Jonathan Monaghan (maa·nuh·han) is an artist whose prints, sculptures, and video installations weave together elements of ancient mythology, science fiction, and consumer culture. His work explores the intersections of power, wealth, and technology in the digital age, in an imaginative and satirical critique that challenges viewers to examine their relationship with these forces.
Past exhibitions include Sundance New Frontier, The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, NRW Forum in Düsseldorf, and The Palais de Tokyo in Paris. His work has been featured in The New York Times and Vogue Italia. His work sits in numerous public and private collections including The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. and the Microsoft Art Collection. He lives and works in Washington D.C.
| collections | |||
| The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. | |||
| Microsoft Art Collection, Redmond, WA | |||
| Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR | |||
| DCCAH Art Bank Collection, Washington, D.C. | |||
| solo exhibitions | |||
| 2024 | Power Trip, Addison/Ripley Gallery Washington D.C. |
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| 2023 | Unicorn in the Garden curated by Yuge Zhou 150 Media Stream, Chicago, IL |
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| 2022 | Move The Way You Want, The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C. | ||
| Opulence curated by Ceren and Irmak Arkman Kalyon Kültür, Istanbul, Turkey |
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| 2021 | Power Trip, Galerie 22,48 m², Paris, France | ||
| Den of Wolves, bitforms gallery, New York, NY | |||
| 2020 | Out of the Abyss, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, NY | ||
| 2019 | A Trace Left by the Future curated by Yuko Oda University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA |
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| A Trace Left by the Future curated by Frank McCauley VisArts Center, Rockville, MD |
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| 2018 | Synthetic Mythologies curated by Gretchen Schaefer Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design, Denver, CO |
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| 2017 | After Fabergé curated by Jo Briggs The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD |
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| Disco Beast, bitforms gallery, New York, NY | |||
| 2016 | Gotham, Galerie 22,48 m², Paris, France | ||
| Global Visions curated by Kelly Gordon Backroom Caracas and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia, Venezuela |
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| Mothership curated by Evan Reed Spagnuolo Gallery, Georgetown University, Washington D.C. |
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| 2015 | Architecture of Fantasy curated by Alessandro Possati Spazio Ridotto at Zuecca Project Space, Venice, Italy |
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| Escape Pod, bitforms gallery, New York, NY | |||
| 2014 | Alien Fanfare, Curator’s Office, Washington D.C. | ||
| 2013 | Robot Ninja, Market Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| 2010 | Life Tastes Good In Disco Heaven, Hamiltonian Gallery, Washington D.C. | ||
| 2009 | Calling All Angels, Atopia, Oslo, Norway | ||
| select group exhibitions | |||
| 2024 | Incandescence: The Chandelier in Contemporary Art curated by Bartholomew Bland, Patricia Cazorla, and Lisa Panzera Shirley Fiterman Art Center, New York, NY |
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| {R(Evolutionaries);} Digital Art Through The Decade curated by Morrow Collective Art Dubai 2024, Dubai, UAE |
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| 2023 | LED ART WAVE 2023: Long Dream curated by Goeun Song Scène Space, Seoul, Korea |
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| The Interface Between Humanity and the Universe v3.0 curated by Wu Ziyang Zhangjiang Science Hall, Shanghai, China |
Mythologies contemporaines (collection Jacques Font) curated by Vincent Noiret Casra Restany, Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, France |
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| The Trawick Prize 20th Anniversary curated by Jack Rasmussen Katzen Arts Center, Washington, D.C. |
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| 2022 | Ancient Futures: All Belongs to Time curated by Lalin Akalan Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Istanbul, Turkey |
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| Non-Fungible Castle curated by Jake Al-Haffar Lobkowicz Palace at Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic |
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| Glitches, GIFs and Game Engines curated by Krista Hoefle South Bend Museum of Art, Sound Bend, IN |
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| Digital Extravaganza curated by Anastasia Garnova Theatre of Digital Art, Dubai, UAE |
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| Pančevo Art Biennale: refinerymonastery curated by Maja Ćirić Pančevo, Serbia |
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| I’m Not A Robot curated by Edward Gallagher Galloire Gallery, Dubai, UAE |
