Contact: bean (at) beangilsdorf.com
Bean Gilsdorf is a fourth-generation seamstress currently working at the nexus of sculptural textiles and photography. Her practice reanimates cultural and political figures found in mass-market history books, turning flat images into collaged three-dimensional forms that are further détourned through strategies of draping, stuffing, and compressing. Her projects have been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, and the American Textile History Museum, as well as exhibition spaces in England, Italy, China, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and South Africa. Gilsdorf’s work is in the permanent collections of the Portland Art Museum, Berkeley Art Museum, Kala Art Institute, and the International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In her writing, Gilsdorf frequently addresses issues connected to feminism, gender, and the effects of socioeconomic conditions on artistic practices. Her reviews and essays have been included in publications such as Artforum, Art in America, and Frieze, and in 2021 her research and writing was supported by an Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant. Gilsdorf was also the 2018 Art Writer in Residence at SPACES in Cleveland, Ohio, and a 2021 guest editor of SFMOMA's Open Space magazine.
Gilsdorf is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Oregon Arts Commission Artist Fellowship (2024), a Ford Family Foundation Fellowship Residency at Ucross Foundation (2023), Fulbright Fellowships to Poland (2015–2016 and 2016–2017), a Graduate Fellowship at Headlands Center for the Arts (2011–2012), and a Full Merit Scholarship to the MFA Fine Arts program at California College of the Arts (2009–2011). She has also been an artist in residence at 18th Street Arts Center and Banff Centre, among others. Gilsdorf holds a BA from Simon’s Rock at Bard College and an MFA from California College of the Arts. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon.
Education:
MFA, California College of the Arts
BA, Simon’s Rock at Bard College
Public Collections:
Portland Art Museum
Berkeley Art Museum
Kala Art Institute
International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Solo Exhibitions:
2022 Some Women, Nine Gallery, Portland
2018 State Dinner, Anytime Dept., Cincinnati
2017 Trouble at Home, Stroboskop Gallery, Warsaw
Soft Actor, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara
2014 An Exhibition That Might Exist, Feldman Gallery at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland
2012 La Borinqueña (collaboration with A. Will Brown), Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco
2009 Assembly, line, image, system, Miller Gallery at Linfield College, Linfield
Like Magic, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City
2006 Bean Gilsdorf & Dan Gilsdorf, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro
A Change of Scenery, Portland Modern, Portland
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2024 Oregon Contemporary Artists’ Biennial, Oregon Center for Contemporary Art, Portland (forthcoming)
2023 The Rose, lumber room, Portland
2022 New Open Letters, Broodthaers Society of America, New York
2021 Time Being, Oregon Center for Contemporary Art, Portland
2020 Born to Be Alive, Season, Seattle
Fashion-Conscious, Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art, Rancho Cucamonga
2019 DEAR LUCY, Upfor Gallery, Portland
2018 Between Here and the Machine, Carnation Contemporary, Portland
Facsimile, Ace Hotel, Chicago
Companion Pieces, Anytime Dept., Cincinnati
Reliant Objects, Oregon College of Art & Craft, Portland
Spirited Probabilities, Southern Exposure, San Francisco
2017 Takeover, Alter Space, San Francisco
Broad Stripes and Bright Stars, Ely Center for Contemporary Art, New Haven
xoxoxo, Salon Akademii, Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw, Poland
2016 Rocky Landscape, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania
Rocky Landscape, Kim? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia
Rocky Landscape, Galeria Bunkier Sztuki, Krakow, Poland
Transforming Milk Into Milk, RedLine Center for Contemporary Art, Denver
Thinking of You: Bean Gilsdorf & Ray Mack, Bass & Reiner Gallery, San Francisco
Mistaken Impressions, Root Division Gallery, San Francisco
2015 Triple Take, Alter Space Gallery, San Francisco
Make Things (Happen), Interface Gallery, Oakland
2014 Strange Bedfellows, Kaplan Gallery at VisArts, Rockland
Social in Practice: The Art of Collaboration, New York University, New York
Social in Practice: The Art of Collaboration, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York
Dead Ringer, Fowler Project Space, Brooklyn
2013 Systems of (Dis)comfort, Royal Nonesuch Gallery, Oakland
Social Fabric, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles
2012 In Formation, Berkeley Central Arts Passage, Berkeley
Caravanniversary, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito
Matter, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn
