Biography
Ken Gonzales-Day's interdisciplinary and conceptually grounded projects consider the history of photography, the construction of race, and the limits of representational systems ranging from the lynching photograph to museum display. The Searching for California Hang Trees series offered a critical look at the legacies of landscape photography in the West while his most recent project considers the sculptural depiction of race. Profiled began as an exploration of the influence of eighteenth century "scientific" thought on twenty-first century institutions ranging from the museum to the prison. The series includes photographs from the sculpture and portrait bust collections of several major museums including: The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, The Field Museum in Chicago, The Museum of Man in San Diego, L'Ecole des beaux-arts in Paris, The Bode Museum in Berlin, Park Sanssouci in Potsdam, The National Museum of Natural History in Paris, among others. Gonzales-Day lives in Los Angeles.
Academic History
- Professor, Art Department, 61传媒, Claremont, CA.
- Chair: Art Department, 2006-2008, 2009-2014
- Chair, Art and Art History, 2003- 2006
- B.F.A., Painting, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York
- M.A., Art History, City University of New York, New York, New York
- M.F.A., Studio Art, University of California, Irvine
Academic Focus
Art, Art Criticism, Art Theory, Photography, 61传媒Humanities Core Program, Race and Racial Formation
Interests
Photography, Art History, Contemporary Art
Courses Taught
- Art 145: Introduction to Black and White Darkroom Photography
- Art 146: Intermediate and Advanced Black and White Photography
- Art 147: Intermediate and Advance Digital Photography
Selected Research and Publications
Solo Exhibitions
2025
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Afterlife,鈥� Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Nov. 8 -Dec 20.
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: History鈥檚 Nevermade,鈥� curated by Amelia Jones, USC Fisher Museum, Aug. 18, 2025- Mar. 14, 2026
2024
- 鈥淐omposition in Black and Brown,鈥� Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Aug. 12, 2024 鈥� Jan. 6,2025.
2023
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Face to Face,鈥� Claremont Lewis Museum of Art, Claremont, CA. Oct. 7, 2023 鈥� Jan. 7, 2024
2022
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Sharing Space,鈥� Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Nov. 5 鈥� Dec. 17
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Another Land,鈥� Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Jan. 8 鈥� Feb. 19
2021
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Profiled,鈥� Staniar Gallery, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA. Apr. 26 鈥� May 28.
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Profiled,鈥� Playwrights Horizons, 42nd Street, NYC, Mar. 1 鈥� Apr. 5
2020
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Pandemic Portraits Viewing Room,鈥� Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Nov. 3, 2020 鈥� Jan. 30, 2021
2019
- 鈥淓rased from View,鈥� Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA. Nov. 01, 2019 鈥� Jan. 22, 2020.
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Constellations,鈥� presented by Luis de Jesus Los Angeles at Frieze New York, in Di谩logos, curated by El Museo del Barrio for its 50th Anniversary, May 2-5, 2019.
2018
- 鈥淯nseen: Our Past in a New Light: Ken Gonzales-Day and Titus Kaphar,鈥� National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Mar. 23, 2018 鈥� Jan. 06, 2019.
2017
- 鈥淪hadowlands: Ken Gonzales-Day," Peeler Art Museum, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN. Nov. 14 鈥� Dec. 15.
- 鈥淚magen Angeleno: Including a solo exhibition by Ken Gonzales-Day,鈥� PST:LA/LA themed solo exhibition at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History, Nov. 11, 2017 鈥� Jan. 14.
- 鈥淏one-Grass Boy鈥� PST:LA/LA, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Sept. 9 鈥� Oct. 28.
- 鈥淪urface Tension: Murals, Signs & Mark-Making in LA,鈥� PST II: LA/LA, Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, Oct. 06 鈥� Feb. 25.
- 鈥淪hadowlands: Ken Gonzales-Day," Flaten Art Museum, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, Aug. 31 鈥� Oct. 29.
- 鈥淪hadowlands: Ken Gonzales-Day," Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN. Jan. 19 鈥� Apr. 16.
2016
- "Run Up," exhibition, Kimura Gallery, Univ. of AK, Anchorage, Feb. 15 - Mar. 11.
2015
- Run Up,鈥� Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Apr. 4 鈥� May 9.
