Kelly Nipper
Born 1971 in Minneapolis, MN
Lives and works in Los Angeles
EDUCATION
1995 MFA, Art, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
1993 BFA, Media Arts, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN
SOLO EXHIBITIONS & PERFORMANCE COMMISSIONS
2024
Inside Room Outside Elements, David Peterson Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2017
Terre Mécanique, Performa 17 Commission, New York, NY
2014
Tessa Pattern Takes a Picture, South London Gallery, UK
2013
Black Forest, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Tessa Pattern Takes a Picture, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle,
Warsaw, Poland
Circle Circle, Bard College, Annandale-on Hudson, NY *
Black Forest, Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland
Tessa Pattern Takes a Picture, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
2012
Black Forest, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland
2010
Weather Center, Francesca Kaufmann, Milan, Italy
Compass, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland *
2009
Shifting Shapes, Art on Stage, Art Basel, Miami, FL
2008
Sapphire, Art Statements, Anna Helwing Gallery, Art 39 Basel, Switzerland *
2007
Floyd on the Floor, Performa 07 Commission, New York, NY *
Circle Circle, Anna Helwing Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Perspectives 158: Kelly Nipper, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX *
2004
Bending Water into a Heart Shape, Francesca Kaufmann, Milan, Italy
2002
Timing Exercises, Shoshana Wayne, Santa Monica, CA
Timing Exercises, Francesca Kaufmann, Milan, Italy
2001
Shotgun and a Figure 8, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1999
Norma, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1998
Norma, Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS & SCREENINGS
2024
Motion Capture: Recent Acquisitions in Media and Performance, Walker Art Center,
Minneapolis, MN
2023
Movement and Momentum: A Dance for the Camera, Nottingham
Contemporary, UK
2022
ROSE MADDER MIRROR TIME MARKER - Kelly Nipper and Matt Saunders, Grice
Bench, Los Angeles, CA *
LIVE: Performa Archive, LGDR, New York
2021
Global Groove: Art, Dance, Performance & Protest, Museum Folkwang,
Essen, Germany *
Space Oddity, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy
2019
An Opera for Animals, Para Site, Hong Kong, China *
An Opera for Animals, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Out Score, Aixoni Sculpted Theatre, Athens, Greece
Performa: Commissions from Performa's Archive, Copenhagen Contemporary, Denmark
Art & Artists, Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Canada
2018
A Brune Figure in Winter Evening Resists Identity, Arratia Beer,
Berlin, Germany
Kinship, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2017
Performa: Commissions from Performa's Archive, Whitechapel, London, UK
Combat Breathing, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
Marching to the Beat, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016
So Many Steps, So Little Time, De Bond, Bruges, Belgium
20 - An Exhibition in Three Acts, Migros Museum for Gegenwartskunst, Zürich,
Switzerland
Performing the Grid, Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design,
Los Angeles, CA
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA
Art - Music - Dance, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Austria
2015
Fobofilia, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Torino, Italy
2014
The Avant-Garde Collection, Orange County Museum of Art,
Newport Beach, CA *
2013
Dance! Moves That Move Us, Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene-Museum,
Dresden, Germany *
Testing (Re-)Production, Muzeum Sztuki, Łódź, Poland
2012
Coquilles Mécaniques, Centre Rhenan d’Art Contemporain, Altkirch, France *
Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha
Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century, The Jewish Art Museum
of Tolerance Center, Moscow, Russia
Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century, Delaware Art Museum,
Wilmington, DE
Performance Now: The First Decade of the New Century, Queensland University of
Technology Art Museum, Brisbane, Australia
2011
Danser Sa Vie, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France *
Kaleidoscope Arena, Rome, Italy
Art in the Auditorium 3, Ballroom Marfa, TX; Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland; Fundación Proa,
Buenos Aires, Argentina; Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, Norway; San Art, Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam;
Para/Site, Hong Kong, China; City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand; Beirut Art Centre, Lebanon;
Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
2010
One Leading Away from Another, 303 Gallery, New York, NY
