Born
1962
Seal Beach, CA

Education
1988
BFA, Otis Art Institute of Parson's School of Design, Los Angeles, CA

1985
The Bath Academy of Art, Bath, England

1984-85
American College in Paris/Parson's School of Design, Paris, France

1981-83
Otis Art Institute of Parson's School of Design, Los Angeles, CA

Awards
1999
Getty Fellowship Award for Visual Arts

1996-97
Fullbright Fellowship, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

1995
Guggenheim Fellowship
Art Matters, Inc. Fellowship
NEA Travel Grant: US/Mexico Exchange Program

1994
Western States Art Federation/NEA Grant

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2001
INCARCERATION: Visions of California in the 21st Century, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA

2000
PRISONATION: Visions of California in the 21st Century, Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
In Smog and Thunder: Historical Works from The Great War of the Californias, Retrospective, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
Historical Works from Stonewall and Beyond, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1999
Carioca: A Year Among the Natives of Rio de Janeiro, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Stonewall, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Historical Works from Stonewall and Beyond, Earl McGrath Gallery, New York

1998
In Smog and Thunder: Historical Works From the War for the Californias, Part II, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Solo Exhibition, Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Contingent Reality, Diane Nelson Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA

1997
Carioca: A Year Among the Natives of Rio de Janeiro, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, CA
Skaters, Punks, and Street Kids (Skatistas, Moleques, e Mendigos), Spruce Street Forum, San Diego, CA

1996
Historical Paintings from the Great Battle of San Francisco: New Work, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Michael Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH

1995
The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles and Ex Votos & Chilangos, Koplin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Tales of The Cities, Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Chilangos: New Drawings by Sandow Birk, Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas, "La Esmeralda" Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico City, D.F.

1994
Drawings: Skaters, Koplin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Asphalt Landscape, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL

1993
Truce, Julie Rico Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

1992
The Gates of Hell: LA Landscapes of the '90's, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA
Sandow Birk, Bess Cutler Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

1990
New Velvet, Earl McGrath Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1989
Velvet, Earl McGrath Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions
2001
1010, 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Capital Art, Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Cola Awards Show, Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Printmaking Society 16th National Biennial, Laband Art Gallery, LMU, Los Angeles, CA

2000
Made in California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
C2C, New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CA
Fact/Fiction: Contemporary Art That Walks the Line, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
One Night Stand, Farmer's Daughter Motel, Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco International Art Exposition, with Catharine Clark Gallery, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA

1999
Drawing the Line, Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, Claremont, CA
Courting the Muse: Contemporary Paintings, Historical Influences, Main Art Gallery, Cal StateUniversity, Fullerton, CA
When Borders Migrate: Reflections on the 150th Anniversary of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, The Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA
Spinal Epidural, Please!, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Story Tellers, Art Institute of Southern California, Long Beach, CA

1998
Drawings IV, Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco International Art Exposition, with Catharine Clark Gallery, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA
Anniversary of the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty, San Francisco Art Commission, San Francisco, CA (Curated by Rebecca Solnit)

1997
Lineas de Correspondencia, Galeria Jose Maria Velasco, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico City (Catalogue)

1996
New Faces, Irvine Valley College, Irvine, CA
Drawn Conclusions, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
Sandow Birk: Paintings, Micheal Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
RE:MASTERS New Images from Old Sources, Rancho Santiago College Art Gallery, Santa Ana, CA
Consumption, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Chicago Art Fair, with Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
VonDutch Tribute, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Figure Heads & Red Herrings, Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Drawn from L.A., Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA

1995
Fifty, Nifty, Thrifty, Objects, Koplin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
It's Only Rock and Roll, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ, traveling (Curated by David Rubin, Catalogue)
From Behind the Orange Curtain, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, CA
Emulations: Quotations From The Source, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
Social Engagement, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Curated by Scott Canty, Catalogue)
Hotel Triton Art Fair, with Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1994
Something for Everyone, Morphos Gallery, San Francisco, CA
LA International Art Fair, with Morphos Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Crossing the Line: Civil Disobedience in the 90's, Delta Axis Contemporary Arts Center, Memphis, TN
California-The Cutting Edge, Downey Museum of Art, Downey, CA
The Night of the Masque, Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA
Dada-Monica, Selections from 'Downtown Lives', Sam Francis Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
The Innovators, Michael Epstein Gallery, Palm Springs, CA

1993
Kustom Grafix, The Works Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA
Surf Show, Julie Rico Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Kustom Kulture, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA

1992
New Work from Los Angeles, Anthony Ralph Gallery, New York, NY
Works With Animals, Stuart Katz Contemporary Art, Laguna Beach, CA
Revolutions, The Works Gallery, Long Beach and Costa Mesa, CA
East Meets West, Speedway Gallery, Boston, MA
I Thought California Would Be Different, Laguna Beach, CA
New Work from Los Angeles, Anthony Ralph Gallery, New York, NY
East Meets West, Speedway Gallery, Boston, CA

1991
Post-Pop and Beyond, Bess Cutler Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Contemporary Visions of the Virgin of Guadeloupe, Downey Museum of Art, Downey, CA
Synthetic History, Parker-Zanich Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Edge of Night, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, CA
Group Show, Tom Solomon's Garage, Los Angeles, CA

1990
Heal the Bay Surfboard Invitational, James Corcoran Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Vistas: Urban Landscapes, John Thomas Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

1988
Surfin' Bird, La Luz de Jesus Gauer, Los Angeles, CA
LA Artcore Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Next Wave, Mark Quint Gallery, San Diego, CA

Selected Bibliography
2000
Leah Ollman, "Great War of Californias' Built on a Fertile, Clever Imagination," Los Angeles Times, May 2.
In Smog and Thunder: Historical Works from The War of the Californias, museum catalogue, Laguna Art Museum, in association with Last Gasp.
Louise Roug, California Goes to War, Orange County Calendar, May 1
Rebecca Schoenkopf, "Let the Bastards Burn! Wait a Minute: That's us in Birk's war between the Californias," Contents, April 28 - May 4.
Roberta Carasso, "Art Lessons to be Learned in Smog and Thunder", Laguna News-Post, April 20.
Sara Wolf, "History and Art Merged," The Orange County Register, April 23.
Tessa DeCarlo, "Laying Bare the Uncertain Underside of the Truth," The New York Times Arts & Leisure.

1999
"The Collector" by Justine Amodeo, Coast, September.
Review, "Local Artist, Sandow Birk," NoHoNews, April.
Michal Reed, "The Art Academy," (Image only) Artweek, March.
"Birk and Brody Receive Alkazzi Awards," Artweek, February, Volume 30, Issue 2.
"Architect of War," OC Weekly, January 29.

1998
Holly Meyers, Art issues, November/December.
Orville O. Clarke, Jr., Art Scene, Los Angeles, CA, September.
Peter Frank, "Art Picks of the Week", LA Weekly, October, 23-29.
"Sly Scenes Picture a California Engulfed in Civil War," by Claudine Ise, Los Angeles Times, Front Page, Friday, October 16.
Review by Glen Helfand, sanfrancisco.sidewalk, September 17.
Editor's Profile by Colin Berry, CitySearch, September.
Apollinaire Scherr, Express, September 4.
"Reality and Fanasty Melt into Surrealism," by Rick Gilbert, The Orange County Register, July 19.
"Contingent Reality," review by Roberta Carasso, Art Scene, July/August.
"Erotica," Juxtapoze, vol. 2, Fall.

1997
"A Couple of Views," by Cathy Curtis, Los Angeles Times, Calender Section, November 4.
"Sandow Birk: Connected to the Canvas," cover story by Andrew Asch, Orange County Register, November 9.
"Alone Again, Naturally: Laguna Museum Bounces Back," by Rebbeca Schoenkopf, November 7.
"God is Brazilian," by Jamie Brisick, Surfing Magazine, November.
"Airbone: Sandow Birk at the Spruce Street Forum," by Robert Pincus, San Diego Union Tribune, June 19.
Zyzzyva, Spring.
"Sandow Birk at Catharine Clark Gallery," by Marcia Tanner, Artweek, March.

1996
"Sandow Birk, Catharine Clark Gallery," by Harry Roche, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, December 18.
"Skate Drawings By Sandow Birk," The Hub, December.
"Sandow Birk The Color of Urban Decay," by Duna Dominguez, Axcess Magazine, Aug/Sept.
"Sandow Birk: Traversing the Spectrum." Tracks Surfing Magazine, Syndney, Australia, January.
"Sandow Birk," edited by Steven Zevitas. New American Paintings, vol. 6.
"The Golden Land," by Doree Dunlap, OC Weekly, March 8-14.