2014
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day,鈥� LDJ at Expo Chicago, Navy Pier, Nov. 14-18.
2012
- 鈥淧rofiled/ Hang Trees/ Portraits," Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Oct. 27 鈥� Dec. 15
- 鈥淧rofiled," Galerie Steph, Singapore, Sept. 7 - Oct. 6.
- 鈥淒isappearing into the Trees,鈥� Vincent Price Art Museum, Monterey Park, CA. Feb. 11 鈥� Apr. 27.
2011
- 鈥淧rofiled,鈥� Fred Torres Collaborations, New York, NY. Oct. 12 - Nov. 14.
- 鈥淧rofiled,鈥� Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, MA. Sept. 8 - Nov. 20.
- 鈥淧rofiled,鈥� Las Cienegas Projects, Los Angeles, Mar. 5 鈥� Apr. 2.
- "Silent Witness: Recent work by Ken Gonzales-Day,鈥� UCSD University Art Gallery, San Diego. Mar. 31 - May 20.
- 鈥淪elections from the Profile Series,鈥� Scholars Common Room, Getty Research Institute, Nov. 1, 2009 鈥� Aug. 14.
2009
- 鈥淪py Numbers (10 solo installations),鈥� Palais de Tokyo, Paris, May 28 鈥� Sept. 20.
2008
- 鈥淣ightfall II,鈥� Scholars Common Room, Getty Research Institute, Aug. 25, 2008 鈥� Jan. 9, 2009.
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: Physiognomy and the Love of Mankind,鈥� Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA. Apr 18 - May 17.
2007
- "Ken Gonzales-Day: Nightfall II 鈥� Redux," Latino New Works Festival 2007, Highways Performance Space and Gallery, Santa Monica, Sept. 15 鈥� Dec. 30.
- 鈥淜en Gonzales-Day: The Wonder Gaze,鈥� Space, Portland, Maine. Oct. 15 - Nov. 19.
- 鈥淢emento Mori,鈥� Gallery II, LAXART, Los Angeles, CA. Jan.20 - Mar. 3.
2006
- 鈥淗ang Trees,鈥� Pomona College Museum of Art, Pomona, CA. Sept. 10 - Oct. 22 (Catalog).
- 鈥淟ynching in the West,鈥� Cue Art Foundation, New York. Sept. 7 - Oct. 14 (Catalog).
2000
- "Dysmorphologies," Deep River, Los Angeles, CA. Sept. 23 - Oct.29.
- "Project Room," Suzanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA. May 9 - Jun. 8.
1999
- 鈥淧rojects 99,鈥� Walkins Art Gallery, University of California, Riverside, CA. Feb. 22 - Mar. 30.
1998
- "Derm," POSTdowntown, 1904 E. 7th Pl. LA, CA. Nov. 22, 1997 - Jan. 10, 1998.
1997
- "Bone-Grass Boy: The Secret Banks of the Conejos River," Out North Contemporary Art House, Anchorage, AK. Feb. 22 - Mar. 22.
1996
- "Ken Gonzales-Day," White Columns, White Room #1, New York, NY. Oct. 25 - Dec. 2.
- 鈥淧rivate Investigations," Cristinerose Gallery, 395 W. Broadway, New York, NY. Sept. 6 - Oct. 6.
Monographs
- Ken Gonzales-Day: History鈥檚 鈥楴evermade鈥�, Edited by Amelia Jones (Intellect, 2025)
- Ken Gonzales-Day, Surface Tension (Artist鈥檚 book, 2018)
- Ken Gonzales-Day, Profiled (LACMA, 2011)
- Ken Gonzales-Day, Lynching in the West: 1850-1935 (Duke, 2006)
Awards and Honors
Fellowships and grants include:
Chercheur Accueilli, Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art (INHA); COLA Individual Artist Award; Art Mattes Grant; Mid-Career Award, California Community Foundation; Durfee Fondation ACG; Graves Award for the Humanities; Visiting Scholar/Artist-in-Residence, Getty Research Institute; Senior Fellow, American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution; Fellow, Rockefeller Foundation Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Italy; Van Lier Fellow, ISP, Whitney Museum of American Art; Rotary International, 2017 Guggenheim Fellow in Photography.