At the Grave of Vladimir Nabokov (Speak, Memory), 2025, dimmable LED lamps, fixtures and filters, 133.3 x 129.5 cm, 52 1/2 x 51 in

Spencer Finch

Spencer Finch was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1962, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

He has participated in the Folkestone Triennial, UK (2011), the 53rd Venice Biennial (2009), the Turin Triennial (2008) and the Whitney Biennial (2004). A survey exhibition titled What Time Is It on the Sun? was on view at MASS MoCA, North Adams in 2007-2008. In 2017, he returned to the museum with his long-term installation Cosmic Latte.

Since the early 1990’s Finch has exhibited extensively in the US and internationally. He will present a comprehensive solo exhibition at Kunsthaus Graz in 2027. Recent major solo shows include Hill Art Foundation, New York, NY (2022-2023); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (2018-2019); MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA (2017); Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL (2017); Seattle Museum of Art, WA (2017); Turner Contemporary, Margate, United Kingdom (2014).

Among his public commissions are To Disappear Enhances – (Memory Landscapes), a 21-meter-long tiled mural for the Obama Presidential Center, Chicago (2026); Bring me the Sunset in a Cup, a two-wall commission for Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2023); A Cloud Index, a site-specific commission for the Elizabeth line station at Paddington in London (2022); Orion, permanently installed at the San Francisco Airport, CA (2020); Moon Dust (Apollo 17), at the Baltimore Museum of Art, MD (2019); Fifteen Stones (Ryoanji), an intervention in the International Pavilion at the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, Spain (2018); Lost Man Creek, his project with the Public Art Fund, Brooklyn, NY (2016-2018); Trying To Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning, a special commission for the 9/11 Memorial, New York, NY (2014); and A Certain Slant of Light, The Morgan Library and Museum, New York, NY (2014).

His work can be found in collections including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Morgan Library, New York, NY; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia; Kemper Museum of Art, St Louis, MO; the Art Institute of Chicago, IL; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, among several others.

