Sean Landers (b. 1962, Palmer, MA)
Sean Landers is a painter and multimedia artist living and working in New York. Landers received his MFA from Yale University School of Art in 1986 and his BFA from Philadelphia College of Art in 1984. He has been creating and exhibiting his highly conceptual body of work since the early 1990s, employing a vast range of media that includes painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and film, among others. Landers’ uses both visual and written language to expose everything from his innermost thoughts to raw truths about the contemporary art-world and the world at large. Landers’ more recent work sees the artist making an innovative return to painting and sculpture, in which his signature use of text and imagined characters act as channels for his commentary on the ever-changing sociopolitical climate and state of humanity. He has exhibited internationally with notable solo shows at Le Consortium, Dijon; Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis; Capitain Petzel, Berlin; Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels; Various Small Fires, Dallas; Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo; Marianne Boesky Gallery and Petzel Gallery, New York. He has a forthcoming solo exhibition at Le Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature à Paris this October. Landers will also have a solo exhibition with Gallery Hyundai in 2024.
His work has been included in group exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art; New York, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Musée Magritte, Belgium; greengrassi, London; Galleri Nils Staerk, Copenhagen; Anton Kern and Petzel Gallery, New York.
Landers’ work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Tate Modern, Dallas Art Museum, DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Fundación/Colección Jumex, Kistefos Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Walker Art Center, among others.
“Anne Sexton wrote ‘there is death in every goodbye.’ I find that true for paintings as well. We painters transfer fractions of our life into our paintings. One day, paintings will be all that remain of us. By painting we are in a sense saying goodbye, but through the existence of the painting we never leave.”
–Sean Landers
Installation view, Sean Landers, North American Mammals, Petzel, 2014
1962 Born in Palmer, MA
1984 Graduates Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1986 Graduates Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
1990 Begins showing with Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
1993-1996 Shows extensively in galleries and museums domestically and internationally
1997 Heart, Mind, Body, Soul: American Art in the 1990s, Selections from the Permanent Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
2002 Sean Landers: Psycomatica Tokyo, Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2004 Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland, curated by Beatrix Ruf (Catalogue)
Installation view, Sean Landers, Le Consortium, Dijon, France, 2020
2008 Begins showing with Petzel
2010 Sean Landers: 1991–1994, Improbable History, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, MO (Catalogue)
2011 Around the World Alone, Petzel, New York
2012 Begins showing with Galerie Rodolphe Janssen
2014 North American Mammals, Petzel, New York (Catalogue)
2015 Sean Landers, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium (Catalogue)
2019 Sean Landers, Ben Brown, Gallery, Hong Kong
2020 Sean Landers, Le Consortium, Dijon, France
2023 Sean Landers, Adrift, Petzel, New York (Catalogue)
Sean Landers, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris (Forthcoming)
We Hover
2020
Oil on linen
36 x 30 in.
91.4 x 76.2 cm
Ahoy
2020
Oil on linen
30 x 36 in.
76.2 x 91.4 cm
The Way Back
2020
Oil on linen
54 x 72 in.
137.2 x 182.9 cm
If I Never
2020
Oil on linen
54 x 72 in.
137.2 x 182.9 cm
Wood Lion
2020
Oil on linen
58 x 76 in.
147.3 x 193 cm
Wood Chimp
2020
Oil on linen
38 x 32 in.
96.5 x 81.3 cm
Wood Panda
2020
Oil on linen
38 x 32 in.
96.5 x 81.3 cm
Lion in Winter
2019
Oil on linen
70 x 52 in.
177.8 x 132.1 cm
Plankboy (Narcissus)
2019
Oil on canvas
43 x 59 in.
109.2 x 149.9 cm
Plankboy (Sisyphus)
2019
Oil on canvas
43 x 59 in.
109.2 x 149.9 cm
Plankboy (Pygmalion)
2019
Oil on canvas
43 x 59 in.
109.2 x 149.9 cm
Plankboy (Daedalus)
2019
Oil on canvas
43 x 59 in.
109.2 x 149.9 cm
No Shame in Smiling
2018
Oil on linen
77¼ x 59½ in.
196.2 x 151.1 cm
At Least We Have Wine
2019
Oil on linen
77¼ x 59½ in.
196.2 x 151.1 cm
The Only Marks
2019
Oil on linen
77¼ x 59½ in.
196.2 x 151.1 cm
We All Live
2019
Oil on linen
77¼ x 59½ in.
196.2 x 151.1 cm
This Thing
2017
Oil on linen
72 x 61½ in.
182.9 x 156.2 cm
What Do Paintings Say?