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| 2021 | Biennale de l’Image Tangible, curated by François Ronsiaux Platforme Gallery, Paris, France |
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| Media in Space Stuttgarter Filmwinter Festival for Expanded Media, Stuttgart, Germany |
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| NFTism: No Fear in Trying curated by Kenny Schachter Unit London, London, UK |
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| B3 Biennial of the Moving Image curated by Anna Katharina Gerson Frankfurt, Germany |
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| The Janet and Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize Finalists Exhibition The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD |
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| Encounter #04 Projektraum Viktor Bucher, Vienna, Austria |
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| Animals curated by Angela Gonnella Galleria Muratcentoventidue Artecontemporanea, Bari, Italy |
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| 2020 | #cute. Islands of Happiness? curated by Dr. Birgit Richard NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Germany |
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| Transatlantico curated by Edoardo Monti Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ |
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| Currency curated by Gordon Duggan and Sarah Joyce New Media Gallery, Vancouver, BC |
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| 2019 | Artificial Intelligence and Intercultural Dialogue curated by Dmitry Ozerkov and Victoria Kondrashova The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| Primitivo curated by Asher Remy-Toledo Casa Hoffmann, Bogota, Colombia |
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| 2018 | Castles in the Sky: Fantasy Architecture in Contemporary Art curated by Bartholomew Bland touring exhibition. Lehman College Art Gallery, New York, NY; Coral Gables Museum, Coral Gables, FL |
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| CHILDHOOD: Another banana day for the dream-fish curated by Sandra Adam-Couralet and Yoann Gourmel Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France |
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| Duty Free curated by Bob Bicknell-Knight Chelsea College of Arts, London, UK |
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| FADING AWAY curated by Céline Flécheux Galerie 22,48 m², Paris, France |
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| GRI-GRI curated by Stéphanie Vidal Galerie 22,48 m², Paris, France |
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| The Museum Has Abandoned Us curated by Bob Bicknell-Knight, State of the Art, Berlin, Germany | |||
| 2016 | the real-fake.org.2.0 curated by Rachel Clarke, Claudia Hart, and Pat Reynolds BronxArtSpace, New York, NY |
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| Fixed/Fluxed Burlington City Arts, Burlington, VT |
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| Foggy Bottom Outdoor Sculpture Biennial: Turf & Terrain curated by Danielle O’Steen Foggy Bottom, Washington D.C. |
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| Sundance New Frontier curated by Shari Frilot Sundance Film Festival, Park City, UT |
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| this one is smaller than this one. curated by Paulina Bębecka Postmasters, New York, NY |
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| SUSPENDED curated by Rosario Caltabiano 22,48 m², Paris, France |
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| King of the Forest; Adventures in Bioperversity curated by Megan Rook-Koepsel Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA |
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| 2015 | On Demand 3 curated by Carolyn H. Drake and Suzanne Wallinga tegenboschvanvreden, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
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| Marble Codes: Robotic Sculpture from Garfagnana curated by Jon Isherwood Giardino di Villa Strozzi, Florence, Italy |
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| The Real Thing curated by Jiayin Chen Digiark, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, Taiwan |
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| +/- curated by George Fifield Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, CT |
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| Gilding The Lilycurated by Stewart Watson and Rene Trevino AREA 405, Baltimore, MD |
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| Myth and Mutations curated by Chris Romero Reverse Space, New York, NY |
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| 2014 | State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now curated by Chad Alligood and Don Bacigalupi touring exhibition. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN; The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN |
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| IN/Out Sourcecurated by Douglas Lewis and Yamin Wang Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing, China |
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| The New Romanticscurated by Nicholas O’Brien, Katie Torn and Claudia Hart Eyebeam Center for Art & Technology, New York, NY |
