Leigh Ledare

May 29

Biography

Born 1976, Seattle, Washington
Lives and works in New York City

Education

Pulsion Institute of Psychoanalysis, LP Candidate 2023 - ongoing
Columbia University, MFA Visual Art 2008
Rhode Island School of Design, BFA 2000
University of Washington, 1994-1997

2022
To you who make the springtime, I send my winter, Michéle Didier Gallery, Paris, France

2021
XX XX (with Nicolas Guagnini), Meyer Riegger, Berlin, Germany
Zurich, Office Baroque. Antwerp, Belgium

2019
L’Hôte, Office Baroque. Brussels. Belgium

2017
The Plot, The Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, IL
Vokzal, The Box. Los Angeles, CA

2016
place du jardin aux fleurs, Office Baroque. Brussels, Belgium
The Here and the Now, Manifesta 11 curated by Christian Jankowski, Helmhaus. Zurich, Switzerland

2015
Double Bind, Art Unlimited at Art Basel, curated by Gianni Jetzer. Basel, Switzerland

2014
Ana and Carl, and Some Other Couples (with Nicolas Guagnini), Max Mayer Gallery. Dusseldorf, Germany
Leigh Ledare. Mitchell-Innes and Nash. New York, NY
Ana and Carl, and some other couples (with Nicolas Guagnini), Andrew Roth. New York, NY.

2013
Leigh Ledare, et al. (solo survey) curated by Elena Filipovic, Kunsthal Charlottenberg. Copenhagen, Denmark
An Invitation. RECEPTION. Berlin, Germany

2012
Leigh Ledare, et al.(solo survey) curated by Elena Filipovic, WIELS. Brussels, Belgium
Double Bind Publication. Michele Didier Gallery. Paris, France
An Invitation. Pilar Corrias Gallery. London, England
Leigh Ledare, The Box. Los Angeles, CA 2011
Something Might Have Been Better than Nothing… with Per Billgren, RECEPTION. Berlin, Germany

2010
Double Bind. The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture. Moscow, Russia
Double Bind. Prix Decouvert, curated by Ruf, Obrist, Eccles, Parreno and Gillick. Les Rencontres d’Arles
Le Tit. Guido Costa Projects. Turin, Italy
The Confectioner’s Confectioner, Pilar Corrias Gallery. London, England
Too Late and Later, Rod Bianco Gallery. Oslo, Norway

2009
Leigh Ledare, Les Rencontres de Arles. Arles, France

2008
You Are Nothing To Me. You Are Like Air. Rivington Arms. New York, NY
Pretend You’re Actually Alive, Andrew Roth Gallery. New York, NY
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
Institute of Contemporary Art Miami
2022
Personal Commissions, print edition. Published by michéle didier, Brussels/Paris

2019
Between a Punk and Picasso: 2019/1998, broadsheet containing essay by Leigh Ledare accompanied by photographs of Ledare taken by Larry Clark, and vise versa. Published by PPP Editions/Andrew Roth

2015
Double Bind (essays and conversations) coauthored with Rhea Anastas. Art Resources Transfer Press
Artist edition for Art Resources Transfer Press

2014
Ana and Carl, and Some Other Couples (with Nic Guagnini), published by PPP Editions/Andrew Roth

2012
Double Bind (3 volumes: Ephemera, Husbands, Diptychs) Published by mfc-michele didier, Brussels/Paris
Leigh Ledare, et al. Published by WIELS Center for Contemporary Art and Mousse Publishing,Brussels
An Invitation. Published by Leroy Neiman Center for Print Studies, Columbia University, New York

2011
A Modest Exchange, Artist edition curated by Tom Eccles for Invisible Exports, New York

2008
Pretend You’re Actually Alive. PPP Editions/Andrew Roth, New York
2021
NA JA, color 16mm film with sound, 47 minutes

2017
The Task, single channel HD video with sound, 118 minutes

2016
Vokzal, Color 16mm Film with sound and installation, 60 minutes
The Here and the Now (Zurich 1:1) (13 channel video installation), approximately 16 hours
The Large Group, subtitled, single-channel video, 68 minutes

