Tony Oursler (b. 1957, New York; lives and works in New York) is best known for his innovative integration of video, sculpture, performance and installation. A pioneering figure in new media since the 1970s, Oursler has since explored diverse methods of exploring popular culture, historical and sub-cultural themes while incorporating the moving image into his practice, breaking video art out of the two-dimensional screen to create immersive environments with the use of light sound and projections. In 2000, Oursler began a series of large scale outdoor projection projects which incorporate landscape, water, smoke, trees, architecture, performative and sculptural elements; some are permanently installed. His sculptures, wall works and installations present a rich visual multimedia experience which often incorporates cultural references and information that seeks to actively engage the viewer. His artworks often employ poetics and humor to explore a wide range of subjects such as belief systems, facial recognition, superstition, conspiracy theories, UFOs and the role technology plays in altering, inhibiting, and expanding social behavior.
Oursler received a B.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts in 1979. Solo exhibitions of his work have been organized at Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL (2024); SCAI PIRAMIDE, Tokyo, Japan (2024); Photo Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland (2022); K11 Musea, Hong Kong (2021); Kunstraum Dornbirn, Dornbirn, Austria (2021); Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (2021); Musée d’Arts de Nantes, Nantes, France (2020); Nanging Eye Pedestrian Bridge, Nanjing, China (2019); Public Art Fund, New York, NY (2018); The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (2016); LUMA Foundation, Arles, France (2015); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2014); Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom (2013); Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, Brazil (2013); Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev, Ukraine (2013); Art Sonje Center, Seoul, South Korea (2012); ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark (2012); and Jeu de Paume, Paris, France, traveling to the DA2 Domus Artium, Salamanca, Spain, and the Kunstforeningen, Copenhagen, Denmark (2005), among numerous others. Select group exhibitions featuring his work include Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (2022) and Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY (2021); Second Nature, K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong (2021); Les Citoyens, Triennale Milano and the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Milan, Italy (2021); On Everyone’s Lips: From Pieter Bruegel to Cindy Sherman, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany (2020); Noire Lumière, HOW Museum, Shanghai, China (2020); Just Connect, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (2020); Trees, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France (2019); Almost Human: Digital Art from the Permanent Collection, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA (2019); Everything is Connected: Art and Conspiracy, Met Breuer, New York, NY (2018); David Bowie Is, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY (2018); Before Projection: Video Sculpture 1974-1995, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA (2018); Creature, The Broad, Los Angeles, CA (2016); America Is Hard to See, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (2015); Disembodied, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2013); Mike Kelley, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (2013); The Royal Family, Hayward Gallery Project Space, London, United Kingdom (2012); Off the Wall: Part 1—Thirty Performative Actions, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (2010); Spazio: The Scene and the Imaginary, Museo Nazionale delle arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy (2010); Looking at Music, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (2008); and California Video, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2008).
Oursler’s work is in numerous public and private collections, including the Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark; Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Broad Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA; CAPC Musée d'art Contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, France; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Musée d'Art Contemporain, Lyon, France; Museu d'Art Contemporani, Barcelona, Spain; Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Switzerland; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; National Museum of Osaka, Osaka, Japan; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK; Saatchi Collection, London, United Kingdom; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA; Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom; Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; and the Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA.
In 2000, Oursler was awarded the U.S. Art Critics Association ICA New Media Award.