Move: Choreographing You, Hayward Gallery, London, UK *
Move: Choreographing You, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany; National Museum of Contemporary Art,
Seoul, Korea
The Tale of a Blind Resistance Fighter, Galerie Paul Andriesse,
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Scene Grammar, Parra & Romero, Madrid, Spain
While Bodies Get Mirrored - An Exhibition about Movement, Formalism and Space,
Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland *
2010: Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY *
2009
Dance with Camera, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, PA *
Dance with Camera, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, TX;
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ
2008
The Why of Life, Swiss Institute, New York, NY
Index: Conceptualism in California from the Permanent Collection,
MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
2005
BIDIBIDOBIDIBOO, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy *
Untitled, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA *
American Images: Opere Dalla Collezione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, American
Academy in Rome, Italy
2003
Girls' Night Out, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA *
Girls' Night Out, Contemporary Art Museum, Saint Louis, MO; Blaffer Art Museum,
University of Houston, TX; Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO; Addison Gallery of American Art,
Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
Short Cuts: Video Art and Photography, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
From the Flat Files, Ramp Gallery, Waikoto Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New
Zealand
2002
California Biennial, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA *
People See Paintings, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Pictures, Greene Naftali Gallery, New York, NY
New in Town, Portland Art Museum, OR
2001
Passion for Art: The DiSaronno Originale Photography Collection, Miami Art Museum, FL *
Passion for Art: The DiSaronno Originale Photography Collection, New Museum,
New York, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Museum of Art at
the University of California at Berkeley, CA
Boom! Playmakers, Manifattura d’Arte, Florence, Italy *
A Sport and a Pastime, Greene Naftali Gallery, New York, NY
IMSL (Imaginary Monumental Sculpture Lawn), Three-day weekend in conjunction
with Made in California: Now, Los Angeles County Museum of Art West,
Los Angeles, CA
2000
Guarene Arte, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy *
Sharon Lockhart + Kelly Nipper: 2 Artists in 3 Takes, The Walter and McBean
Galleries, San Francisco Art Institute, CA *
Beyond Boundaries: Contemporary Photography in California, Friends of
Photography, San Francisco, CA *
Beyond Boundaries: Contemporary Photography in California, California State
University, Long Beach, CA
SELECTED PRESS
2022
Saunders, Matt and Nipper, Kelly. ROSE MADDER MIRROR TIME MARKER. Artist
book. Los Angeles, CA.
2021
______. Global Groove: Art, Dance, Performance and Protest. Exh. Cat. Essen,
Germany: Museum Folkwang.”
2019
Shea, Claire. An Opera for Animals. Exh. cat. Hong Kong, China: Parasite.
2018
Diehl, Travis and Wilcox, Brica, “Realized Sketches in Two Dimensions.” X-TRA, vol.
20 no. 4. Summer 2018: 129-153.
“Analogiezauberei x 3: Nipper, Saunders und Sidner blicken durch Licht und Glas,”
Taz, March.
Shaw, Helen. “Performa 17,” Art in America, February.
2017
Getto, Erica. "Savage Logic," The Brooklyn Rail, Jan/Dec.
2016
Goldstein, Jennie. "Dance History in Contemporary Visual Art Practice: Kelly
Nipper's Weather Center." TDR: The Drama Review. Summer 2016: 103-21.
Davis, Samara. “Performing the Grid: Critics’ Pick.” Artforum Online, January.
2014
Bradley, Paige. “Kelly Nipper: Critics’ Pick.” Artforum Online, February.
RoseLee Goldberg, Bice Curiger, Jacqueline Burckhardt in Conversation with Nikki
Columbus. "Performance Record." Parkett, 94. May 2014: 6-17, 20.
Manalili, Fatima. The Avant-Garde Collection. Exh. cat. Newport Beach, CA: Orange County Museum of Art.
Lucking, Maura. “Shadow Movements: Pyschopomps and the Spectacle of Death.” Flaunt, May 2014.
Jeziorek, Paulina. "Carving Space." Notes.na6.Tygodni #92. June 2014: 115-122, 152-3.
2013
Trigg, Sarah. STUDIO LIFE: Rituals, Collections, Tools, and Observations on the
Artistic Process. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Architectural Press.
Ritson, Alicia. Squaring the Circle. Kelly Nipper: Circle Circle. Brochure. Annandale
on-Hudson, NY: Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.
Schindler, Feli. "Im Dadaistischen Schwarzwald." Tages-Anzeiger, 5 April, 27.
Wüst, Karl. "Ausdruckstanz, Rituelle Gesten." Zürcher Oberländer, 5 April, 23.
Perlson, Hili. "The Modern Mystics." Sleek, Spring 2013: 251.
Morinis, Leora. "Sometimes a Person and Sometimes a Concept: Kelly Nipper
Debuts Tessa Pattern Takes a Picture." Inside/Out, February: MoMA/MoMA PS1 Blog.
2012
Fiduccia, Joanna. Coquilles Mecaniques. Brochure. Altkirch, France: CRAC Alsace.
Searle, Adrian. “Glasgow Festival of Visual Art.” The Guardian, 24 April.
Kelly Nipper in Conversation with Steve Roden. Judson Now, edited by Judy Hussie-Taylor
and Jenn Joy. New York, NY: Danspace Project.
Katsof, Alhena. "Review: Glasgow International." Kaleidescope, May: Web Specials.
2010
Fiduccia, Joanna. "Kelly Nipper: Composing Movements." MAP - Journeys in Contemporary Art, #23.
Autumn 2010: 68 - 73.
Hertz, Betti-Sue. "Tableaux Vivants." Flash Art, No. 275. November – December 2010: 78 - 83.
Casavecchia, Barbara. "Kelly Nipper: Weather Center." Art Review, Issue 43. Summer: 148.
Bale, Theodore. "Opening Report: CAMH's Dance with Camera." Houston Press. 9 August: online.
Gygax, Raphael. Between Zones: On Representation of the Performative and the Notation of Movement.
Exh. cat. Zürich, Switzerland: Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst.
Chateigne Tytelman, Yann. "Letter on the Deaf and Mute." Kaleidoscope, Summer.
Tattersall, Lanka. "Terms of Use." Texte zur Kunst, Issue no. 78. June: 143.
Velasco, David. "1000 Words: Kelly Nipper." Artforum, March: 198-203.
Mead, Fionn. 2010: Whitney Biennial. Exh. cat. New York, NY: Whitney Museum of
American Art.
Nipper, Kelly. Conversation with Jens Hoffmann. "We Like to Move It, Move It."
Mousse Magazine, February/March 2010: 111-117.
Sholis, Brian. "Dance with Camera." Aperture. Spring.
2009
Goldberg, RoseLee. Everywhere and All at Once: An Anthology of Writings on
Performa 07. Zürich, Switzerland: JRP Ringier.
Porter, Jenelle. Dance with Camera. Exh. cat. Philadelphia, PA: Institute of
Contemporary Art.
2008
Vetroq, Marcia. “Performance: Everywhere and All at Once.” Art in America, March: 56-57.
2007
Sutton, Gloria. Ice Cream. London, England: Phaidon.
La Rocca, Claudia. “Love Takes a Tumble Amid a Brewing Storm.” New York Times, 17 November, B13.
Kamps, Toby. Perspectives 158: Kelly Nipper. Brochure. Houston, TX: Contemporary Arts Museum.
Leher-Graiwer, Sarah. “Kelly Nipper: Critics’ Pick.” Artforum Online, October.
2006 Sutton, Gloria. Vitamin Ph. London, England: Phaidon.
2005
Chambers, Kristin. Untitled. Brochure. Santa Barbara, CA: Contemporary Arts Forum.
Bonami, Francesco. BIDIBIDOBIDIBOO. Exh. cat. Turin, Italy: Fondazione Sandretto
Re Rebaudengo.
Myers, Holly. “Mesmerized by Two Strangers.” Los Angeles Times, 17 June, E1,
E24.
2003
Hofmann, Irene. Girls' Night Out. Exh. cat. Newport Beach, CA: Orange County
Museum of Art.
2002
Albertini, Rosanna. “Kelly Nipper.” Art Press 281, (July
August): 73.
Perchuk, Andrew. “Kelly Nipper: Critics’ Pick.” Artforum Online, May.
Ventriglia, Ilaria. “Kelly Nipper: Photographing Time.” Domus Online, March-April.
Hofmann, Irene. California Biennial. Exh. cat. Newport Beach, CA: Orange County
Museum of Art.
Knighton, Andrew. “On Site: No Name Exhibitions @ The Soap Factory.” New Art
Examiner 29 (May-June): 46-51.
2001
Ferguson, Russell. “Test Patterns.” Artext 74 (August - October): 42-45.