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| IM Material Artefactscurated by Sarah Younan National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK |
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| In Residence Colloquium: The Neighborscurated by Zoë Charlton and Tim Doud American University Museum, Washington D.C. |
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| 2013 | PostPictures bitforms gallery, New York, NY |
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| Child’s Playcurated by Mindy Solomon Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL |
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| artNOW DCcurated by Heather Harvey and Natalie Cheung Kohl Gallery at Washington College, Chestertown, MD |
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| 2012 | NEWSFEED: Anonymity & Social Media in African Revolutions and Beyond curated by Jessica L. Moore & Nelson Nance Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art, Brooklyn, NY |
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| 2011 | Academy 2011curated by Jamie Smith & Leigh Conner Conner Contemporary, Washington D.C. |
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| 2009 | Vox V curated by Ryan Trecartin & Larry Mangel, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA |
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| 2008 | Digital Stone: eForm Today Art Museum, Beijing & Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China |
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| Visions in the Nunnery The Nunnery Gallery, London, UK |
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| select screenings | |||
| 2023 | Machine Cinema, curated by Pau Waelder, Mèdol Centre d’Arts Contemporànies, Tarragona, Spain | ||
| Around Video Art Fair, Moxy Brussels City Center, Brussels, Belgium | |||
| 2022 | Stuttgarter Filmwinter Festival for Expanded Media, Stuttgart, Germany | ||
| 2020 | Pause, Play: Selected Works by Jonathan Monaghan, curated by Taras Matla, University of Maryland Art Gallery, Online | ||
| 2019 | too good to be true, curated by MEER, _plek, Ghent, Belgium | ||
| Disco Beast, curated by Tori Fleming, Nocturne Art At Night Festival, Halifax, Canada | |||
| 2018 | Extra/Ordinary, curated by Ceren and Irmak Arkman, Contemporary Istanbul: Plugin, Istanbul, Turkey | ||
| Shapeshifters, curated by Clemens Wilhelm, HilbertRaum, Berlin, Germany | |||
| Dystopian Disco, Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Hatwick, UK | |||
| In the Midst of the Inferno, presented by Arlington Arts, David M. Brown Planetarium, Arlington, VA | |||
| 2017 | Mental States, Ars Electronica Animation Festival, Linz, Austria | ||
| Variation Media Art Fair, curated by Dominique Moulon, Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France | |||
| The Garden of Virtual Utopias, curated by Estela Oliva, Art Night Associate Programme, London, UK | |||
| I SEE International Video Art Festival, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany | |||
| 2016 | Posts From the Future, European Media Art Festival, Osnabrück, Germany | ||
| 2015 | Jonathan Monaghan: Animated Worlds, PAF 2015, Olomouc, Czech Republic | ||
| Escape Pod, LOOP Barcelona, Hotel Catalonia Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain | |||
| Black Box 2.0, curated by Julia Fryett and Anne Couillaud, Seattle, WA | |||
| 2014 | East Gallery: Jonathan Monaghan, Angell Gallery, curated by Jamie Angell, Toronto, Canada | ||
| Hothouse Video Series: Jonathan Monaghan, Washington Project for the Arts, Capitol Skyline Hotel Washington D.C. | |||
| Spore Baroque commission, roBOT Festival 07, curated by Sarah Corona, Bologna, Italy | |||
| Moving Image Istanbul, presented by Curator’s Office, Haliç Congress Centre, Istanbul, Turkey | |||
| Hyperculture, Rencontres Internationales, Gaîté Lyrique, Paris, France | |||
| Public Art Screens, i/o/lab Center of Future Arts, curated by Hege Tapio, Stavanger, Norway | |||
| 2013 | Moving Image London, presented by Curator’s Office, OXO Tower, London, UK | ||
| Office, commission, Denver Digerati: Friday Flash, curated by Ivar Zeile, Denver, CO | |||
| (De)constructing Space, Screen City, curated by Daniela Arriado & Mirjam Struppek, Stavanger, Norway | |||
| MIA: Lucid Streaming, curated by Alanna Simone, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA | |||
| I SEE International Video Art Festival, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, China | |||
| Expanded Cinema: MultipliCity, commission, curated by Mona Kasara, Dallas Videofest, Dallas, TX | |||
| oh Internetz!, curated by Nora O’ Murchú, Glitch Festival, Run Computer Run, Dublin, Ireland | |||
| 2012 | High Definition, curated by Jonas Lund and Anika Schwarzlose, ProsumeThis, Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| 2011 | onedotzero_adventures in motion, BFI Southbank, London, UK | ||
| Anthropomorphlolz, San Francisco International Animation Festival, San Francisco, CA | |||
| GIRAF Animation Festival, Calgary, Canada | |||
| 2010 | Boston Underground Film Festival, Boston, MA | ||
| Media Art, FILE Festival, Centro Cultural Fiesp, São Paulo, Brazil | |||
| 2009 | WPA: Experimental Media Series, curated by Kelly Gordon, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C. | ||
