Bio
Brooks Dierdorff is an artist exploring the ways media like photography and video shape our cultural imagination of environmental collapse. His work includes a range of methodologies like photo-based sculptures, installation, video, appropriating images from commercial and archival sources, and environmental grief therapy among others. This expanded photographic practice often explores new ways of seeing – staging encounters with photographs that push against the interpretation of a photograph as an objective document to be passively received, offering instead a sensorial and emotive relationship with photographs.
He has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally at galleries that include Amos Eno in Brooklyn, New York; The Los Angeles Center for Digital Art; The Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle; High Desert Test Sites in Joshua Tree, California; The Florida Prize in Contemporary Art at The Orlando Museum of Art; Johalla Projects in Chicago; the Ulrike Hamm Gallery in Bissendorf, Germany; the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in South Korea; and The New Gallery in Calgary, Canada.
Dierdorff received his BA from the University of California, San Diego in 2007 and his MFA from the University of Oregon in 2012. Currently he is an Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida.
CV
Education
2009-12 Master of Fine Arts, Photography, University of Oregon
2006 Studio Arts Center International, Florence, Italy
2003-07 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Media Arts, University of California, San Diego
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
2019 Already Always, Olin Art Gallery, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
Notes from the Field, Lewis Art Gallery, Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi
2018 Over Time You Forget the Sound, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gimpo, South Korea
The Soft Wreckage of Paradise, Bolivar Art Gallery, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
The Aesthetics of Eden, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida
The Gesture Was All We Needed, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, Florida
2017 A Bright Mirror Standing, Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Seminole State College, Sanford, Florida
2015 The Light of Other Days (with Robert Beam), Trianon Gallery, Lethbridge, Canada
Midnight Sun, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia
The Light of Other Days (with Robert Beam), The New Gallery, Calgary, Canada
2014 The Deep, The Banff Center, Banff, Canada
2013 Rest Easy, PDX Contemporary, Windows Project Exhibition, Portland, Oregon
2012 Window Smokers (with Jared Haug), RECESS, Portland, Oregon
Sequence, Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon
Harvest, Ditch Projects, Springfield, Oregon
2011 Apparatus, Eric Washburn Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
2008 Landscapes From Nowhere, Peppers Art Gallery, University of Redlands, Redlands, California
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 Wiregrass Bienneal, Wiregrass Museum of Art, Curated by Jackie Clay, Dothan, Alabama
2019 Lush Green Tropical Jungle, Dot Fiftyone Gallery, Curated by Veronica From, Miami, Florida
Art of the South 2019, Memphis College of Art, Curated by Bethany Springer, Memphis, Tennessee
Twixt Cup and Lip, Gallery 110, Juried by Amanda Donnan, Curator for the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
2018 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, Orlando Museum of Art, Curated by Hansen Mulford, Orlando, Florida
On the Surface, Foundry Art Centre, Curated by Thad Duhigg, St. Louis, Missouri
Warm to the Touch, 16:9 Gallery, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan
2017 No Place, Gallery Protocol, Curated by Iris Williamson, Gainesville, Florida
Now Burning, Border Patrol, Curated by Elizabeth Spavento and Jared Haug, Portland, Maine
Photowork 2017, Barrett Art Center, Juried by Rebecca Morse, Curator for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Poughkeepsie, New York
Greetings from the Anthropocene, Gallery 110, Curated by Maiza Hixson, Seattle, Washington
2017 International Juried Competition, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Juried by Anna Katz, Assistant Curator for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California
Photography as Social Conscience, Lore Degenstein Gallery, Susquahana University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania
Confluence, Atrium Gallery, Curated by Vicky Romay, Miami, Florida
2016 RealPhoto, Manifest Gallery, PhotoFocus Biennial, Cincinnati, Ohio
Take/Aim, Northlight Gallery, Arizona State University, Curated by William LeGoullon, Tempe, Arizona
Peace Among Savages, Amos Eno Gallery, Curated by Mary Gagler, Brooklyn, New York
Material as Medium, Target Gallery, Curated by Aaron McIntosh, Richmond, Virginia
Developed Work: 2016 National Photography Fellowship Competition, Midwest Center for Photography, Wichita, Kansas
Now What, Coop Gallery, Curated by Tom Williams, Ph.D., Nashville, Tennessee
Water Ecologies, Transition Gallery, Idaho State University, Curated by Basia Irland, Pocatello, Idaho
Alter+Combine, (Scene) Metrospace, Curated by Jacquelynn Sullivan, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
2015 Punctum: 20th Annual Juried Exhibition of Photography, Photographic Center Northwest, Curated by Julia Dolan, Ph.D., Seattle, Washington
Ednamair, Grammar Center, Curated by Melissa Geppert, Medford, Oregon
Baker’s Dozen, Schneider Museum of Art, Curated by Erika Leppmann, Ashland, Oregon
2014 Lucette, Space4Art, Curated by Scott Polach, San Diego, California
Shapeshifting: Contemporary Masculinities, Wooster Museum of Art, Curated by Kathleen Zurko, Wooster, Ohio
Hunter/Gatherer, Truman State University Gallery, Curated by Aaron Fine, Kirksville, Missouri
International Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Curated by Diana L Daniels, Carmel, California
2013 High Desert Test Sites, Selected by Andrea Zittel, Dave Hickey, Libby Lumpkin, and Aurora Tang, Joshua Tree, California
Dumb Angel, 12128, Curated by Mike Bray, Portland, Oregon
Archetype Drift, Johalla Projects, Curated by Jason Lazarus, Chicago, Illinois
Off the Plain, Place Gallery, Curated by TJ Norris, Portland, Oregon
ONWARD Compe ’13, Project Basho, Curated by Mark Steinmetz, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2012 Arrest Me, Punch Gallery, Curated by Scott Lawrimore, Seattle, Washington
