Sean Patrick Micka (b. 1979)
Sean Micka Bio/CV
Sean Micka is a Brooklyn-based artist whose practice spans painting, drawing,
writing, design, and bookmaking. For more than two decades, his work has
pursued a sustained investigation of the relationship between image and text, the
duality of representation and abstraction, and the institutional functions of art and
archives. His recent projects focus on the material intersections of painting and
photography, with particular attention to historical memory and symbolic
consciousness.
Micka received his B.F.A. from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University in
2003. He twice participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent
Study Program (Studio Program, 2012–13 and 2013–14). He has held
residencies at the Abrons Arts Center’s AIRspace Program (2014–15) and
Pioneer Works (2016).
His work has been exhibited internationally. Recent exhibitions include Book Out
of Stock But Six Pictures at Bienvenu Steinberg & C, NADA House, Governors
Island (2023); Fine Silver and Extraordinary Diamonds from the Estate of an
Important Collection at Josee Bienvenu Gallery, New York (2019); People Who
Work Here at CFCP & David Zwirner Gallery OVR (2019); Works at Three Star
Books, Paris (2018); Condition Report: Deregulation at Abrons Arts Center, New
York (2014); Storytelling at Gallerie Charlotte Lund, Stockholm (2013); BOOK
MACHINE at Le Nouveau Festival du Centre Pompidou, Paris; $72M Sale
Shatters Warhol Record at Die Ausstellungsstrasse, Vienna (2011); and After
Images at Dvorak Sec Gallery, Prague (2009).
Micka’s editions and publications extend his studio practice into the realm of
artists’ books and critical writing. OBJECT/SUBJECT/SLIDE (Three Star Books,
Paris, 2017) is now in the permanent collections of the Getty Museum in Los
Angeles, The New York Public Library, the Whitney Museum of American Art in
New York City, the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts, and M+ in Hong Kong.
His earlier publication Negotiations was released by Onestar Press, Paris (2011).
Across his career, Micka has developed a body of work that engages both the
formal language of painting and the conceptual problems of history and memory.
His ongoing project, Book Out of Stock But Six Pictures, expands this trajectory
by creating a monumental series of portraits of overlooked women in the anti-
Nazi resistance.
EDUCATION
2013-14 Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, Studio Program
2012-13 Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, Studio Program
2004 BFA, The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, Boston
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
2014-15 AIRspace Program, Abrons Arts Center, Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Book Out Of Stock But Six Pictures, Bienvenu Steinberg & J, NADA House, Gov, Island
2022 Sean Micka, North Orange, Montclair NJ (Forthcoming)
2019 Fine Silver and Extraordinary Diamonds from the Estate of an Important Collection,
Josée Bienvenu Gallery, New York
2018 Edges, Corners, and some Shadows, Three Star Books, Paris, FR
2017 Object/Subject/Paintings, Three Star Books, Grand Army Collective, Brooklyn, NY
2015 Paintings, One Star Press/Three Star Books, Paris
2014 Condition Report: Deregulation, Abrons Arts Center, New York
2013 Storytelling, Charlotte Lund Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
2011 Torn Screens, Aviary Gallery, Jamaica Plain, MA
2011 $72M Sale Shatters Warhol Record, Die Ausstellungsstrasse, Vienna, Austria
2009 After Images, Dvorak Sec Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2008 After Images, Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
2005-06 Memorabilia, Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
2002 Paintings, drawings, books, The Art Institute of Boston, Boston
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Another Mans Treasure, Mariposa Aspen CO
2022 Maki Fine Arts, Nishigokemcho, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo..
2019 Summer, Josee Beinvenu Gallery, New York, NY.
2018 People Who Work There, CFCP & David Zwirner OVR New York, NY.
2018 Three Star Books @ LEADAPRON, Los Angeles, CA
2015 AIR Space Program, Studio Exhibition, Abrons Arts Center, New York, NY.
2014 Whitney ISP Studio Exhibition, TEMP, New York, N
2013 BOOK MACHINE, at Le Nouveau festival du Centre Pompidou, Paris
2013 Whitney ISP Studio Exhibition, TEMP, New York
2011 Fragments, Charlotte Lund Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
Form, Like the Spice, Brooklyn, New York
2010 Untitled, Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
2010 AIDS Benefit, The Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston
2009 Popsicle, Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
2008 AIDS Benefit, The Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston
2006 Made in America, Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
2005 Building an Archive: Sean Micka, On Kawara, Félix Gonzáles-Torres,
The Art Gallery of Knoxville, Knoxville, TN
2005 Paper! Awesome!, Pigman Gallery, San Francisco
2004 Summer Science, Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
2004 Supersalon, Samson Projects, Boston
2003 Small Wonders, Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
2003 Untitled Polaroid Paintings, Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
2002 AIB Undergraduate Exhibition, The Art Institute of Boston, Boston
TALKS
2014 Speakers Corner, 1) Vision and Visuality; 2) Matter and Memory; day 3:
Color and Chroma; 4) 1500m, 5000m 10000m, Talks, Untitled Art Fair, FL.
PUBLICATIONS / EDITIONS
2017 OBJECT/SUBJECT/SLIDES, published by Three Star Books, Paris, FR
2015 Compositions, Self published
Important Jewels, Self published
2014 Pseudonyms, Ed. Peter Coffin, forthcoming. (Christine).
2011 Negotiations, Onestar Press, Paris, France.
PRESS
Artforum Critics’ Picks, “Condition Report: Deregulation,” Ali Pechman, Feb. 2014
Svenska Dagbladet, “Connections Become Clear Over,” Håkan Nilsson, Oct. 2013
Flash Art, “Brand New,” interview by Christophe Boutin, Jan-Feb. 2010
Czech Business Weekly, “New Gallery Presents New York Artists,” Mollie McGurk, Nov. 2009
The Boston Globe, “An Artist with Breathtaking Scope,” Cate McQuaid, Jan. 2008
New American Paintings, Juror Bill Arning, Vol. #62, 2007
The Boston Globe, “Distance Learning,” Cate McQuaid, Dec. 2005
The Improper Bostonian, Dec. 2005
The Boston Herald, “Creating a Future,” Mary Jo Palumbo, Oct. 2004
ArtsMedia, Vol. 9 No. 43, “Bringing the New to Newbury,” Rachel Strutt, Aug. 2004
The Boston Globe, “Three Shows Shake Up Summer Doldrums,” Cate McQuaid, Aug. 2004