2017
Oil on linen
72 x 61½ in.
182.9 x 156.2 cm
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
2015
Oil on linen
60 x 78 in.
152.4 x 198.1 cm
Afterglow
2015
Oil on linen
60 x 78 in.
152.4 x 198.1 cm
The Eternal Dawning of Now
2017
Oil and archival inkjet on canvas
71½ x 55½ in.
181.6 x 141 cm
David v. Goliath
2017
Oil and archival inkjet on canvas
71½ x 55½ in.
181.6 x 141 cm
In Barrel Approaching the Falls
2017
Oil and archival inkjet on canvas
71½ x 55½ in.
181.6 x 141 cm
Flicker Dimming Protocols
2017
Oil and archival inkjet on canvas
71½ x 55½ in.
181.6 x 141 cm
Sailor Jack and Bingo
2016
Oil on linen
48 x 41 in.
121.9 x 104.1 cm
Captain Homer (Seven Pipes for Seven Seas)
2016
Oil on linen
48 x 41 in.
121.9 x 104.1 cm
Buffalo Minotaur
2016
Oil on linen
50 x 43 in.
127 x 109.2 cm
Snowman in Brueghel
2016
Oil on linen
48 x 41 in.
121.9 x 104.1 cm
The Urgent Necessity of Narcissism for the Artistic Mind (Jaguar)
2014
Oil on linen
50 x 65 in.
127 x 165.1 cm
Maroon Bells (Deer)
2015
Oil on linen
82 x 62 in.
208.3 x 157.5 cm
Sincerity and Empathy (Black Bear and Cardinal)
2014
Oil on linen
72 x 55 in.
182.9 x 139.7 cm
El Lobo
2015
Oil on linen
45 x 55 in.
114.3 x 139.7 cm
Shipwreck I
2014
Oil on linen
84 x 132 in.
213.4 x 335.3 cm
Moby Dick (Merrilees)
2013
Oil on linen
112 x 336 in.
284.5 x 853.4 cm
Shipwreck II
2014
Oil on linen
84 x 132 in.
213.4 x 335.3 cm
Strange Progeny (Fawn)
2013
Oil on linen
50 x 36 inches
127 x 91.4 cm
Jaguar (The Urgent Necessity of Narcissism for the Artistic Mind)
2014
Oil on linen
72 x 55 in.
182.9 x 139.7 cm
Black Bear and Cardinal (Sincerity and Empathy)
2014
Oil on linen
72 x 55 in.
182.9 x 139.7 cm
Voyager
2012
Oil on linen
72 x 106 in.
182.9 x 269.2 cm
Lord of the Seas
2012
Oil on linen
48 x 72 in.
121.9 x 182.9 cm
Around the World Alone (Lord of the Seas)
2011
Oil on linen
78 x 126 in.
198.1 x 320 cm
Around the World Alone (The Holy Hermit)
2011
Oil on linen
68 x 52 in.
172.7 x 132.1 cm
Around the World Alone (Push On Able Seaman Push On)
2011
Oil on linen
80 x 54 in.
203.2 x 137.2 cm
Around the World Alone (The Gloucesterman)
2011
Oil on linen
80 x 54 in.
203.2 x 137.2 cm
Chumley (Alone)
2010
Oil on linen
52 x 68 in.
132.1 x 172.7 cm
Here Lies
2010
Oil on linen
48 x 60 in.
121.9 x 152.4 cm
Plank Boy Hurt
2009
Oil on linen
72 x 84 in.
182.9 x 213.4 cm
Miss Kitty Eating Bird
2009
Oil on linen
50 x 74 in.
127 x 188 cm
Pride and Poverty
2009
Oil on linen
46 x 38 in.
116.8 x 96.5 cm
Shame and Inspiration
2009
Oil on linen
46 x 38 in.
116.8 x 96.5 cm
Ego
2009
Oil on linen
48 x 60 in.
121.9 x 152.4 cm
Id
2009
Oil on linen
72 x 84 in.
182.9 x 213.4 cm
Drink My Kool-Aid
2006
Oil on linen
60 x 102 in.
152.4 x 259.1 cm
Just Smile Back
2006
Oil on linen
72 x 108 in.
182.9 x 274.3 cm
Sonic Youth Day
2007
Oil on linen
60 x 102 in.
152.4 x 259.1 cm
Success Is the New Failure
2006
Oil on linen
72 x 132 in.
182.9 x 335.3 cm
Andy Kaufman
2004
Oil on linen
39½ x 33½ in.