1995
It's Only Rock'n'Roll: Rock'n'Roll Currents in Contemporary Art, Museum Catalog, essay by David S. Rubin, Prestel Publications.
"Framed in Controversy," by Cathy Curtis, Los Angeles Times, Calendar Section, Oct. 17.
"Artists Who Surf," by Bolton Colburn, Surfwriter's Quarterly, Vol. 1, #3, Summer.
"Sandow Birk's Art Span," by Alfred Jan, Artistwriter, June.
"San Francisco Review: Sandow Birk at Morphos," by Holly Sherratt, Coagula, Issue No. 17, June.
"Successful Artists and Dealers," by Alan Bamburger, Art Calendar Magazine, San Francisco, June.
"Men of Irony — Sandow Birk at Morphos," San Francisco Chronicle, Datebook, April 9.
"Social Engagements," Pick of the Week, review by Peter Frank, L.A. Weekly Magazine, March 31-April 5.
"Sandow Birk and the Streets of Los Angeles," by L . Rodriguez, Torta di Miele Magazine, Bologna, Italy, February.
(Reproduction of "The Surrender of O.J.") "Does the Art World Care About O.J.?," by Ben Easley, Coagula, Issue No. 16, Winter

1994
"Birk's Best," Review by Susan Kandel, Los Angeles Times, Calendar Section, September 29.
"Painters Put Slant on News," review by Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun Times, April 16.
"Surfin' the 'Hood, The Art of Sandow Birk," by John Gunnin, Art Alternatives Magazine, NY, Spring.

1993
"Art 'n' the Hood — Paintings of and by the Street Youth of Los Angeles," by Hope Urban, Visions Art Quarterly, Winter.
"Sandow Birk," by Scott Westerman, Axcess Magazine, Winter.
"Los Angeles, Prophet and Loss," by James Scarborough, Art Press 184 International Magazine, Paris, October.
"LA Aftermath, The Graphic Response to the LA Riots," by Eric La Brecque, Print Magazine, September/October.
"Kar Kulture: 'Kustom Kulture at Laguna Art Museum," by James Scarborough, Artweek, August 15.
"High and Low Culture in La-La Land," by Karl Taro Greenfeld, Wingspan Magazine, Tokyo, Japan, August.
"Birk and Ocampo: City Beat," by Penny Miller, Coagula Art Journal, Summer.
"Riot Repair — LA Artists Examine the Uprising's Effect on Our Community," by Hope Urban, LA Reader, May 21.
"Historical Violence," Review by Susan Kandel, Los Angeles Times, April 2.
"Ten to Watch in 1993," Staff Writer, Details Magazine, January.
Cover Illustration, Can Control Graffiti Magazine, Issue #4.

1992
"The More Things Change … Sandow Birk Looks Back to the Present," by Cathy Curtis, Los Angeles Times, Calendar Section, September 17.
"Peering Through the Gates of Hell — Artists Chronicle Urban Landscapes with Historical Twist," by Zan Dubin, Los Angeles Times, September 4.
"Sandow Birk's Velvets," Review by Susan Greer, Los Angeles Times, Calendar Section, September 1.
"Bad Boys/Good Boys — Sandow Birk and the Killing of Los Angeles," by J.M.S. Willett, cover story, Visions Art Quarterly, Fall.
"In the Heroic Tradition — Sandow Birk," by Bolton Colburn, Surfer's Journal, Fall.
"Dream Deferred — The Mean Streets as Seen by Sandow Birk," by Frances Lam, URB Magazine, July.
"Sandow Birk at Bess Cutler Gallery," Staff Writer, LA Style Magazine, April.
"Young Artists Grab Spotlight in Cheeky New Show at Laguna Museum," review by Cathy Curtis, Los Angeles Times, February 17.

1990
"New Velvet — Sandow Birk at McGrath Gallery," by Lesa Sawahata, Exposure Magazine, December.

1989
"Sandow Birk's Velvet's," review by Susan Greer, Los Angeles Times, Calendar Section, September 1.

Selected Collections
Banana Republic, San Francisco, CA
Nicholas Cage, Los Angeles, CA
Sophia Coppola, Los Angeles, CA
Downey Museum of Art, Downey, CA
Greg Escalante, Laguna Beach, CA
Michael Epstein, Palm Springs, CA
Karl Greenfeld, Tokyo, Japan
Carl Hammer, Chicago, IL
Don Henley, (The Eagles), Aspen, CO
Stuart Katz, Laguna Beach, CA
Anthony Keidis (Red Hot Chillie Peppers), Los Angeles, CA
Laguna Art Museum
Earl McGrath, New York, NY
The di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA
Judy and Stewart Spence, Pasadena, CA

Gallery Affiliation
Catharine Clark Gallery
49 Geary Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108
415.399.1439