Erik den Breejen
 
Born 1976, Berkeley, California
Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York
 
2006 MFA, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
1999 BFA,  California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
1994-96    University of California at Santa Cruz.
 
Selected Solo Exhibitions
 
2016       Song of the Earth, Freight + Volume, New York, NY

2014       There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Freight + Volume, New York, NY

2013       Word, One River gallery, Englewood, NJ (with Jim Torok)
 
2012        Image, Music, Text, DNA gallery, Untitled art fair, Miami Beach, FL
 
2011        Smile, Freight + Volume, New York, NY
 
2008      Throwaway Lines Often Ring True, Freight + Volume, New York, NY
 
2007       Ruined by Love Songs, Freight + Volume, New York,  NY
 
2006       Hits, Hartell Gallery, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Public Commissions


2020        SoFi Stadium and YouTube Theatre, Inglewood, CA. 

                Light box wall pieces for elevators.


2018         PS 24 Q mural, Flushing, Queens, NY.
                 Commissioned by Public Art for Public Schools 

2016         Freddie Mercury mural for Wythe Hotel, Brooklyn, NY

2014         Ahmet Ertegun mural for Atlantic Records headquarters, New York, NY.                          

                 Project coordinated by Gensler, NY.


2013         David Bowie mural for Rag and Bone, New York, NY
 

Selected Group Exhibitions 


2023          Inside the Outside World, curated by Matthew F. Fisher, My Pet Ram, New York

                  Working On It, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, BMCC, New York, NY


2022          Diamond Window (three-person show with Maria Calandra and Christine Heindl),

                  TURN Gallery, New York, NY

                  Seeing Red, Looking Blue, Feeling Green, curated by Paul Laster, Marquee

                  Projects, Bellport, NY

                  You and I Underneath a Sky (two-person show with Maria Calandra), Cynthia

                  Winings Gallery, Blue Hill, ME

                  Natural Selection, Room 57 gallery, New York, NY


2021          Pencil In the Studio, curated by Maria Calandra, De Pree Art Center and Gallery,

                  Hope College, Holland, MI

                  La Banda, Tapetto Volante Projects, Brooklyn, NY

                  Summer Reading (curated by Lindsey Landfried and Ann Tarantino), Center For

                  Book Arts, New York, NY (catalogue)


2020          Sound & Color, curated by Brian Alfred, Miles McEnery, New York

                  Magic Edge, curated by Michelle Tillou and Andy Cross, Troutbeck, Amenia, NY


2019          Ornament, BravinLee Programs, New York, NY

                  Highway Blues, curated by JJ Manford, Underdonk, Brooklyn, NY

                  Em Dash, Ampersand, Portland, OR


2018         Meet the Parents, Essex Flowers, New York, NY
                 The Mushroom Show, curated by Dan Gratz and Letha Wilson, Wilson Studio, NY

                 Summer Reading, Woskob Gallery, Penn State, PA

                 Actually Weird, curated by JJ Manford, Underdonk, Brooklyn, NY

2017        Weekend, curated by Ezra Johnson, Mindy Solomon gallery, Miami, FL 
                SQUARED x2, Geoffrey Young gallery, Great Barrington, MA
                Press One for Show, curated by Robert Otto Epstein, Lorimoto gallery, Ridgewood, NY 
                The Secret Life of Plants, curated by Jennifer Coates and Nick Lawrence,                        

                Freight + Volume, New York.


2016        The Oasis, Gitler &________, New York, NY
                Nurture/nature, curated by Matthew Mahler, 245 Varet, Brooklyn, NY

2015         Your Bad Self, Arts + Leisure, New York, NY.
                 WHO, Leslie Heller Workspace, New York, NY.  
                  I Am What I Am Not Yet, curated by Diana Buckley, Madelyn Jordon Fine Art,   

                  Scarsdale, NY.

                 The Vegas Session; Three person show with Christopher Kane Taylor and                      

                 Joseph Wardwell, Satellite Contemporary, Las Vegas, NV.

                 The Ecstacy of Influence, curated by Progress Report, SPRING/BREAK Art Show,   

                 New York, NY.