Past Future Now, Oddball Film + Video, San Francisco
Shifter, Alter Space Gallery, San Francisco
Tell the Truth and Run, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito
Sphere of Influence, Worth Ryder Gallery, UC Berkeley, Berkeley
2011 Annual Exhibition, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle
Tarnów: 1000 years of modernity, BWA-Galeria Miejska, Tarnow, Poland
Odds Are 13:1, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco
Hammarby!, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco
Materiality, LaVerne Krause Gallery, University of Oregon, Eugene
2010 To Live and Draw In LA, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro
Soft, Future Studio, Los Angeles
Fiber Art From East and West, Wuhan Textile University Library Gallery, Wuhan, China
2009 Quilt National, Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, Ohio
2008 Transformations, National Exhibition Center, Birmingham, England
Transformations, Alberton City Hall, Gauteng, South Africa
2007 Craft Biennial, Hoffman Gallery, Oregon College of Art & Craft, Portland
Quilt National, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, MS
FR8, Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro
2006 Transformations, National Exhibition Center, Birmingham, England
Quilt National, American Textile History Museum, Lowell
Needle Culture, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff
2005 Affair at the Jupiter Hotel (art fair, courtesy Gallery 500), Portland
Extra/ordinary, The Cube Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Quilt National '03, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose
Visions, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside
2004 Sin Tax, Gallery 500, Portland
ANA 33, Holter Museum of Art, Helena
Le Arti Tessili Valcellina Award, Arti Tessili Centro Attivita Culturali, Maniago, Italy
Awards and Grants:
2023 Regional Arts and Culture Council Arts3C Grant, Portland
2022 Oregon Arts Commission Grant, Portland
2021 Regional Arts and Culture Council Make Grant, Portland
2020 Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant, New York
2020 Oregon Arts Commission Grant, Portland
2015 Center for Cultural Innovation Quick Grant, Los Angeles
2012 Banff Centre Bess Winspear Memorial Scholarship, Banff
2011 California College of the Arts Dennis Leon and Christin Nelson Award, San Francisco
2009 California College of the Arts Graduate Full Merit Scholarship, San Francisco
2007 Surface Design Association Professional Development Grant, Albuquerque
2006 NW Film Center of the Portland Art Museum Equipment Access Grant, Portland
2005 Regional Arts and Culture Council Professional Development Grant, Portland
Fellowships and Residencies:
2024 Individual Artist Fellowship, Oregon Arts Commission, Salem, Oregon
Wassaic Project Artist Residency, Wassaic, New York (forthcoming)
2023 Ford Family Foundation Fellowship Residency, Ucross, Sheridan, Wyoming
2022 Lower Cavity Artist Residency, Holyoke, Massachusetts
2019 Pine Meadow Ranch Artist Residency, Sisters, Oregon
2018 SPACES Art Writer in Residence, Cleveland, Ohio
18th Street Arts Center Residency, Santa Monica, California
2016 Fulbright Fellowship to Warsaw, Poland (2016–17)
2015 Fulbright Fellowship to Warsaw, Poland (2015–16)
2014 LPP + Artist Residency, Little Paper Planes, San Francisco, California
Oolite Arts Visiting Artist Residency, Miami, Florida
2013 Sou’wester Artist Residency, Sou'wester Lodge, Seaview, Washington
2012 Thematic Residency, The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada
Artist in Residence, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, California
2011 Graduate Fellowship Residency, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California
Selected Bibliography:
2023 “The Rose,” 4 Columns
"A Bowl with Holes in It," Contemporary Art Stavanger
“Bean Gilsdorf: Some Women,” Full Bleed Journal
“Bean Gilsdorf,” Beyond the Studio Podcast
2022 “Photographs in a New Light,” Oregon ArtsWatch
2021 Craft and the Hyperobject, Center for Art Research, University of Oregon
“The Best Oregon-Made Movies, Books, Music & Art of 2021,” Portland Monthly
2020 “Love Letter to Bean Gilsdorf,” Variable West
“Studio Visit: Bean Gilsdorf,” BOMB Magazine
“Portland Artist Wins Warhol Grant to Write About Our City’s Challenged Arts Scene,” Portland Monthly
2018 “Soft Power,” Humble Arts Foundation
"Resource: Bean Gilsdorf, State Dinner," The Rib
"Bean Gilsdorf @ Anytime Dept.," Journal.FYI
"Required Reading," Hyperallergic
"Nautilus," ArtBlitzLA
"Essential Arts & Culture," Los Angeles Times
"Nowa galeria w mieście. Stroboskop wypełnia ochocką niszę," Wyborcza.pl
2017 "A Contemporary Art Gallery in New Haven Invites Artists to Reflect on the American Flag," HuffPost
"Zombie internet atakuje," Szum
“MCASB Opens Two New Exhibitions in Main Space,” Santa Barbara Seasons
2016 “Catch Transforming Milk Into Milk & Blow Up: Chad Person at RedLine,” Denver Westword
“Past, Present, No Future,” emptypictures.net
“Local artists take a look at American identity,” San Francisco Chronicle
