Daniel Arsham, born in 1980, grew up in Miami, and now lies in New York. His big break came in 2004, when he was living in Miami after college, and Merce Cunningham handpicked him to design stage sets for his dance company. Arsham’s first stage design for Cunningham was acquired by The Walker Museum for its permanent collection.

His practice has been guided by a curiosity for architecture and structured space, stemming from childhood memories of seeing the wreckage of Hurricane Andrew in his hometown of Miami. Some of his best-known works include a series of installations that destabilize gallery walls, such that they appear to be dripping, folding, oozing, or absorbing furniture; also figuring among his oeuvre are sculptures made from granulated materials like crushed glass.

He is also a filmmaker and active as one half of the art and architecture collaborative Snarkitecture along with Alex Mustonen.

Links

Daniel Arsham’s Time Machines

Exhibitions include

PS1 in New York
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami
The Athens Bienniale in Athens, Greece
The New Museum In New York
Mills College Art Museum in Oakland, California
Carré d’Art de Nîmes, France

A first monograph of Arsham’s work was published by the French Centre National des arts plastiques and a second one was published by Galerie Perrotin in 2012.