One of the founding figures of Conceptual art, Lawrence Weiner worked primarily with language from the late 1960s onwards. His work, typically set in a sans serif font, often refers to materials and constructions that enact a physical process. Although he did not consider his works site-specific, each piece forms a distinct relationship to its environment. Whether it is a public space, a gallery wall or a book, each context allows viewers to develop their own interpretations in reference to their personal experiences.
As with much Conceptual work, the installation does not have to be executed by the artist. In a radical restructuring of the traditional artist-viewer relationship, he shifted responsibility for the work's realisation to its audience, redefining standard systems of artistic distribution. Over the course of his career, Weiner gradually extended his engagement with language from simple actions to ready-made structures, such as aphorisms and sayings, which underscore the subjective nature of interpretation. He also explored the interaction of graphic and grammatical elements of language while using shapes and colours.
Weiner was born in 1942 in New York, where he lived and worked until his death in 2021. He turned to language as the primary vehicle for his work in 1968, following earlier experimentations with painting, constructions and sculpture. In 1970, he decided to live on a boat in Amsterdam, and subsequently divided his time between Europe and the USA. His work has been shown in major solo exhibitions at Pérez Art Museum, Miami (2017); Milwaukee Art Museum (2017); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2016); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2014); Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (2013); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2007); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2007); Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2004); Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany (2000); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1994); and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. (1990). He also participated in documenta (1972, 1977, 1982, 2012); the Venice Biennale (1972, 1984, 2003, 2013), and completed numerous public commissions worldwide. In addition to publishing multiple artist books and editions, Weiner created music, films and videos, including Beached (1970), Do You Believe in Water? (1976) and Plowman's Lunch (1982).
2023
LAWRENCE WEINER: UNDER THE SUN, Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
2022
Lawrence Weiner: OUT OF SIGHT, Albertina, Vienna, Austria
2019
JUST IN TIME / ZUR RECHTEN ZEIT, Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna, Austria
WATER & SOME OF ITS FORMS, Taro Nasu, Tokyo, Japan
WHISKED AWAY FROM, OSL Contemporary, Oslo, Norway
2017
FOREVER & A DAY (SIEMPRE Y UN DIA), Various public installations in Mexico City: Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico; Plaza de la Constitucion/Zocalo; Nezah Ualcoyotl; Museo Tamayo; Marquesina Cervantes Sa Avedra, Mexico
Lawrence Weiner: Inherent Innate Tension, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Lawrence Weiner: OUT OF SIGHT, Perez Art Museum, Miami, FL, USA
Lawrence Weiner: Inherent, Innate Tension, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI, USA
2016
Used As Other Than Itself, Galleria Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy
Of Its Own Full Circle, Austrian Frederick and Lilian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna, Austria
Lawrence Weiner, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria.
MADE TO BE, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA, USA
WHISKED AWAY FROM, OSL Contemporary Gallery, Oslo, Norway
CADMIUM & MUD & TITANIUM & FERROUS OXIDE & SO ON…, Dia, Beacon, NY, USA
AFTER ANY GIVEN TIME, Tichy Ocean Foundation, Prague, Czech Republic
2015
Within a Realm of Distance, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, UK
Lawrence Weiner - Per Kirkeby, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Within Grasp, Mai 36 Galerie, Zürich, Switzerland
A Translation From One Language to Another, Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Boston & MIT List Center, Cambridge, MA, USA
Becalmed Within the Embrace of a Whirlwind, Galería Horrach Moya, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2014
Along the Shore, i8 Gallery, Reykjavic, Iceland
Some Moved Pictures of Lawrence Weiner, GoMA Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
All in Due Course, South London Gallery, London, UK
Written on the Wind, Drawings by Lawrence Weiner, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lawrence Weiner, Bury Sculpture Center, Bury Art Museum, Lancashire, UK
2013
The Grace of A Gesture, Written Art Foundation & the 55th Venice Biennale, Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy
Forever & A Day, Art Aids Foundation, Barcelona, Spain
Written on the Wind, Drawings by Lawrence Weiner, Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain
Lawrence Weiner, Works 1969-73, Villa e Collezione Panza, Varese, Italy
Finding a Place to Put What, Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain
2012