Miles, Christopher. “Kelly Nipper.” Artforum, May, 181-182.
Knight, Christopher. “Visual Flips.” Los Angeles Times, 23 February, F24.
Molon, Dominic. “Kelly Nipper.” A Passion for Art: The DiSaronno Originale
Photography Collection. Brochure. Miami, FL: Miami Art Museum.
Corbetta, Caroline. “The Dynamics of Competition and Collaboration.” Boom!:
Playmakers. Brochure. Florence, Italy: Manifattura d’Arte.
2000
Coleman, Sarah. “Sharon Lockhart and Kelly Nipper at SFAI’s Walter and McBean
Galleries.” Artweek, June, 13-14.
Helfand, Glen. “Tweeners: Sharon Lockhart and Kelly Nipper Blur
Distinctions Between Art, Film, and Everything Else.” San Francisco Bay Guardian,
12 April.
Kabat, Nora. Beyond Boundaries: Contemporary Photography in California. Exh.
cat. San Francisco: Friends of Photography.
Moss, Karen. “Kelly Nipper/interval.” Guarene Arte 2000. Exh. cat. Turin, Italy:
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
Moss, Karen. Sharon Lockhart + Kelly Nipper: 2 Artists in 3 Takes. Exh. cat. San
Francisco: The Walter and McBean Galleries, San Francisco Art Institute.
1998
Abbe, Mary. “Installation Included.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2 August, F1, F5.
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2023
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
2017
Brown Arts Initiative, Brown University, Providence, RI
2013
A-I-R Laboratory, Residency, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle,
Warsaw, Poland
Artist Residency Program, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2012
The Work Room, Residency, Glasgow, Scotland
Emergency Grant, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York, NY
2010
Center for Cultural Innovation, Los Angeles, CA
2007
Tiffany Award, The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, New York, NY
2004
Alberta Prize for Visual Art, Alberta duPont Bonsal Foundation, San Diego, CA
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland
Sammlung Hauser & Wirth, Zürich, Switzerland
Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Turin, Italy
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
TEACHING APPOINTMENTS
2018
Lecturer, Department of Art, University of California, Los Angeles
2017
Visting Critic, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
2014 - 2016
Lecturer, School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
2011
Visiting Artist, Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village, NV
2008 - 2010
Lecturer, Department of Art, California State University, Long Beach, CA
SELECTED PANELS, CONVERSATIONS, & LECTURES
2017
Conversation with Skylar Tibbits and Noam Elcott, Performa Institute, New York, NY
Conversation with RoseLee Goldberg, Brown University, Providence, RI
Panel Discussion with Paul Mpagi Sepuya and Marten Elder, moderated by Russell
Ferguson, Photo LA, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Artist Talk, Moderne der Museum Salzburg, Austria
2014
Artist Talk, Program in Art Culture and Technology, MIT, Cambridge, MA
Visiting Artist Lecture and Graduate Studio Visits, Yale School of Art,
New Haven, CT
2013
Visiting Artist Lecture and Graduate Studio Visits, Bard College,
Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
Symposium, Dancing with the Art World, organized by Brennan Gerard and Ryan
Kelly. Moderated by Thomas Lax. Los Angeles, CA
Roundtable Discussion, The Legacy of Modern Dance and Abstraction, Andre
Lepecki and Fabian Barba, moderated by Ana Janevski, Museum of Modern Art, NY
2012
Visiting Artist Lecture, Department of Art, California State University,
Long Beach, CA
Roundtable Discussion, Center for New Performance, Development for TED
sponsored conference at REDCAT organized by Shannon Scrofano, Chi-wang Yang
and Leslie Tamaribuchi for the Theater Program at California Institute of the Arts,
Valencia, CA
2011
Visiting Artist Lecture and Graduate Studio Visits, University of California,
Los Angeles, CA
2010
Visiting Artist Lecture and Graduate Studio Visits, California
Institute of the Arts, School of Art, Valencia, CA
Conversation with Milovan Farronato, Via Farini, Milan, Italy
2007
Panel Discussion, Dance After Choreography, Andre Lepecki, Taisha Paggett,
Xavier LeRoy, moderated by RoseLee Goldberg, Performa Institute, Judson
Church, New York, NY
2003
Artist Talk, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
2000
Artist Talk, San Francisco Art Institute, CA