CV and Bibliography as PDF
Artist website

Exhibitions at the gallery

Texts

  • Installation view "Decoy", Galerie Nordenhake Berlin 2025
  • Fog Study (Lake Wononscopomuc), 2022, pastel on paper, 19 x 25.4 cm, 7 1/2 x 10 in
  • Installation view "Decoy", Galerie Nordenhake Berlin 2025
  • Sunset (Brooklyn/Berlin, Spring), 2025, filters and tape, 193 x 80 cm, 76 x 31 1/2 in
  • Cloud (cumulus fractus, Kyoto), 2025, scotch tape on matboard mounted to Dibond, 71.1 x 96.5 cm, 28 x 38 in
  • Mistakes, 2021, soft pastel on various coloured paper, set of 25 drawings, each 27.9 x 25.4 cm, 11 x 10 in, framed 33 x 30.5 cm, 13 x 12 in
  • Mistakes, 2021, soft pastel on various coloured paper, set of 25 drawings, each 27.9 x 25.4 cm, 11 x 10 in, framed 33 x 30.5 cm, 13 x 12 in, detail
  • Mistakes, 2021, soft pastel on various coloured paper, set of 25 drawings, each 27.9 x 25.4 cm, 11 x 10 in, framed 33 x 30.5 cm, 13 x 12 in, detail
  • After Seurat (40 Colors), 2023, acrylic on paper in artist's frame, 80.3 x 109.2 cm, 31 5/8 x 43 in
  • After Seurat (40 Colors), 2023, acrylic on paper in artist's frame, 80.3 x 109.2 cm, 31 5/8 x 43 in, detail
  • Raindrops (on Emily Dickinson’s Window, Spring), 2024, watercolour on paper, set of 12 drawings, each 22.9 x 30.8 cm, 9 x 12 1/8 in
  • Raindrops (on Emily Dickinson’s Window, Spring), 2024, watercolour on paper, set of 12 drawings, each 22.9 x 30.8 cm, 9 x 12 1/8 in, detail
  • Raindrops (on Emily Dickinson’s Window, Spring), 2024, watercolour on paper, set of 12 drawings, each 22.9 x 30.8 cm, 9 x 12 1/8 in, detail
  • Sunlight on the Gowanus Canal, 2024, gold leaf on paper, 55.9 x 76.2 cm, 22 x 30 in, framed 63 x 83 cm, 24 3/4 x 32
  • Sunset in a cup, 2024, Archival inkjet print, 30.8 x 30.8 cm, 12 1/8 x 12 1/8 in, framed 32,3 x 32.3 cm, 12 5/8 x 12 3/4 in
  • Sunset in a cup, 2024, Archival inkjet print, 30.8 x 30.8 cm, 12 1/8 x 12 1/8 in, framed 32,3 x 32.3 cm, 12 5/8 x 12 3/4 in
  • Sunset (after Monet), 2019, paper collage mounted on Sintra, framed 60 x 82.8 cm, 23 5/8 x 32 5/8 in
  • North Atlantic Ocean (April 14, 1912, 11:40pm), 2024, splywood, MDF, dowels, tulle, cotton bed sheet, magnets and acrylic paint, 153 x 121.9 x 162.6 cm, 60 1/4 x 48 x 64 in
  • Study for Six Unnameable Colors, 2023, automotive paint, stainless steel discs, ABS plastic mounted to Komatex, 182.9 x 30.5 cm, 72 x 12 in
  • Study for Six Unnameable Colors, 2023, automotive paint, stainless steel discs, ABS plastic mounted to Komatex, 182.9 x 30.5 cm, 72 x 12 in, detail
  • Installation view: 'Bring me the sunset in a cup', 2023. Commissioned with MIT Percent-for-Art funds. Photo: Dario Lasagni
  • Installation view, 'Bring me the sunset in a cup', 2023. Commissioned with MIT Percent-for-Art funds. Photo: Dario Lasagni
  • Installation view, 'Bring me the sunset in a cup', 2023. Commissioned with MIT Percent-for-Art funds. Photo: Dario Lasagni
  • After La Grande Jatte (Spectrophotometric #1: butterfly, pipe, sailboat reflection, tree leaves / Spectrophotometric #2: Baby, sky, pipe, parasol) / Spectrophotometric #3: trumpeter’s hat, girl’s hair, grass in sun, monkey), 2023, acrylic on birch plywood panel, group of three paintings, each 50.8 x 50.8 cm, 20 x 20 in
  • After La Grande Jatte (Spectrophotometric #3: trumpeter’s hat, girl’s hair, grass in sun, monkey), 2023, acrylic on birch plywood panel, one from group of three paintings, each 50.8 x 50.8 cm, 20 x 20 in
  • Study for Back to Kansas, 2014, acrylic and pencil on paper, 76.2 x 104.8 cm, 30 x 41 1/4 in
  • As Blind Men learn the sun Passing cloud on my body - (sun/shade), 2018, pastel and pencil on paper, each 74.9 x 104.1 cm, 29 1/2 x 41 in
  • As Blind Men learn the sun Passing cloud on my body - (sun/shade), 2018, pastel and pencil on paper, each 74.9 x 104.1 cm, 29 1/2 x 41 in, detail
  • Atlantic Ocean, Del Ray Beach, February 8, 2002 (afternoon effect), 2009, watercolor on paper, 55.9 x 76.2 cm, 22 x 30 in
  • Installation view: Lux and Lumen: Spencer Finch, Hill Art Foundation, September 16 2022–March 4 2023, Photo: Matthew Herrmann
  • Study for Goldberg Variations 21, 30, 29, 2021, 6 fluorescent lights, filters and fixtures, 122 x 43.2 x 5 cm, 48 x 17 x 2 in
  • Following 3 bees (Helianthus), 2023, pastel and pencil on paper, 75.6 x 104.8 cm, 29 3/4 x 41 1/4 in
  • A Cloud Index, 2016. Paddington station (Elizabeth line). Commissioned as part of The Crossrail Art Programme. Photo: GG Archard, 2022
  • A Cloud Index, 2016. Paddington station (Elizabeth line). Commissioned as part of The Crossrail Art Programme. Photo: GG Archard, 2022
  • Falling Leaf (Beech), 2019, watercolor on folded paper, 4 x 4 cm each square
  • Detail: Falling Leaf (Beech), 2019
  • Lost Man Creek, 2016, MetroTech Commons, Brooklyn, recreation (1:100 scale) of a 790-acre section of the Redwood National Park, California
  • Lost Man Creek, 2016, MetroTech Commons, Brooklyn, recreation (1:100 scale) of a 790-acre section of the Redwood National Park, California
  • Spring (3,563), 2016, watercolour on paper, 228.6 x 355.5 cm, 90 x 140 in
  • Spring (3,563), 2016, watercolour on paper, 228.6 x 355.5 cm, 90 x 140 in, detail
  • Fog (Penobscot Bay), 2017, pastel and pencil on paper, 98 x 127 cm, 38 5/8 x 50 in
  • RGB (White), 2022, LED Lightbox and Fujitrans, 55.9 x 55.9 x 10.8 cm , 22 x 22 x 4 1/4 in