 
2014          ConTEXT, curated by Brian Hack, Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn, NY.
                  Drawn to Language, Children’s Museum of Art, New York, NY.
                  Kiki Bouba, curated by John O’Connor, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
                  Genesis Forward Battery, curated by hkjb, Underdonk, Ridgewood, NY
 
2013           Dialogic, curated by Mary Salvante, Rowan University Art Gallery, Glassboro, NJ
                   Endless Summer, curated by Gary Petersen, Brian Morris Gallery, New York, NY
                  Disque Optophonique (sound piece for Christian Sampson installation),                

                   Southfirst, Brooklyn, NY

                  Thanks, curated by Adam Parker Smith, Lu Magnus, New York, NY

                  Chiraroscuro, curated JJ Manford and Steve Rivera, Novella gallery, New York, NY

                  Word; two person exhibition with Jim Torok, One River gallery, Englewood, NJ
 
2012           The Double Dirty Dozen (and Friends), Freight and Volume, New York, NY
                   Can’t Stop Rock Lobster, curated by Merkx and Gwynne, Shoot the Lobster, NY
                   Waivers, curated by EJ Hauser and Rob Nadeau, EJ Hauser studio, Brooklyn, NY
 
2011           Temporary Antumbra Zone, Janet Kurnatowsky, Brooklyn, NY
                   Gold Records, curated by Jon Lutz, Art Blog Art Blog, New York, NY
 
2010            No Vacancy, The Butcher’s Daughter, Detroit, MI
 
2009           Awesome-Blage, Artjail, New York, NY
                         
                      The Space Between, DNA, Provincetown, MA 
                          
                       Heartbreak Hotel, Freight + Volume, New York, NY
                          
                       No Soul For Sale, X Initiative, New York, NY
 
Selected Bibliography

2016       Kalm, James. "Erik den Breejen 'Song of the Earth' at Freight+Volume,"                       

               The James Kalm Report, Nov. 27, 2016.  


2015       Caldwell, Ellen C. “Vegas Rising,” New American Paintings blog, June 8, 2015.
 
2014       Adelaide, Kari.  “Erik den Breejen at Freight + Volume,” Huffington Post,  May 27, 2014
               Calandra, Maria.  Interview for Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, May 2014.
 
2013       McClemont, Doug. “Endless Summer,” ARTnews, December, 2013, p.100
 
                Newhall, Edith.  “Beats and Beach Boys,”  The Philadelphia Inquirer,                             September 29, 2013.
 
                Kazakina, Katya.  “David Bowie Portrait Hits Houston Street, Word by                             Word.”  Bloomberg.com, June 19, 2013.
 
                Anonymous.  “Bowie Spotted in Manhattan.” 
                Davidbowie.com, June 19, 2013.
 
2012        Lutz, Jon.  “Erik den Breejen on Smile (and More).” 
                 Daily Operation, November 29, 2012.
 
                Johnson, Ken. “Erik den Breejen: ‘Smile’.” 
                The New York Times,  January 6, 2012: sec. C: 27.
 
                Finch, Charlie. “New Art Overload.”  Artnet Magazine, January 6, 2012.
 
2011        Borkowski, Mary.  “The Color and the Sound: Erik den Breejen's Pop                                     Synesthesia and the Beach Boys Smile.”  The New Inquiry, Dec. 16, 2011.
 
               Smith, Nancy.  “Erik den Breejen Opens ‘Smile’ at Freight+Volume.” 
               Art Lovers New York, Dec. 13, 2011.
 
                Calandra, Maria.  “Erik den Breejen.”  Pencil In the Studio, April 10, 2011.
 
2008       Killeen, Michael.  “Kapoor’s Big Red Battering Ram, Rock Star Splatter:        
                 Chelsea Art.”  Bloomberg.com, June 12, 2008.
 
Residencies

2018        The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH

 
2015        DNA Artists’ Residency, Provincetown, MA
 
Grants and Awards
 
2015        New York Foundation for the Arts Painting Fellowship
 
2006       Charles Baskerville Painting Award, Cornell University.
 
2005       Cornell Council for the Arts project grant.
 
Exhibitions Curated

2015        Let’s Go Away for Awhile (co-curated with Maria Calandra), 
                 1 MileGallery, Kingston, NY.

2010         Painting Comes Alive!  Artjail, New York, NY.