Be that as it may, Lisson Gallery, London, UK
Galleria Giorgio Persano, Turin, Italy
Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna, Austria
Concentricity per se, Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Ever so much/mai così tanto, Base progetti per l'arte, Firenze, Italy
Just before, Galleria Artiaco, Naples, Italy
2011
A Syntax of Dependency, Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Belgium
Lawrence Weiner: Altered to Suit, Electronic Arts Intermix, NY, USA
US THEM IT, 10 Downing Street, New York, NY, USA
Specific Object Presents Lawrence Weiner's Published Work from the Jean - Noel Herlin Archive, Susan Inglett Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2010
Dicht Bij, Bak, Utrecht, Netherlands
Lawrence Weiner, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
As To be In Plain Sight, Dencer Art Museum, CO, USA
Lawrence Weiner: Works, MMU, Manchester, UK
Lawrence Weiner, House of Art, Budweis, Czech Republic
Lawrence Weiner, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland
Lawrence Weiner, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
Dicht Bij by Lawrence Weiner, BAK Utrecht, Netherlands
2009
The other side of cul-de-sac, The Power Plant, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Inclined enough to roll, Fondazione Merz, Torino, Italy
Under the Sun, Espai d'Art Contemporani de Castello, Spain
Placed on the tip of a wave, Regen Projects II, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Au Pays, l'Abbaye et Le Village de Corbigny, Nièvre-Bourgogne, France
Done With, Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, Antwerp, Belgium
The Bay of Naples, Alfonso Artiaco, Naples, Italy
1/2 Empty, 1/2 Full, Yvon Lambert, Paris, France
At the Level of the Sea, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2008
As far as the eye can see, K21 Kunstsammlung NRW, Düsseldorf, Germany
No Leftovers, Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland
Order. Desire. Light, Irish Museum Of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Laurence Weiner, MoCA - Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2007
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, USA
2006
Lawrence Weiner X Y & Z, BAWAG Foundation, Vienna, Austria
Nicht weit vom Stamm, Galerie Konrad Fischer, Düsseldorf, Germany
2005
Laurence Weiner, Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris, France
Laurence Weiner, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2003
Lawrence Weiner´s Wexner Center project, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH, USA
Laurence Weiner, Kunstverein Ruhr, Essen, Germany
2002
Laurence Weiner, Buchmann Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Laurence Weiner, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH, USA
Laurence Weiner, The Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, UK
Laurence Weiner, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, NY, USA
In one end, Gandy Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2001
Galerie Ascan Crone, Andreas Osarek, Berlin, Germany
2000
Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, Germany
1998
Susan Inglett Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
1997
Laurence Weiner, John Weber Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2023
La morsure des termites, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
2022
Broken Music Vol. 2: 70 Years of Records and Sound Works by Artists, Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany
2019
the verse of museu do louvre pau-Brazyl, Musee de Louvre Pau-Brazyl, Sao Paulo, Brazil
The Other Side of the Wind, Galerie Martine Aboucaya , Paris, France
Un coeur simple, Dvir Gallery Brussels, Belgium
FURKA: Kunst auf dem Pass ab 1983, Haus Für Kunst Uri, Altdorf, Switzerland
There will never be a door. You are inside. Works from the Coleção Teixeira de Freitas, Sala de Arte Santander, Madrid, Spain
The World Exists To Be Put on a Postcard: Artists' postcards from 1960 to Now, British Museum, London, UK
A TRANSLATION FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER (PART I), MuseumCultuur Strombeek, Grimbergen, Belgium
2018
Programmed: Rules, Codes, Choreographies in Art 1965 - 2018, Whitney Museum, New York, NY, USA
Picture Gallery "Archive Gallery 2018/2019: Archives in Residence - AAP Archiv Künstlerpublikationen", Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
Time Extended: 1964-1978 Part III Works and Documents from the Herbert Foundation, Herbert Foundation, Ghent, Belgium
ON BOARD THE SHIPS AT SEA ARE WE: Robert Therrien, Lawrence Weiner, Rachel Whiteread, Flag Foundation, New York, NY, USA
2017
A New Spirit in Booking, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands
2016
20 Bienal de Arte Paiz, Historic Center, Guatemala City, Guatemala
With a Touch of Pink - With a Bit of Violet - With a Hint of Green: Dorothee Fischer in Memoriam, Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
Electronic Superhighway, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
Encounters, Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Only Lovers, Le Coeur, Paris, France
This One is Smaller than This One, Postmasters, New York, NY, USA