National Exposure Revisited, ARC Gallery, Curated by Charles Osgood, Chicago, Illinois
2012 International Art Exhibition, Lightwell Gallery, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
Recent Graduates Exhibition, Blackfish Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Self-Calibration, Disjecta Interdisciplinary Art Center, Portland, Oregon
2011 SPE Members’ Exhibition, Kress Gallery, Spokane, Washington
Extra Medium, LaVerne Kraus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
2010 Alternatives: Unconventional and Uncommon Processes, Minneapolis Photo Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Menagerie, LaVerne Kraus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
2008 Young Americans, Galerie Ulike Hamm, Bissendorf, Germany
2008 Art Clash, Lorenzo de Medici Gallery, Florence, Italy
2007 SACI Alumni Exhibition, Salander O’Reilly Gallery, New York City, New York
Awards
2018 Finalist, Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida
2017 Best in Show, Photography as Social Conscience, Lore Degenstein Gallery, Susquahana University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania
Best in Show, 2017 SECAC Juried Exhibition, Canzani Gallery, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
Finalist, Critical Mass 2017, Photolucida, Portland, Oregon
2016 Emerging Artist Grant, Shortlist, Lucie Foundation, Los Angeles, California
2015 Brink Award Nominee, The Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2013 Career Opportunity Grant, Oregon Arts Commission, Portland, Oregon
Project Grant, High Desert Test Sites, Joshua Tree, California
Honorable Mention, ONWARD Compe ’13, Project Basho Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2012 Dean’s Graduate Fellowship Award, Architecture and Allied Arts, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
People’s Choice Award, Arrest Me, Punch Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2009-12 Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
2010 Graduate Research Award, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Collections
Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gimpo, South Korea
Artist Residencies
2019 Despina, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2017 Santa Fe Art Institute, Water Rights Residency, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2016 Arteles Creative Center, Haukijarvi, Finland
2014 Banff Artist in Residency, Banff, Alberta, Canada
Presentations/Publications
2020 Curated Artist Registry, White Columns, New York, New York
2019 Artist Lecture, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
Presenter and Panel Participant, Sculptural Acts in Photography, Southeastern College Art Conference, Chattanooga, Tennessee
2018 Artist Lecture, Photo+Sphere, Asheville, North Carolina
Participant, Review Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Artist Lecture, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Artist Lecture, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida
2017 Artist Lecture, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Artist Lecture, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
Artist Lecture, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
2016 Artist Lecture, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Presenter and Panel Participant, The Aesthetics of Eden, Southeastern College Art Conference, Roanoke, Virginia
Exhibitor, Philadelphia Art Book Fair, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2015 Artist Lecture, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia
Featured Artist, I Like This Art, www.ilikethisart.net, Curated by Jordan Tate
Artist Lecture, Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, Oregon
2014 Winter 2014 New Artist Feature, Culturehall, www.culturehall.com, Juried Selection
2013 Contributing Artist, Bailliwik Magazine, Autumn 2013, Published by Surabhi Ghosh and Rob Hunt
Artist Lecture, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, California
Panel Participant, The Constant Construct + Inevitability of Complex Perspective, Place Gallery, Portland, Oregon
2012 Contributing Artist, Reframing Photography: Theory and Practice, www.reframingphotography.com, Rebekah Modrak and Bill Anthes
Artist Lecture, Cultural Predators: Photography and Its Relationship to Hunting Culture, Society of Photographic Education, 49th National Conference, San Francisco, California
2011 Artist Lecture, Trophy, Society of Photographic Education, Northwest Regional Conference, Spokane, Washington
Trophy, Portfolio Book, Self-Published
2010 Presenter and Panel Participant, Crossing Borders: Graduate Research Forum, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Bibliography
Hansen Mulford, “Florida Prize in Contemporary Art”, Exhibition Catalogue, Orlando Museum of Art, 2018
Amy Galpin, “The Soft Wreckage of Paradise”, Exhibition Catalogue, Bolivar Art Gallery, 2018
Jennifer Allen, “Brooks Dierdorff: Creating Awareness”, Artborne Magazine, March Ed., 2017
Emma Kisiel, “Brooks Dierdorff”, Muybridge’s Horse, Portland, Oregon, 2017
Karisma Sandoval, “Take Aim”, The State Press, October 26th, 2016
Featured Artist, Aint-Bad Magazine, www.aint-bad.com, May 2016
Patrick Collier, “Step Up”, Exhibition Catalogue, The New Gallery, 2015
David Andrew Frey, “New Artists Feature, Winter 2014”, Culturehall.com, March 4th, 2014
Richard Speer, “Brooks Dierdorff: Rest Easy”, The Willamette Weekly, January 30th, 2014
Jenna Lechner, “Northwest Photography: The Same but Different”, Daily Serving, May 21, 2013
Richard Speer, “Off the Plain”, Visual Art Source, April 30, 2013
Rebecca Steele, “Most Recent Evidence of a Language You Have Been Looking At: Jared
Haug and Brooks Dierdorff”, Justice League PDX, December 2, 2012
John Motley, “Window Smokers: Brooks Dierdorff and Jared Haug”, The Oregonian, November 30, 2012
Patrick Collier, “Spot On: Little Lambs Eat Ivy”, Oregon Arts Watch, May 16, 2012
Academic Appointments
2015- Assistant Professor of Photography, School of Visual Art and Design, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
2014-15 Visiting Faculty, Department of Art and Art History, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Oregon
2013-14 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Art History, The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio
2012-13 Adjunct Faculty, Department of Art, Photography, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon