Louise Lawler was born in 1947. She currently lives in Brooklyn.
Louise Lawler is a key figure among the artists who emerged in the seventies and eighties, and one of the foremost members of the Pictures Generation. She is mostly known for her photographs of artworks in the setting of museums, galleries, auction houses or collector’s homes, which question the rules and rituals that define the circulation and reception of art.
An essential aspect of Lawler’s reflexive practice consists of re-using her own photographs and presenting them anew though different formats and mediums, transforming them into wallpapers, tracings, or even paperweights. A good example of this contextualizing approach is the “adjusted to fit” series, in which Lawler’s images are expanded to fit the dimensions of the display. She also produced installations that reflect her feminist and anti-war engagement, such as Birdcalls (1972/1981), a six-minute sound piece in which the artist squawks and chirps the names of twenty-eight of the leading male artists of the time.
Her recent solo shows include LIGHTS OFF, AFTER HOURS, IN THE DARK, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, 2021; WHY PICTURES NOW, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2017; No Drones, Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels, 2015; Adjusted, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, 2013.
Louise Lawler is represented by Metro Pictures (New York), Sprüth Magers (Berlin, London, Los Angeles), and Galerie Greta Meert (Brussels).