Group Show: 12 Solos, Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
In Place Of, Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Drawing Dialogues: The Sol LeWitt Collection, The Drawing Center, New York, NY, USA
2015
I Remember The Armenian Genocide, Galerie Sobering, Paris, France
Too early, Too late: Middle East and Modernity, Pinoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Italy
A Man walks into a bar…, ME Collectors Room, Berlin, Germany
The Sea, Mu.ZEE, Oostende, Belgium
Driven Crusaders, Tours and Detours Around Detroit, FRAC - Nord Pas de Calais, Dunkerque, France
Per Kirkeby & Lawrence Weiner, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, Copenhagen, Norway
2014
Artist Rooms, Woodhorn Museum, Northumberland, UK
The Space Where I Am, BlainISouthern, London, UK
Slow Learner, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK
VAFA, AFA Macau, China
Crosswords 2, Galerie Jordan Seydoux, Berlin, Germany
La Biennale de Montreal 2014, Canada
Everyone Has A Name, Dvir Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
Blue Times, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
Soleil Politique, MUSEION, Bolzano, Italy
Unicorn Is More Than Nation, Knoll Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Alchemy, Nest, The Hague, Netherlands
Kunst/Geschicten, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Germany
Friendly Takeover, MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany
On The Blue Shore of Silence, Fitzroy Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Apparent Forms, The Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, MA, USA
Bringing the World into the World, Queens Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
Love Story, The Anne & Wolfgang Titze Collection, Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
Genius Loci, Spirit of Place, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Venice, Italy
On Drawing II, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
Mind & Matter, Fonds M-ARCO Le Box, Marseille, France
The Disappearance of the Fireflies, Collection Lambert, Avignon, France
Treasure of Lima: A Buried Exhibition, T-B A21, Vienna, Austria
Object Matter, Galleri Susanne Ottesen, Copenhagen, Norway
Drowning and Swallowing This Text, LACE, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Art Protects, Yvon Lambert, Paris, France
1984?, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
2013
Station to Station, A Nomadic Happening, USA
2012
To the Moon via the Beach, Amphitheatre of Arles, France
dOCUMENTA (13) Kassel, Germany
Ecstatic Alphabets/ Heaps of Language, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
2011
Homage to Bas Jan Ader, Dvir Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
Von Carl Andre bis Gregor Schneider, Dorothee und Konrad Fischer: Archiv einer Haltung, Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Germany
A syntax of dependency, M KHA Museum Van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium
Made in Italy, Gagosian Gallery, Rome, Italy
Artspeak, Vancouver, BC, Canada
CLAP, Hessel Museum of Art, CCS Bard College, Annadale-on-Hudson, NY, USA
Le chateau, CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
2010
Drawing in Progress, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough, UK
Just Love Me, Mudam Luxembourg, Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
Prints and Multiples, Mai 36 Galerie, Showroom Ramistrasse 35, Zurich, Switzerland
Cromocronias: Poeticas del color en la imagen-tiempo, Centro Jose Guerrero, Granada, Spain
2009
Embrace!, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, USA
In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art, 1960 - 1976, MoMA, New York City, NY, USA
Target Practice: Painting Under Attack 1949-1978, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, USA
Discover US!, UferHallen, Berlin, Germany
Espèces D' Espaces, Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris, France
Feedbackstage, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, Germany
Notation: Calculation and Form in the Arts, ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany
Nous Tournous Dans La Nuit, Musee Departmental d'Art Contemporain, Rochechouart, France
2008
Ich kann mir nicht jeden Tag ein Ohr abschneiden, Nationalgalerie Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany
Made in Munich, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
16th Biennale of Sydney, Australia
Call it what you like!, Art Centre Silkeborg Bad, Silkeborg, Denmark
Ambition d´art, Institute d´Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne, France
A Room of One's Own, Castello di Rivoli Museo d´Arte Contemporanea,Turin, Italy
Die Hände der Kunst, MARTa Herford Museum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Herford, Germany
Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today, MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Genau und Anders, Mathematik in der Kunst von Dürer bis Sol LeWitt, MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria
Shanghai Biennale, China
2007
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, USA
Swiss Institute, New York, NY, USA
2006
Ideal City - Invisible Cities, Öffentlicher Raum in Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
