Nancy Dwyer rose to prominence in the early 1980s alongside a group of artists who became known as the Pictures Generation. After working briefly as a commercial sign maker, however, her practice evolved uniquely from the canon reinforced by her peers. Using everyday language as her central subject matter, Dwyer established her own path through deconstruction informed largely by linguistic tropes siphoned from television and other popular culture. Her works have taken the form of paintings, animations, site specific installations and sculptures both functional and not. Four decades on, her dynamic manipulations of aphorisms, buzzwords, and thought-terminating clichés function as visual springboards in the physical realm for a kind of resonant subjective play.
Nancy Dwyer (b. 1954, New York) lives and works in Santa Fe, NM. Dwyer has exhibited internationally since the mid 1970s. She was a co-founder of Hallwalls, the non-profit organization created in 1974 as a cooperative for artists in Buffalo, NY. Recent exhibitions include Dwyer’s first European Institutional solo exhibition at Kunsthalle Winterthur, Winterthur, CH (2024); a solo exhibition at Theta, New York (2023) and a group exhibition at Derosia, New York (2023). Dwyer has exhibited in major museum exhibitions, among them, notably: a solo retrospective at the Fisher Landau Center for Art, New York, (2013); The Pictures Generation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2009); and Bad Girls, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (1994). She has participated in exhibitions and biennials at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; MOCA, Los Angeles; the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston; The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Kunstverein Frankfurt, Germany; and National Museum of Art, Osaka, among others. Her work is held in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOCA, The Walker Art Center, The Brooklyn Museum, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, and Museum Voorlinden, among others.
Hot Mess, 2024 Acrylic and flashe on wood panel with television mount 33¾ x 45 x 4 in
Coming Up Next.., 1986 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 74 1/2 x 3 in Collection MOCA, Los Angeles
Hot Mess Installation view Kunsthalle Winterthur, Winterthur, CH, 2024
Hot Mess Installation view Kunsthalle Winterthur, Winterthur, 2024
LIE, 1986 Formica on wood Installation view Kunsthalle Winterthur, Winterthur, CH
How About Never? Installation view Theta, New York, 2023
NANCY DWYER: Painting & Sculpture, 1982–2012 Installation view Fisher Landau Center, New York, 2013
The Fuck?, 2024 Flashe on wood panel with television mount 30½ x 44⅜ x 4 in
Kill Yourself, 1989 Flashe on canvas 70 x 90 in Collection of Buffalo AKG Art Museum
Window Seat (The Window Always Wins), 1997 Upholstered cushions on painted steel 19 x 67 x 30 in Installation view Horror Vacui, New York, 2023
Hot Mess Installation view Kunsthalle Winterthur, Winterthur, CH, 2024
How About Never? Installation view Theta, New York, 2023
Obsession Overruled, 1985 6 billboards displayed across New York City, Buffalo, and Schenectady, NY Commissioned by the New York State Council for the Arts
NANCY DWYER: Painting & Sculpture, 1982–2012 Installation view Fisher Landau Center, New York, 2013
Everybody's Angry, 2013 Papier-mâché, plaster, latex paint, monofilament 74 x 48 x 44 in
Thinking Machine, 2010 Wood 12¼ x 17 x 10½ in
Holly Village II Installation view Derosia, New York, 2023
Alright Already, 2005 Acrylic on carved wood panel 32 x 34 x 2 in Installation view Horror Vacui, New York, 2023
How About Never?, 2023 Acrylic on wood with television mount 30½ x 39¼ x 10½ in