| International Film Festival Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands | |||
| 2008 | Sydney Underground Film Festival, Sydney, Australia | ||
| SIMULTAN04, Timisora, Romania | |||
| lectures, panels & workshops | |||
| 2022 | Re-imagining the Past for the Digital Age, Lecture. The Phillips Collection, Washington DC | ||
| 2021 | Conversations with Artists: Jonathan Monaghan, Lecture. University of Maryland, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD | ||
| 2019 | Visiting Artist: Jonathan Monaghan, Lecture. Department of Transmedia, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY | ||
| 2018 | Fear, Myth, and Decadence in the Digital Age, Lecture. Visiting Artist, Scholar, and Designer Program, Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design, Denver, CO | ||
| 2017 | Jonathan Monaghan: Visitng Artist, Lecture. David A Walsh Arts & Sciences Seminar Series, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY | ||
| Auerbach Lecture Series: Jonathan Monaghan, Fear and Desire in the Digital Age, Lecture. Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, CT | |||
| 2015 | State of the Art/DC: A Conversation, Panel. ArtTable DC, National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington DC | ||
| Artist Talk: Jonathan Monaghan, Lecture. Department of New Media, University of North Carolina, Asheville, NC | |||
| 2014 | Conversations at the Edge: Jonathan Monaghan, Lecture. Gene Siskel Film Center, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL | ||
| 3-D Modeling & Printing for Artists, Workshop. Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen, CO | |||
| Behind the Scenes of the Museum: Artists in Collections, Lecture. Symposium organized by Axisweb, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK | |||
| 2013 | From Pixel to Portrait: Sculpting the Figure with Digital Tools by Jonathan Monaghan, Workshop. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY | ||
| Jonathan Monaghan: Marscio Visiting Scholar in Emergent Digital Practices, Lecture. University of Denver, Denver, CO | |||
| 3D Printing with artist Jonathan Monaghan, Workshop. U.S. Speaker and Specialist Program, U.S. Embassy/Dept. of State, Manama, Bahrain | |||
| Digital Craftsmanship, Panel. CAA 2011 Conference, New York, NY | |||
| press | |||
| 2023 | “Wildest Dreams: Jonathan Monaghan ponders the power of tech in the digital age” Feature. Sharon Jaffe Dan, January 2023, Home & Design Magazine |
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| 2022 | “Exclusivity for Everyone” Review. Kevin Buist, November 22, 2022, Outland.art |
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| “Phillips Collection spotlights Jonathan Monaghan’s restless vision” Review. Mark Jenkins, October 4, 2022, Washington Post |
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| “From baroque to digital: Monaghan reflects on ‘OPULENCE'” Review. June 27, 2022, Daily Sabah |
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| “Apollo comes to digital life as Visionnaire joins the metaverse” Feature. Hannah Silver, March 31, 2022, Wallpaper |
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| 2021 | “Le chef-d’œuvre du moment : ‘Den of Wolves’ de Monaghan” Review. Dominique Moulon, Novemebr 19, 2021, Art Press |
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| “Chiamali se vuoi Animali Ma i video parlano di noi” Review. Pietro Marino, June 10, 2021, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno |
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| 2020 | “Gold Trimmed Fears” Feature. Jazmina Figueroa, June 2020, Numero Homme Berlin |
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| “Cover Story: Jonathan Monaghan” Feature. Mihye Kim, June 2020, Public Art Magazine Korea |
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| “Jonathan Monaghan in conversation” Interview. Alexandra Gilliams, May 2020, XIBT Contemporary Art Magazine |
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| “On Schedule: Jonathan Monaghan” Interview. Masha Belokovilskaya, April 2020, Harper’s Bazaar Russia |
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| “La Metafisica Dell’Abito” Feature. Elisabetta Caprotti, March 2020, Vogue Italia |
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| “Greta, crude oil and animal farming: behind a climate-conscious Armory show” Review. Nadja Sayej, March 5, 2020, The Guardian |
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| 2019 | “An Eerie Feeling of Familiarity: Jonathan Monaghan’s Futuristic Vision in Lowell” Review. Isabel Barbi, Nov/Dec 2019, artscope Magazine |
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| “New Myths: Jonathan Monaghan” Interview. Sean Capone, July 31, 2019, BOMB Magazine |
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| “Jonathan Monaghan releases the Disco Beast” Review. Jade Nauss, October 17, 2019, The Coast Halifax |
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| “A Revelatory Exhibition by D.C. Artist Jonathan Monaghan” Review. Mark Jenkins, July 26, 2019, The Washington Post |
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| 2018 | “Jonathan Monaghan: Utopia & Deceit ” Interview. Louise Benson, Fall 2018, Elephant Magazine |