100.3 x 85.1 cm
Richard Pryor
2004
Oil on linen
36 x 44¼ in.
91.4 x 112.4 cm
George Carlin
2004
Oil on linen
36 x 30 in.
91.4 x 76.2 cm
Rodney Dangerfield
2004
Oil on linen
42 x 34 in.
106.7 x 86.4 cm
Idea Man II
2005
Oil on linen
60 x 84 in.
152.4 x 213.4 cm
Seven Deadly Sins
2002
Oil on linen
Dimensions variable
Seven parts: Sloth: 31x 27 in.; Greed: 33 x 39 in.; Pride: 32 x 38 in.; Anger: 34 x 42 in.; Envy: 38 x 46 in.; Gluttony: 40 x 48 in,; Lust: 36 x 44 in.
Sean Landers/7098
2001
Oil on linen
Left panel: 74 x 100 in.
188 x 254 cm
Right panel: 74 x 130 in.
188 x 330.2 cm
7095
2001
Oil on linen
68 x 92 in.
172.7 x 233.7 cm
Genius
2001
Oil on linen
86 x 214 in.
218.4 x 543.6 cm
War and Peace/7100
2001
Oil on linen
102 x 264 in.
259.1 x 670.6 cm
Manu
2001
Oil on linen
100 x 74 in.
254 x 188 cm
Reclining Nude with Suitors
2001
Oil on linen
108 x 84 in.
274.3 x 213.4 cm
Plank Boy
2000
Oil on linen
55 x 47 in.
139.7 x 119.4 cm
The Robot Poet
1999
Oil on linen
30 x 26 in.
76.2 x 66 cm
The Idea Man
1998
Oil on linen
24 x 20 in.
61 x 50.8 cm
Football Duck
1998
Oil on linen
54 x 46 in.
137.2 x 116.8 cm
Dance of Life
1997
Oil on linen
96 x 144 in.
243.8 x 365.8 cm
Zorkon
1997
Oil on linen
72 x 96 in.
182.9 x 243.8 cm
A Midnight Modern Conversation (Ignoring Hallucinations)
1996
Oil on linen
50 x 74 in.
127 x 188 cm
Alone
1996
Oil on linen
72 x 96 in.
182.9 x 243.8 cm
36 Hours
1995
Oil on linen
84 x 144 in.
213.4 x 365.8 cm
I'm a Clown in a World of Chimps
1994
Oil on linen
84 x 120 in.
213.4 x 304.8 cm
Groovin' Corduroy Mind-Snot/7092
1994
Oil on linen
84 x 120 in.
213.4 x 304.8 cm
Fart
1993
Oil on linen
84 x 112½ in.
213.4 x 285.8 cm
Say Your Goodbyes and Then Never Leave
2017
Graphite and ink on paper
18 x 23¾ in.
45.7 x 60.3 cm
Time Crushes with Gradual Weight
2017
Graphite and ink on paper
18 x 23¾ in.
45.7 x 60.3 cm
The Only Solace Is to Matter
2017
Graphite and ink on paper
18 x 23¾ in.
45.7 x 60.3 cm
Chris's List of Truths
1990
Ink on paper
2 parts, each 11 x 8½ in.
27.9 x 21.6 cm
Around the World Alone (Lord of the Seas)
2011
Bronze
19 x 10¾ x 10¾ in.
48.3 x 27.3 x 27.3 cm
Edition of 2, 1 A.P.
Pan
2006
Bronze
59 x 23½ x 35½ in.
150 x 59.5 x 90 cm
Edition of 3, 1 A.P.
Peanut Head
2003
Bronze
24 x 11 x 11 in.
61 x 27.9 x 27.9 cm
Edition of 2, 1 A.P.
Mr. Rabbit
2003
Bronze
18½ x 11 x 11 in.
47 x 27.9 x 27.9 cm
Edition of 2, 1 A.P.
Italian High Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture
1993
Single channel video and special edition of the book [sic]
Video: 00:41:33
Book: Edition of 10, signed and numbered by the artist
Published by Publicsfear Press Ltd.
Edition of 10, 2 A.P.
Improbable History
1992
Single channel video
01:01:12
Edition of 10, 2 A.P.
Set of Twelve
1990
12-channel video
Running times variable
Edition of 10, 2 A.P.
Installation view, Sean Landers, Le Consortium, Dijon, France, 2020
Installation view, Sean Landers, Ben Brown Gallery, Hong Kong, 2019-2020
Installation view, Sean Landers, North American Mammals, Petzel, 2014
Installation view, Sean Landers, Around the World Alone, Petzel, New York, 2011