2008
The Gift. Single channel video, 9 minutes and 18 seconds
The Model. Single channel video, 4 minutes and 5 seconds
Shoulder. Single channel video, 8 minutes and 45 seconds
2025
MAMA, Kunstpalast Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany
Iowa Gallery, Curated by Bailey Connolly, Brooklyn, NY

2024
Duty of Care, curated by Robert Leonard, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
MOTHERBOY, curated by Stella Bottai and Gray Wielebinski, Gío Marconi, Milan, IT
Women in Love, curated by Reba Maybury, Institut Funder Bakke, Silkeborg, Denmark

2023
Love Songs, curated by Sara Raza, International Center of Photography, New York
Wishing Well, Parker Gallery, Los Angles

2022
Love Songs, curated by Simon Baker, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France
Contagion, Bengaluru Science Gallery, Bengaluru, India
Front Triennial, curated by Prem Krishnamurthy, Cleveland, Ohio

2021
Grand Prototypes, Humble Tools, curated by Prem Krishnamurthy, Front Triennial, Cleveland, Ohio

2020
Faktura, KIM? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia

2019
Acting Out (Works from the Hessel Collection), curated by Leigh Ledare and Tom Eccles, Hessel Museum, Bard College, Annondale-on-Hudson, NY
Straying from the Line, Schinkel Pavillion, Berlin, Germany
Lignes de Vies, curated by Frank Lamy, Musee d’art Contemporain du Val-de Marne, France
Diaristic Photography and the Photobook, curated by Sarah Allen, Tate Modern, London, UK
50 Years, 50 Books: Masterworks from the Library of Martin Parr, Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France
50 Years, 50 Books: Masterworks from the Library of Martin Parr, Les Rencontres d’Arles, France
On Fire, curated by Benedikt Wyss, SALTS Birsfelden, Basel, Switzerland
Empathy Clinic, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

2018
Measures of Authority, with Chris Kraus and Terence Sellers, Hessel Museum, Bard College, Annondale-on-Hudson.
Group Therapy, Frye Art Museum. Seattle, WA. September 15th
Defacement, The Club. Tokyo, Japan. July
Frieze New York, The Box Gallery, with Stan Vanderbeek, New York
Putting Out, Gavin Brown Enterprises, New York, June
Smiles Without Freedom, curated by Rirkrit Tiravanija and Tomas Vu, Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, NY

2017
The Whitney Biennial (curated by Christopher Lew and Mia Locks), The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Roberte Ce Soir: Pierre Klossowski, Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany
Anna and Carl, and Some Other Couples, Samlung Philaria Collection, Dusseldorf, Germany
Vocales, CAC Bretigny, France
The Public Body, Artspace, Sydney, Australia
Feedback, Marlborough Chelsea, New York

2016
Give Me Yesterday, Foundation Prada, Milan, Italy
The Here and the Now (screening curated by Laura McClean Ferris),The Swiss Institute, New York
An Invitation, Samlung Philara Collection, Dusseldorf, Germany
Bread and Roses, Artists and the Class Divide (curated by Natalia Seilewicz), MoMA Warsaw, Poland
Private Exposure, Samlung Olbricht Collection, Berlin, Germany
LOVE, Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York
Invisible Adversaries: Valie Export(curated by Tom Eccles and Lauren Cornell), Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Manifesta 11 (curated by Christian Jankowski), Zurich, Switzerland

2015
Kyiv Biennial, School of Realism (curated by John Miller), Kiev, Ukraine
Art Unlimited at Art Basel (curated by Gianni Jetzer), Basel, Switzerland
Sexe, Beatitude et Logique Compatable, Michele Didier, Paris, France
Sitter, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH
Between Strength and Crisis. LENTOS Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria

2014
Boys Don’t Cry, Musee D’art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne, France.
La Vie Domestique, Parc Saint Leger Centre D’Art Contemporain, Pougues-les-Eaux, France
It Happens Without You, Kendall Koppe Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
Paperwork: A Brief History of Artists’ Scrapbooks, ICA, London, England
Simulacrum (with Pierre Klossowski and Dan Graham),Max Mayer Gallery, Dusseldorf, Germany
Bad Conscience (curated by John Miller), Metro Pictures Gallery, New York
Layers Thaw, Minerva Gallery, Sidney, Australia

2013
Home Truths (curated by Susan Bright) Photographers’ Gallery, London, England
Paperwork: A Brief History of Artists’ Scrapbooks, PS1/MoMA, New York
5th Moscow Bienniale (special Project curated by Ami Barak, Pomeranz Collection), Moscow, Russia.
News/Prints: Printmaking & The Newspaper, International Print Center, New York
9 Ways to Say It’s Over, Farringdon St., London, England
Revelations, Stonescape (curated by Thea Westreich and Susan Modica), Calistoga, CA
Museum of Modern Art and Western Antiquities: Lens Drawings (curated by Jens Hoffman), Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France
Lips Painted Red, Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Trondheim, Norway.
Secession Secession (curated by Colby Bird), Fitzroy Gallery, New York
Paperwork: A Brief History of Artists’ Scrapbooks, Andrew Roth Gallery, New York
Nevermore, On Stellar Rays Gallery, New York

2012
The Hidden Mother (curated by Sinziana Ravini), Hotel Particulier de B. Morisot, Paris, France
Privacy (curated by Martina Weinhart), Shirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Collaborations and Interventions, Kunsthalle Andratx, Majorca, Spain
Take Off Your Silver Spurs and Help Me Pass the Time, Galerie Ruzicska, Saltzburg, Austria
Fremde Überall. Pomeranz Collection, The Jewish Museum, Vienna, Austria
Desire, Bergen Museum of Art, Bergen, Norway
New Americans 2 (curated by Ami Barak), Michel Rein Gallery, Paris, France

2011
Reprise (curated by LaToya Ruby Fraser), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Sex Drive, Atlanta Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
Martin Parr’s Best Books of the Decade, National Photographic Archive, Dublin, Ireland
A Hole Is to Dig, Office Baroque Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
Cult of the Ruin: Strategies of Accumulation, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA
LAXART Curator’s Choice Video Show, LAXART, Los Angeles, CA
Sex Drive, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.
Home Videos, Leigh Ledare and Kenneth Tam, Loisaida, New York

2010
How Soon Is Now, (curated by Beatrix Ruf, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Tom Eccles, Liam Gillick, Philippe Parreno), The Garage CCC, Moscow, Russia
Which Witch is Which? (curated by Ajay Kurian), White Flag Projects, St. Louis, MO
Luma Discovery Award (curated by Ruf, Obrist, Eccles, Gillick, Parreno). Les Rencontres d’Arles.
Greater New York 2010 (curated by Cornelia Butler, Klaus Biesenbach, Neville Wakefield), MoMA/PS1, New York
No More Presence, Leigh Ledare and Corinne Jones, Gresham’s Ghost, New York
They Have Not the Art to Argue with Pictures: After Heinecken, Cherry and Martin, Los Angeles, CA
Support Group, Thomas Solomon Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
So Be It: Interventions in Printed Matter, Andrew Roth Gallery, New York
Leigh Ledare screenings, Berkeley Museum of Art, Berkely, CA

2009
I’m So Sad, My God (curated by Martha Kirtzenbaum), ISCP, New York
Dance, Sons and Daughters, Dance! The Physics Room, Christchurch, New Zealand
Selected Works (curated by Laurie Simmons), Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York
Prague Biennale 4, Prague, Czech Republic
Re-Gift (curated by John Miller), Swiss Institute, New York
House Call (curated by Alex Gardenfeld and Piper Marshal), Three’s Company, New York
Ca Me Touche (curated by Nan Goldin), with Boris Mikhailov, Arles, France
N-1, Patino Foundation, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Frieze Art Fair (Leigh Ledare and Reena Spaulings), Greene Naftali booth, London, England