INTO ME/OUT OF ME, KW KunstWerke, Berlin, Germany
Monuments with a Horizon Line, Buchmann Berlin, Germany
Public Space /Two Audiences, MACBA, Museu d´Art Contemporani, Barcelona, Spain
Location Shots, Galerie Erna Hecy, Brussel, Belgium
Black Panther Rank and File, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, USA
Mental Image, Wortwerke und TextKunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland
Plane/Figure, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Switzerland
2005
Strip - Bilder in Folge, Kunstverein Hannover, Germany
Biennale Valencia 2005, Spain
Le Génie du lieu, FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon, France
E-Flux Video Rental, The Moore Space, Miami, FL, USA
Behind the facts, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
2004
A Short History of Dutch Video Art, Shanghai Duolun Museum, Shangai, China
Minimal artists and conceptual artists, Yvon Lambert, New York, NY, USA
Invisible Beauty, Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin, Germany
A Minimal Future?, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2003
Singular Forms, Guggenheim Museum, New York City, NY, USA
A Short History of Dutch Video Art, Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain
Independence, South London Gallery, London, UK
Australia
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Austria
Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna
Wiener Festwochen, Vienna
University of Klagenfurt
Belgium
Anton and Annick Herbert Collection, Ghent
Het Museum Van Hedendaagse Kunst Te Gent, Ghent
Middelheim Openluchtmuseum, Antwerp
Canada
Art Gallery of Ontario
Lawrence Weiner Poster Archive at the Vancouver art Gallery
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax
Vancouver Art Gallery
Ydessa Hendeles Foundation, Toronto
Denmark
Gentofte Kommunes Kunstbibliotek, Hellerup
Stadtisches Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
France
CAPC Musee d'art contemporain de Bordeaux
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Villeurbanne, Place Mendes-France
F.R.A.C. Nord de Calais
F.R.A.C. de Bourgogne
F.R.A.C. Rhone-Alpes
Musee de Toulon
Musee Saint Pierre, Art Contemporain, Lyon
Germany
Cologne and Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Deitchtorhallen, Hamburg
Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt
Hamburg Harbor
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Kunstverein Museum Schloss Morsbroich e.v
Krefelder Kunst Museen, Haus Esters
Museum fur Modern Kunst, Frankfurt
Salzhaus Sindelfingen
Sprengel Museum, Hannover
Venloer Strasse 21, Cologne
Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich
Iceland
University of Akureyri
Ireland
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin
Italy
Gennazzno
Egidio Marzona Collection, Bielefeld and Villa di Verzegnis
Panza di Biumo Collection, Varese
Rieper AG factory building, Vintl
Israel
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Netherlands
Boymans-van Beuningen Msueum, Rotterdam
Eindhoven, De Rode Loper
De Vleeshaal, Middelburg
Federal Courthouse Sint Annadal, Maastricht
Haags Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag
Haags Hogeschool, Den Haag
Kroller-Moller Museum, Otterlo
Maienburg Railway Station
Marin Visser Collection, Rotterdam
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Spui, Universiteit van Amsterdam
Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven
Slovenia
Moderna Galerija Ljubjana, Slovenia
Spain
Barcelona
Guggenheim Bilbao
Switzerland
Castell Zuoz
Biel
Cosmorex Collection, Schaffhausen
Hotel Furkablick, Furka
Kunsthof Zurich, Cosmorex Collection
Kunstmuseum Winterthur
Musee de Beaux-Arts, La Chaux-de-Fond
World Wildlife Fund, Zurich
World Trade center, Zurich
UK
British Museum, London
Henry Moore Sculpture Trust, Halifax
USA
Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Carnegie Institute of Fine Art, Pittsburgh, PA
Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, New York, NY
Dannheiser Foundation, New York, NY
Dia Foundation, Beacon, NY
488 Greenwich Avenue, New York, NY
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Poets Walk, Citicorp Plaza, Los Angeles, CA
Public Art Fund/Con Edison, New York, NY
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Sol Le Witt Collection at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Walker Center for the Visual Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
2022
Oskar-Kokoschka-Prize, Austria
2015
Roswitha Haftmann Prize, Zürich, Switzerland
1999
Skowhegan Medal for Painting/Conceptual Art, Skowhegan, ME, USA
1995
Wolfgang Hahn Prize, Ludwig Museum, Cologn, Germany
1994
John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, New York, NY, USA
1991
Arthur Kopcke Prize, Arthur Kopcke Memorial Fund, Copenhagen, Denmark
1982
Stichting De Appel, Amsterdam, and the State Film Board of the Netherlands
1976
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Washington, D.C., USA
72nd American Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, prize, Chicago, IL, USA
DAAD, Berlin, Germany
1988
Singer Prize, Singer Museum, Laren, Netherlands
1983
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Washington, D.C., USA