Park by Thomas Dyja. Thames & Hudson: London, 2012
High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky by Joshua David & Robert Hammond. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, 2011
Prix Ars Electronica, CyberArts by Hannes Leopoldseder, Christine Schopf, Gerfried Stocker. Hatje Cantz: Austria, 2009
The Network for Art Technology and Society: The First 30 Years by Leopoldseder, Schopf, Stocker. Hatje Cantz: Austria, 2009
Julio Fine Arts Gallery, Loyola College. Kim Beck and the New Disownership Society, by Heather Pesanti, Baltimore, 2009
Manufractured: The Conspicuous Transformation of Everyday Objects by Steven Skov Holt & Mara Holt Skov. Chronicle Books, 2008
Walker Art Center. Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes by Andrew Blauvelt, Minneapolis, MN, 2008
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Finding "Other Spaces" by Heather Pesanti, Pittsburgh, PA, 2006
Plane Space. Ideal City by Chad MacDermid and Bryson Brodie, New York, NY, 2004
Art Museum at University of Memphis. MAX by Beth Venn, Memphis, TN, 2003
Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center. Climate Controlled by John Massier, Buffalo, NY, 2003
Bradbury Gallery, Arkansas State University. Photo Album by Les Christensen, Jonesboro, AR, 2003
Central Academy of Fine Arts, Open Source by Gerar Edizel, Beijing, China, 2001
CEPA Gallery, New Developments by Anne Ellegood, Buffalo, NY, 2001
Curatorial Projects
2007 Artists Image Resource, Cut, Copy, Fold, Pittsburgh, PA, catalog
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Phantasm Redux, Pittsburgh, PA
2003 Delta Axis @ Marshall Arts, Not Exactly, Memphis, TN, catalog
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Video Screening, Memphis, TN
Public Lectures / Visiting Artist
2011  TEDxEAST, New York, NY
Hunter College, New York, NY
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC
2010  Carnegie Mellon School of Art Lecture Series, Pittsburgh, PA
2009  School of Visual Arts, NYC
Ars Electronica, Prix Forum II: Interactive Art, Linz, Austria
Artists Opportunity Workshop, Dumbo Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
New York Public Library, Mid-Manhattan, NY
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
2008  University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
2007   University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
2006   Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Outside Project, Faculty of Fine Arts, Belgrade, Serbia
College Art Association, Boston
Oklahoma State University
2005 Scripps College, Los Angeles
Boston University, School of Art
FedEx Institute, University of Memphis
Simmons College, Boston
Lake Forest College, Chicago
2004 Parsons School of Design, Paris
Memphis College of Art
Appointments
2004-present  Assistant Professor, School of Art, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2004-2002 Assistant Professor & Coordinator of Graduate Studies, Memphis College of Art, TN
2000-2001 Visiting Assistant Professor of Print Media, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Education
1999 Rhode Island School of Design, MFA, Painting, Drawing & Printmaking
1992 Brandeis University, BA, Visual Arts-Studio and Theatre Arts
1991 Yale University Summer School of Art at Norfolk