  • Gutter (San Francisco) straw, cigarette butt, feather, cucumber slice, banana peel, syringe, coffee cup, 2019, watercolour on paper, 53 x 74.5 cm, 20 3/4 x 29 1/4 in, framed 82 x 61 cm, 32 1/4 x 24 in
  • Fifteen Stones (Ryōan-ji), 2018, 15 granite stones, site-specific installation for the reflecting pool, Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, Barcelona
  • Fifteen Stones (Ryōan-ji), 2018, 15 granite stones, site-specific installation for the reflecting pool, Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, Barcelona, photo: Anna Mas
  • Fifteen Stones (Ryōan-ji), 2018, 15 granite stones, site-specific installation for the reflecting pool, Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, Barcelona, photo: Anna Mas
  • Shadow of Orange Tree (After Lorca), 2019, fluorescent fixtures and filters, 320 x 420 x 5 cm, 125 15/16 x 165 5/16 x 1 15/16 in
  • Fresh Snow (morning effect), IV, 2021, silver leaf on paper, 55.9 x 76.2 cm, 22 x 30 in, framed 63.5 x 83.2 cm, 25 x 32 3/4 in
  • Crawford Path up Mt. Pierce, NH (after a spring snowstorm), 2021, Pantone swatches and pencil on paper, 74.9 x 104.8 cm, 29 1/2 x 41 1/4 in, framed 83 x 112.8 cm, 32 3/4 x 44 1/2 in
  • Installation view "Spencer Finch – The eye you see is not an eye because you see it, it is an eye because it sees you", Galerie Nordenhake Berlin 2017
  • Pollen, 2017, watercolour, Ink, pencil, colour pencil, marker, soft pastel, gouache on paper, and archival inkjet prints, overall dimensions installed 151 x 361 cm, 59 1/2 x 142 1/8 in
  • Smell of Spring, detail of the work Pollen, 2017
  •
    Spencer Finch and Daniel Birnbaum (Director of Moderna Museet Stockholm) in conversation during Gallery Weekend Berlin, April 28 – June 24, 2017
  • Trying To Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning, 2014, 2,983 watercolor squares. Commission for National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Each of the watercolor squares is its own shade of blue – one for each of the 2001 and 1993 attack victims.
  • Red (Lock of Emily Dickinson’s hair), 2018, Ambrotype on glass with velvet backing, 22.9 x 17.8 cm, 9 1/16 x 7 1/16 in
  • Installation view "Moon Dust (Apollo 17)", 2009, 150 light fixtures and 417 incandescent light bulbs, Variable dimensions, Baltimore Museum of Art 2017
  • Light in an Empty Room (Studio at Night), 2015, Mixed Media, Dimensions at Art Unlimited Basel: (H)400 x (W)1000 x (L)750 cm, (H) 157 1/2 x (W) 393 (L) 3/4 x 295 1/4 in
  • Light in an Empty Room (Studio at Night), 2015, detail
  • Light in an Empty Room (Studio at Night), 2015, detail
  • Study for Light in an Empty Room (Studio at Night), 2015, Watercolor on paper, 56 x 77 cm, 29 8/16 x 40 15/16 in
  • Installation view "Spencer Finch – Passing Cloud", Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. 2010, Fluorescent light fixtures and lamps, filters, mono-filament, and clothespins, dimension variable
  • Lump (of concrete) Mistaken for a Pile (of dirty snow), 2010, Secar 71, white Portland cement, white sand, black marble dust, Translucent Frit, Brooklyn street dirt, 34 x 41 x 29 cm, 13 6/16 x 16 2/16 x 11 6/16 in
  • Installation view "Spencer Finch – Moondust (Apollo 17)", Venice Biennale 2009, 150 light fixtures and 417 incandescent light bulbs, dimensions variable, Fare Mondi/Making Worlds
  • Installation view "Spencer Finch – Moonlight (Venice, March 10, 2009)", Venice Biennale 2009, filters, tape, dimensions variable
  • A Walk Through Berlin (with Claudia), 12. November 2013, 252 Pantone Color Swatches, Dimensions variable (individual elements each 4,3 x 3 cm, 1 5/8 x 1 1/8 in
  • A Walk Through Berlin (with Claudia), 12. November 2013, detail
  • Mars Black (3Fe2O3•FeO), 2003, 60 fixtures and 255 light bulbs (15 units, á 4 fixtures), dimensions variable
  • The River that Flows Both Ways, 2009, Transforms an existing series of windows with 700 individual panes of glass representing the water conditions on the Hudson River over a period of 700 minutes in a single day
  • Orion, 2008, 17 hand painted glass globes, fixtures, LED-lights, overall dimensions: approx 151 x 300 x 300 cm, 59 1/2 x 118 1/8 x 118 1/8 in
  • Brain scan study (color objects), 2013, Water color and pencil on paper, 38.8 x 55.9 cm, 15 4/16 x 22 1/16 in
  • West (Sunset in my motel room, Monument Valley, January 26, 2007, 5:36-6:06 pm), 2007, 9-channel synchronized video installation with 9 TV monitors, 9 DVD players and sync unit, Running time: 31 min, 5 sec, Dimensions variable, shelving and monitors: 182 x 206 x 73,7 cm, 71 10/16 x 81 1/16 x 29 1/16 in
  • Two Examples of Molecular Orbital Theory (Prussian Blue), 2005, Room installation, each room 355 x 400 x 280 cm, 139 3/4 x 157 1/2 x 110 1/4 in
  • The Moment When Three Dimensions Become Two Dimensions (Apple Tree, 7/3/10, 9:38 p.m.), 2010, Archival inkjet print, 55.9 x 76.2 cm, 22 x 30 in
  • Floating Cherry Blossoms (Stream), 2016, Series of five archival inkjet prints, 52 x 52 cm, framed: 58.7 x 58.7 cm, 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 in
  • Stone Wall, Litchfield County, CT 1, 2012, Graphite on paper, 55.9 x 76.2 cm, 22 x 30 in, framed 64 x 83.1 cm, 25 1/4 x 32 3/4 in
  • Lunar, 2011, installation view "Light & Landscape", Storm King Art Center, Cornwall, NY, 2012