Bad Girls Installation view New Museum, New York, 1994
Open Concept, 2023 Acrylic on wood with television mount 27 x 39 x 13½ in
NANCY DWYER: Painting & Sculpture, 1982–2012 Installation view Fisher Landau Center, New York, 2013
MIRACLE, 1986 Acrylic on canvas 60 1/4 x 75 in
Waves of Wanting, 1998 Aluminum Installation view Piazzetta Andrea Viglongo, Torino, IT
This Is . . ., 2014 Wood slat window blinds, laser-cut text 94 x 128 x 2.5 in
Down, 2005 Acrylic and plaster on wood 43 x 66 x 3 in
The Age of the Death of Irony, 1988 Iron and wood Installation view Art Omi, Ghent, NY
Obvious Devious Oblivious, 1997 Oil on Wood 27.5 x 48 in
Nancy Dwyer Installation View Galerie Renos Xippas, 1994
Less is Less Installation view Galerie Renos Xippas, Paris, 1992
Beep After the Beep, 1991 Acrylic on canvas 46 x 35.5 in
STAY, 1987 Leather and laminate on wood 20 x 24 x 114 in Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum
Rich, 1989 Acrylic on canvas 70 x 90 in
FOOD, 1990 Reconfigured galvanized trash cans 20 x 105 x 20 in total
Trubble, 1989 Artforum Cover Feature
Gallery Exhibitions and Fairs
Selected Press
Artforum, Lakin, Max. Critic’s Pick: How About Never? Nancy Dwyer at Theta, September 2023
Turning Point, Lee, Nathaniel. Nancy Dwyer at Theta, June 7, 2023
The New York Times, Johnson, Ken. Nancy Dwyer: ‘Painting and Sculpture, 1982-2012’, March 21, 2013
Seven Days Vermont, Kelley, Kevin. Sculptor Nancy Dwyer's Medium Is Her Message, March 20, 2013
Artforum, Pincus-Witten, Robert. Nancy Dwyer- Fisher Landau Center for Art, April 2013
Artforum, Lobel, Michael. Outside the Frame: The Pictures Generation, September 2009
Seven Days Vermont, Polston, Pamela. Nancy Dwyer: Looking Back and Forward, May 2009
Artforum, Meyer, James. Outside the Box: Unpacking Craig Owens’s Slide Library, March 2003
The New York Times, Johnson, Ken. Nancy Dwyer at Cristinerose Gallery, June 5, 1998
Artnet Magazine, Ilka Scobie. The Monolith Um..., featured review, July 17, 1998
Art in America, Grady T. Turner. Nancy Dwyer at Cristinerose, November 1998
Artvoice, Licata, Elizabeth. Nancy Dwyer: Coming Down To Words, 1997
Flash Art, DiCosta, Giovanna. Nancy Dwyer Review, February 1996
TimeOut, Yablonsky, Linda. Nancy Dwyer, May 1, 1996
Los Angeles Times, Muchnic, Suzanne. Hot Off the Inkjet, June 6, 1996
Los Angeles Times, Drohojowska-Philp, Hunter. And When They Were Bad..., January 16, 1994
The New York Times, Smith, Roberta. A Raucous Caucus of Feminists Being Bad January 21, 1994
The Village Voice, Hess, Elizabeth. And Everything Nice?, February 1, 1994
Los Angeles Times, Knight, Christopher. ‘Bad Girls’: Feminism on Wry, February 8, 1994
San Francisco Chronicle, Baker, Kenneth. Bad Girls Do Cry, February 13, 1994
Newsweek, Plagens, Peter. Bad Girls For Goodness Sake, February 14, 1994
The New York Times, Zimmer, William. ‘Everything I Say Is Art Is Art’, She Said, May 1, 1994
The Plain Dealer, Litt, Steven. A Gateway for Public Art, January 10, 1993
Flash Art, Torri, Maria Grazia. Peccato Di Novita, no.179, November 1993
Art Press, Ardenne, Paul. Nancy Dwyer, Issue 167, March 1992
Artforum, Zahm, Olivier. Reviews: Nancy Dwyer at Galerie Renos Xippas, April 1992
The New Yorker, Reviews: Nancy Dwyer, November 16, 1992
The Village Voice, Levin, Kim. Nancy Dwyer – Voice Choice, December 1, 1992
Atelier, Nancy Dwyer Review, January 1991
Contemporanea, Nancy Dwyer Review, No. 24, January, 1991
Harper’s Bazaar, Medford, Sarah. Letter Perfect, February, 1991
Artscribe, Nancy Dwyer Review, January-February, 1991
Art Press, Zahm, Olivier. No, not that one. It’s not a Chair Review, March, 1991
The Journal of Art, Wieczorek, Marek. ‘Night Lines’ Turns Utrecht Into Vegas North, September, 1991
