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Robert Pruitt (artist)

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Robert Pruitt
Born1975
Houston, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Education2003 MFA, University of Texas at Austin; Austin Texas

2002 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture; Skowhegan, Maine

2000 BA, Texas Southern University; Houston, Texas

1999 Tougaloo College Tougaloo Art Colony; Jackson, Mississippi
Known forDrawing, painting, photography, sculpture, animation
Notable work
  • Otabenga Jones & Associates
  • MF Problem
StyleLarge scale drawings
PartnerAutumn Knight
Websiterobert-pruitt.com

Robert Pruitt (born 1975) is a visual artist from Houston, Texas living in New York City who is known for his figurative drawings and who also works with sculpture, photography, and animation.[1][2]

Early life

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Born in 1975 in Houston, TX, Pruitt grew up in Houston's Third and Fourth Wards, frequently in and around his family's funeral home, Pruitt and Pruitt.[3] He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas in 2000 and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003.[4] From 2004–2008, he was a curator at Project Row Houses.[5]

Artistic career

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A participant in both the 2010 SITE Santa Fe Eighth International Biennial: The Dissolve and the 2006 Whitney Biennial: Day for Night, Pruitt was awarded residencies at the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2014 and 2015, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska in 2015, Gallery MOMO in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015, and The Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2016.[4][6][7][8]

Otabenga Jones & Associates

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Pruitt is a founding member of the Houston artist collective, Otabenga Jones & Associates, alongside Dawolu Jabari Anderson, Jamal Cyrus, and Kenya Evans.[9] Initially created in 2002, they worked in a studio underneath the Eldorado Ballroom and the name comes from Ota Benga, an African pygmy who in 1906 was put on display at the Bronx Zoo.[9] A century later in 2006, all four members of the OBJA were individually selected for the Whitney Biennial, and the collective was chosen to participate as well.[9] They follow in the legacy of John Biggers, who founded the art program at Texas Southern University, where the four associates met in 1994 in the drawing class taught by Harvey Johnson.[9]

MF Problem

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Formed in 2012 in Houston with Autumn Knight, fellow artist and Pruitt's partner, the collective has been based in New York, New York since 2016. Together, they focus on "collaborative, conceptual, visual and performative strategies that critique the divisions of race, power, and inequalities found in national and global social structures. MF Problem creates artwork in response to their real life as an artist couple, as visionaries, and as black magicians, and as time travelers."[10]

Selected Exhibition History

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  • Day for Night, Whitney Biennial 2006, New York[7]
  • Lessons from Below: Otabenga Jones & Associates, 2007, The Menil Collection[11]
  • Robert Pruitt: Women, 2013, Studio Museum, Harlem, New York[12]
  • Robert Pruitt: Planetary Survey, 2017, Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Seattle[13]
  • Robert Pruitt: Benediction, 2017, Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, Wichita Kansas[14]
  • Robert Pruitt: Devotion, 2018–19, California African American Museum, Los Angeles[15][16][17]
  • The Majesty of Kings Long Dead, 2019, Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Seattle[18][19]
  • The Banner Project: Robert Pruitt, 2019–20, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston[20]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "About". Robert Pruitt. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  2. ^ Gerwin, Daniel (4 December 2018). "The Potent Realism of Robert Pruitt's Black Portraiture". Hyperallergic. Brooklyn, New York. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Wards Matter". Texas Monthly. 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  4. ^ a b c d "Robert Pruitt – Koplin Del Rio". Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  5. ^ Collective creative actions : Project Row Houses at 25. Dennis, Ryan N.,, Jackson-Dumont, Sandra. Houston, TX. November 2018. ISBN 978-0-692-12642-4. OCLC 1060194912.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ "Eighth International Biennial". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  7. ^ a b "Whitney Biennial 2006: Day for Night". whitney.org. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  8. ^ "American Artist Robert Pruitt is the first artist in residence at Garllera MOMO 2015". Contemporary And (in German). Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  9. ^ a b c d Davenport, Bill; Chronicle, For The (2006-07-23). "Otabenga Jones & Associates' provocative artwork". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  10. ^ "MF Problem (Autumn Knight/Robert Pruitt)". CounterCurrent. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  11. ^ "Lessons From Below Otabenga Jones Associates". The Menil Collection. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  12. ^ Rosenberg, Karen (2013-08-08). "Women Inspired to Mix and Match". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  13. ^ "Robert Pruitt: Planetary Survey | Koplin Del Rio | Artsy". www.artsy.net. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  14. ^ "Robert Pruitt: Benediction". www.wichita.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  15. ^ "CAAM | Robert Pruitt: Devotion". caamuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  16. ^ "The Potent Realism of Robert Pruitt's Black Portraiture". Hyperallergic. 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  17. ^ "Robert Pruitt: Devotione". RiotMaterial. 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  18. ^ "The Majesty of Kings Long Dead – Robert Pruitt – Koplin Del Rio". Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  19. ^ "Robert Pruitt | The Majesty of Kings Long Dead | Koplin Del Rio | Artsy". www.artsy.net. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  20. ^ "The Banner Project: Robert Pruitt". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  21. ^ "Robert Pruitt – Artist Award". artadia.org/artist/robert-pruitt/. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  22. ^ "Robert Pruitt – Artist Award". www.louiscomforttiffanyfoundation.org/artists_2007/artist.php?page=bio&name=pruitt. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  23. ^ "Otabenga Jones & Associates - The People's Plate". creative-capital.org/projects/the-peoples-plate/. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  24. ^ "Robert Pruitt – Travel Grant". artmattersfoundation.org/grantees?year=2009. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  25. ^ "Robert Pruitt – Artist of the Year". www.houstonartfair.com. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  26. ^ "Robert Pruitt – 2013 William H. Johnson Prize". whjohnsongrant.org/grants_2013.htm. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  27. ^ "Robert Pruitt – Pop-Up Sculpture Park". theideafund.org/grant-recipients/round-6-2014/pop-sculpture-park/. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  28. ^ "Robert Pruitt – Artist in Residence". www.bemiscenter.org/residency/by_year/2015/robert-pruitt.html. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  29. ^ Foundation, Joan Mitchell. "Joan Mitchell Center » Artist Programs". joanmitchellfoundation.org. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
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