2008
Freeway Balconies (curated by Nancy Spector, Collier Schorr), Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany
Open Secret, International Center of Photography, New York
Closer Now, Rivington Arms, New York
Columbia University MFA Thesis Show, Fischer-Landau Center, New York
EPTSOLP (curated by Chris Johanson), Small a Projects, Portland, OR
Blindspot Benefit Auction, David Zwirner Gallery, New York
2022
Boris Mikhailov, ‘Ukrainian Diary’ (curatorial consultant to retrospective curator Laurie Hurwitz), Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris

2019
Acting Out (Works from the Hessel Collection), curated by Leigh Ledare and Tom Eccles, Hessel Museum, Bard College, Annondale-on-Hudson, NY

2018
Authority, Emotion and Exclusion, film Screening Series in collaborations with Group Relations conference (co-curated with Fred Schmidt-Arenales and Netta Tea), UPENN, Philadelphia

2007
Stalemate (curated by Leigh Ledare), Leroy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York
2026
Harvard University (screening of ‘The Task’), Cambridge, MA
Yale University, artist’s talk, New Haven, CT
Penumbra Foundation, artist’s talk, New York, NY

2025
BAM Cinema (screening of ‘The Task’ curated by Jemma Desai), New York, NY
Barnard College, artist’s talk, New York, NY

2024
Cornell University, (screening of The Task and conversation with Ben Piekut and Tracy McNulty), Ithica, NY
Light Industries, (screening of The Task and conversation with Jamieson Webster and Alan Ruiz), New York
Art Hub, (screening and conversation with Reba Maybury), Copenhagen, Denmark
Barnard College, (artist talk), New York
Yale University, (artist talk), New Haven, CT
Columbia Univerity, (artist talk), New York
Pratt Institute, (artist talk), New York

2023
Criterion Collection (The Task featured on the Criterion channel)
Metrograph Cinema, (screening of The Task and conversation with Ben Piekut), New York
University California, Irvine (artist talk with Paul McCarthy and Leigh Ledare), Irvine, CA
California Institute of the Arts, (artist talk), Valencia, CA
Bezalal Academy of Art and Design, (artist talk), Jerusalem, Israel
Washington Project for the Arts, ‘How We Gather Now?’ symposium organized by Asad Raza and Prem Krishnamurtha (screening of The Task), Washington DC
New York Univerity, (artist talk), New York

2022
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France (Masterclass with Leigh Ledare)
Bengaluru Science Gallery, Bengaluru, India (conversation around The Task with social psychologist)
KASK School of Arts (artist talk and screening of The Task), Ghent, Belgium
SUNY Purchase, New York (artist talk)
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France (conversation with JH Engstrom and Margot Wallard)

2020
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (artist talk and conversation with Christopher Williams)

2019
THE BOX (four screenings of The Task on two consecutive weekends, and conversation with Catherine Taft), Los Angeles, CA
UPenn screening series (co-curator) (The Task, screening and conversation with Homay King)
University of New South Wales (The Task, screening and symposium, Empathy Clinic), Sydney, Australia
BAM (screening of The Task for Triple Canopy’s On Resentment), BAM Rose Cinema, Brooklyn, NY
Yale University (Artist talk and screening of The Task), New Haven, CT
Whitney Museum of American Art, conversation on Andy Warhol moderated by Lynne Tilmann, with Elizabeth Schambelan, Cy Gavin, Justine Kurland, New York, NY
Rijksakademie (screening of The Task), Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hessel Museum/Bard CCS (conversation with Lynn Tillmann and Lyle Ashton Harris on Acting Out curated by Leigh Ledare and Tom Eccles), Bard College, Annondale-on-Hudson, NY