ARTNews, Turner, Jonathan. Night Lines Reviews, Vol. 90, No. 8, October, 1991
Westdeutsche Zeitung, Worte um Bilder, Vol. 27, No. 5, 1991
Artscribe, Lauf, Cornelia. Neon Lights, November 1991
Parkett, Cameron, Dan. The Accidental Spectator, Issue No. 30, 1991
Cultura Arte, Dalesio, di Gabriella. Voglio Dare Voce E Spazio Alla Marginalità, November, 1990
The New York Times, Smith, Roberta. Combustible Paintings Of a Brooding Legend, Review, October 19, 1990
The New Yorker, Reviews: Nancy Dwyer, October 7, 1990
Arts Magazine, Jones, Alan. Review: Nancy Dwyer, December, 1990
Art in America, Kalina, Richard. Nancy Dwyer at Josh Baer, December, 1990
Bon A Tirer, Non, ce n’est pas une chaise, c’est de l’art, December, 1990
Ridgefield Press, Brass, Perry. Word Art at the Aldrich, December, 1990
Galeries Magazine, Denizot, Rene. Et Dieu Dans Tout Ca?, October, 1990
The Plain Dealer, Cullinan, Helen. ‘Take Them at Their Word’ Review, December 31, 1990
Art Issues, Fehlau, Fred. Nancy Dwyer at Meyers/Bloom, January, 1989
Artnews, Heartney, Eleanor. Nancy Dwyer at Josh Baer Gallery, March, 1989
The Chicago Tribune, Artner, Alan G. Artist’s Use of Words Gives New Translation, June 23, 1990
Artforum, Tucker, Marcia. Nancy Dwyer Makes Trubble [Cover Feature'], November 1989
The New York Times, 1988 Smith, Roberta. Art: ‘Media Post Media’, A Show of 19 Women, January 15, 1988
Artscribe, McCoy, Pat. of Ever-Ever Land i speak, January/February, 1988
Los Angeles Times, Nugent, John Peer. Jay Chiat’s Second Coming, February, 1988
Cover Magazine, Cyphers, Peggy. Women and Phenomenon, February, 1988
Artscribe, Miller, John. Reviews: ‘Media Post Media’, May, 1988
Los Angeles Times, Curtis, Cathy. Santa Monica, September 23, 1988
House and Garden, Taylor, Paul. Art, Object Lessons, October, 1988
The Village Voice, Levin, Kim. The Last Word, December 6, 1988
Artforum, Weissman, Benjamin. Nancy Dwyer at Meyers/Bloom December, 1988
El Paseante, Nickas, Robert. Entropy and the New Objects, December, 1988
The New York Times, Smith, Roberta. February 20, 1987
Artscribe, Brooks, Rosetta. Universal Pictures, March/April, 1987
The Record, Zeaman, John. The latest ‘art’ for art’s sake, The Record, April 12, 1987
San Fransisco Chronicle, Baker, Kenneth. Biennial With A Unity, San Francisco Chronicle, April 20, 1987
Artfinder, Pierson, Melissa. A Two Year Itch: Whitney Biennial, Artfinder, May, 1987
Flash Art, Cameron, Dan. The Whitney Biennial, Summer, No.135, 1987
The Commonwealth, Gardner, James. A Pleasant Walk Through the Whitney Biennial, June 5, 1987
Art in America, Westfall, Stephen. Nancy Dwyer at Josh Baer, Art In America, No.7, July, 1987
The Hollywood Reporter, Christy, George. The Great Life, August 6, 1987
Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Knight, Christopher. A cultural self-portrait, warts and all, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, August 7, 1987
Monika Spruth, Eau de Cologne, Koln, Germany, November, 1987
The Village Voice, Indiana, Gary. Talking Back, The Village Voice, February 11, 1986
ZG Magazine, Kleyn, Robert. Cover Story, Spring, No.13, 1985
New York Beat, Whitfield, Tony. Body Politic, New York Beat, May 9, 1984
The Village Voice, Smith Roberta. The Whitney Biennial: Taking Consensus, February 15, 1983
Artforum, Linker, Kate, Nancy Dwyer, May, 1983
Portfolio Magazine, Goldberg, RoseLee. Post-TV Art, July/August, 1983
Artforum, Linker, Kate. Public Vision, November, 1980
Artweek, Kalil, Susie, Vol.12, No.25, August 11, 1981
Arts Magazine, Tatransky, Valentin, June, 1981
New York Magazine, Ashbery, John, October 6, 1980
The Soho Weekly News, Zimmer, B, October 6, 1980
The Village Voice, Rickey, Carrie. The Village Voice, July 9, 1980
The Buffalo Courier Express, June 15, 1976