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| “Dream houses: Images of fantasy architecture take center stage in new Lehman gallery show” Review. Tiffany Moustakas, November 18, 2018, The Riverdale Press |
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| “What’s Right About The Wrong Biennale?” Review. Chris Hampton, January 22, 2018, The New York Times |
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| 2017 | “Jonathan Monaghan: The Disco Beast” Review. Alex A. Jones, December 13, 2017, The Brooklyn Rail |
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| “Disco Beast: Jonathan Monaghan at Bitforms Gallery” Review. Ariana Akbari, December 4, 2017, Arte Fuse |
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| “A Guide to America’s Next Great Art Neighborhood” Review. Julie Baumgardner, January 11, 2017, The New York Times Style Magazine |
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| 2016 | “Shiny fantasy worlds, undercut by body parts and company logos” Review. Mark Jenkins, October 1, 2016, Washington Post |
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| “Art reveals a creative, historical side to Foggy Bottom neighborhood” Review. Macy Freeman, July 14, 2016, Washington Post |
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| “What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week: Postmasters” Review. Ken Johnson, February 25, 2016, The New York Times |
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| “‘SUSPENDED’, détours d’horizons ” Review. Clémentine Mercier, February 7, 2016, Liberation |
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| 2015 | “Artists in ‘Gilding the Lily’ at Area 405 excavate the world through its shiny materials” Review. Maura Callahan, July 29, 2015, Baltimore City Paper |
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| “Black Box 2.0: A Movable Festival in a City Too Busy for Art?” Review. Brian Miller, May 26, 2015, Seattle Weekly |
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| “Ass You Like It: Jonathan Monaghan’s Playful Videos Go Deep” Review. Jessica Dawson, April 15, 2015, The Village Voice |
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| “Tripping Through a Luxurious Post-Human Future” Review. Benjamin Sutton, April 10, 2015, Hyperallergic |
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| “This Is What You Get When You Cross a Floating Island Mansion” Interview. Matthew Caron, March 24, 2015, VICE |
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| 2014 | “The State of ‘State of the Art'” Review. Peter Plagens, September 17, 2014, The Wall Street Journal |
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| “Is It Propaganda? Or Is It Political Art?: Alien Fanfare” Review. Mark Jenkins, May 24, 2014, Washington Post |
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| “Monkey Town is a reinvention of dinner and theater for the digital age” Review. Ray Mark Rinaldi, March 15, 2014, Denver Post |
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| 2013 | “Art Enters the third dimension” Article. Julia Halperin, July, 2013, The Art Newspaper |
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| 2012 | “Kijken kijken, niet kopen (Look, but do not buy)” Review. Julia Geerlings, December, 2012, Metropolis M |
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| “Jonathan Monaghan twists video games at Curator’s Office” Review. Mark Jenkins, January 26, 2012, Washington Post |
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| “Jonathan Monaghan’s game blame” Review. John Anderson, January 20, 2012, Washington City Paper |
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| 2011 | “Collect Call: Top 10 Young Artists”” Article. Brittney Dunkins, November, 2011, DC Magazine |
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| “NYC 2.0: The Hackers” Broadcast television interview. Rick Karr, September, 2011, NYC TV |
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| 2010 | “Famous scenes skewered with sparkle, high-def” Review. Jessica Dawson, October 22, 2010, Washington Post |
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| “Older than youtube. Curator Laure Prouvost Explains Seven Years of tank.tv” Article. Angela Ferraiolo, January 8, 2010, furtherfield.org |
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| awards & residencies | |||
| 2022 | Expanded Media Award: Media in Space, Stuttgarter Filmwinter Festival for Expanded Media, Stuttgart, Germany | ||
| 2021 | Janet and Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize, Finalist, Baltimore, MD | ||
| 2019 | Palazzo Monti, Artist in Residence, Brescia, Italy | ||
| VisArts Studio Fellowship, VisArts, Rockville, MD | |||
| 2017 | Millay Colony for the Arts, Artist in Residence, NY | ||
| 2015 | Trawick Prize, First Place, Bethesda, MD | ||
| Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder, Artist in Residence, Trondheim, Norway | |||
| 2014 | DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Artist Fellowship Program, Washington D.C. | ||
| 2013 | Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Emergency Grant, New York, NY | ||
| 2011 | Yaddo, Artist in Residence, Saratoga Springs, NY | ||
| Seven Below Arts Initiative, Burlington City Arts, Artist in Residence, Burlington, VT | |||
| 2009 | Hamiltonian Fellowship, Hamiltonian Artists, Washington D.C. | ||