2018
SPACE (The Task screening and conversation), Portland, ME
Sheffield Documentary Festival (screening of The Task), Sheffield, England
Bard Center for Curatorial Studies (with Selby Nimrod), Bard College, Annondale-on-Hudson, NY
BAM Cinema Fest (screening of The Task), Bam Rose Cinema, Brooklyn, NY
American Academy Rome (screening of The Task), Rome, Italy
Paris Photo, Paris, France, Conversation between Leigh Ledare and Laure Prouvost
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA
California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
Lomex Gallery, New York, Conversation between Leigh Ledare and Lynne Tilmann
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
True/False film festival (screening of The Task), Columbia, MO
School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, GA

2017
The Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
Yale University, New Haven, CT

2016
The Speaker with Vanessa Place and Jamieson Webster, James Fuentes Gallery, New York, NY
Cranbrook Academy, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Columbia University, New York, NY
Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich, Switzerland
Friends of Manifesta talk. Zurich Kunsthal, LUMA Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland

2015
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Barnard College, New York, NY
Yale University, New Haven, Ct
Paris Photo, conversation with Jeff Rosenheim, Elisabeth Bronfen and Donatien Grau, Paris, France
The Box, Los Angeles. Double Bind book release and Conversation with Anastas, Liz Kotz and Andrew Freeman.
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Leigh Ledare and Paul McCarthy moderated by Chrissie Iles, Frieze Art Fair, New York, NY
San Francisco Institute of Art, San Francisco, CA
Printed Matter Book Fair, PS1/MoMA, talk with Andrew Roth and Vincent Aletti. New York, NY.
Artists Space Books + Talks, book release and conversation with Rhea Anastas, John Miller, Daniel Bozhkov, K8 Hardy and Leigh Ledare, New York, NY

2014
Paris Photo, LA. Conversation with Frances Stark, moderated by Douglas Fogel, Los angeles, CA
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Aperture Foundation/Parsons lecture series, New York, NY
School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
State Academy of Arts and Design, Stuttgart, Germany
New York City Public Library, moderated by Christophe Cherix, with Andrew Roth, Alex Kitnick, Phil Aarons, coinciding with Paperwork: A Brief History of Artists’ Scrapbooks
Panel on Robert Heinecken moderated by curator Eva Respini, New York, NY 2013
Charlottenborg Kunsthal, conversation with Mette Sandby and Per Aage Brandt), Copenhagen, Denmark
Charlottenborg Kunsthal (in conversation with Elena Filipovic), Copenhagen, Denmark
Rhode Island School of Design. Providence, RI

2012
WIELS Center for Contemporary Culture, Brussels, Belgium
School of the International Center of Photography, New York, NY
Columbia University, New York, NY
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

2011
The Garage Center for Contemporary Art in conversation with Tom Eccles. Moscow, Russia
California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
University of Southern California. Los Angeles, CA
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

2009
Les Rencontres de Arles, conversation with Nan Golden, JH Engstrom and Anders Petersen. Arles, France
2024
Civatella Ranieri Fellow in residence, Umbria, Italy

2022
New York State Council on the Arts Film Grant

2017
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
Ruttenberg Foundation Fellowship, The Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago

2013
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship Award

2009
Jerome Foundation Research Grant
Yale University (MFA, Sculpture), Senior Critic, 2015-2026
Parsons, New York; Adjunct Professor (MFA, Photography) 2025-2026
New York University, Steinhardt Department of the Arts (MFA), Visiting Critic, 2014-2026
Adjunct Professor, 2012-2025Princeton University (BFA, Photography), Lecturer Associate Professor, 2019-2020
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, Adjunct Professor (BFA, Photography), 2019
The Cooper Union, New York, Howard Wolf Chair in Photography, 2018
Columbia University, New York, Visiting Professor (BFA) 2008/Visiting Critic (MFA) 2016-2018
School of Visual Arts (MFA), New York. Adjunct Professor, 2014-2017; MFA Mentor 2023-2025
California Institute of the Arts (MFA/BFA), Visiting Professor, 2009-2011
Fondazione Spinola Banna per l’Arte,,Torino, Italy, Visiting Professor, Spring 2011