2015 Stars & Stripes: The American Flag in Contemporary Art (book), Schiffer Books
"Site-Specific Comedy," Art in America
2014 “An Interview with Bean Gilsdorf,” Untitled Magazine
“Bean Gilsdorf's 'An Exhibition That Might Exist' at PNCA” The Oregonian
“The Realm of the Possible,” The Virtual Memories Podcast
2013 “Social Fabric,” The Journal of Modern Craft
“Social Fabric,” Textile
“Bean Gilsdorf Living History Museum,” Mosshouse.net
“Social Fabric: Questioning the Fibers of Our Material Existence,” LifeinLA.com
“The Politics of cloth, yarn, and sequins at the Craft and Folk Art Museum,” DailyNews.com
“Remembering is Everything,” ArtPractical.com
“Social Fabric: Seven artists turn fabric into a tactile discussion of culture, commerce and war,” CoolHunting.com
“Framing Devices,” San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Four Distinctive Gallery Exhibitions Open This Week,” 7x7.com
2012 Americana (book), Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts
“Bean Gilsdorf: Help Desk,” Glance Magazine
“HELP!” Art21 Magazine
2011 “The Last Charge: Bean Gilsdorf at Mission Comics and Art,” KQED.org
2009 “Donal Mosher at Disjecta and Bean Gilsdorf at Linfield College,” The Oregonian
“Cool Quilts for a Warm Day: Bean Gilsdorf at Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art,” eReview.org
“From Portland to Huehuetenango,” Kansas City Pitch
2008 “Bean Gilsdorf: Critiquing Cultural Icons,” Surface Design Journal
Textiles Now, Laurence King Publishers, London
Performances:
2015 Protected Area, Banff Centre, Banff
2012 Aesthetic Palm Reading, Art in General, New York
Hand Massage Palm Reading, IcTus Gallery, San Francisco
Give Me Your Hand and Experimental Comedy, Banff Centre, Banff
Art Scan Fair Meditation, ArtPadSF Art Fair, San Francisco
2010 A Sea of Troubles, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco
Selected Recent Lectures and Panels:
2024 Lecture on Arts Research, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland
2023 Visiting Artist Lecture, Lewis & Clark College, Portland
Visiting Artist Lecture, Sheridan College, Sheridan
2022 Visiting Artist Lecture, Eastern Oregon University, La Grande
Visiting Artist/Critic Roundtable, Stamps School of Art at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Moderator for “Reimagining the Contemporary,” Horasis USA Meeting, online panel
2021 On Curation in 2020 and Beyond, Ford Family Foundation, online panel
2019 Visiting Artist Lecture, Reed College, Portland
2018 Graduate Lecture Series, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco
2017 Visiting Artist Lecture, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara
Visiting Artist Lecture, Mills College, Oakland
2015 “Lateral Appropriation and the Obligations of Artist-Peers,” CopyCamp/Fundacja Nowoczesna Polska, Warsaw
2014 Visiting Artist Lecture, Cannonball, Miami
Visiting Artist Lecture, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland
2013 Visiting Artist Lecture, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco
2012 Visiting Artist Lecture, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary
Visiting Artist Lecture, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco
2011 Craft Forward Symposium Pecha Kucha, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
Panel discussion of Paper Quilt exhibition, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley
2010 Visiting Artist Lecture, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
2008 Visiting Artist Lecture, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland
Curatorial Projects:
2014 Disruption, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
2013 Remembering is Everything (with A. Will Brown), Alter Space Gallery, San Francisco
2012 Pool Projects, ArtPadSF Art Fair, San Francisco
Service:
2024 Guest Panelist for MFA Thesis Proposals, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland
2023 Reviewer for Fulbright Graduate Student Award 2024–25, Warsaw, Poland
2022 Reviewer for Fulbright Senior Award 2023–24, Warsaw, Poland
Juror for Artist Resilience Grant, Oregon Arts Commission, Salem
2021 Juror for Writer in Residence, Stelo Arts + Variable West, Portland
2020 Juror for Artist in Residence, Pine Meadow Ranch, Sisters
2018 Art Writing Workshop Instructor, 21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati
2017 Art Writing Workshop Instructor, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
2017 Mentor, TopMinds/Fulbright Polska, Warsaw
2016 Art Writing Workshop Instructor, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
2014 Juror for Artist in Residence, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito
2014 Alumni Mentor, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
2013 Alumni Mentor, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Gt. Barrington
2013 Alumni Mentor, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
2013 Art Writing Workshop Instructor, Art Practical/826 Valencia, San Francisco
2012 Alumni Mentor, California College of the Arts, San Francisco