David Adamo (b. 1979, Rochester, New York) works with sculpture, drawing, and performance to play with materiality and form in unexpected ways. His sculptural process revolves around the act of removal, resulting in the imprint of an incomplete gesture—as though an act has been initiated and could resume at any moment. Objects from everyday life are cast in unexpected various materials, including bronze, plaster, and aluminum, taking on new forms antithetical to their deceptively real appearance. The works are revealed by their remnants—a punctured balloon or a bitten fruit—and memorialized by a past performative action.
Adamo lives and works in Berlin. He was included in the 75th edition of The Whitney Biennial, New York (2010); and has had solo exhibitions at 39 Great Jones, curated by Ugo Rondinone (2017); the Buffalo AKG Museum, New York (2015); Bielefeld Kunstverein, Germany (2012); and Kunsthalle Friart Fribourg, Switzerland (2011). Adamo, along with Amy Smith-Stewart organized the group exhibition The Domestic Plane: New Perspectives on Tabletop Art Objects (2018–2019), a show in five chapters at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Connecticut, that included his work. His work is included in the collections of the Buffalo AKG Museum, New York, and High Museum of Art, Atlanta.
BIOGRAPHY
1979 Born in Rochester, New York.
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 KAPPA-NöUN, Bologna, Italy. A Bedtime Story
(29 January – 6 April)
2023 rodolphe janssen, Brussels. On The Fence
(26 October – 16 December)
2022 Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. David Adamo
(9 June – 22 July)
2021 Liaigre, Paris. Untitled
(20 May – 3 September)
2017 rodolphe janssen, Brussels. David Adamo
(9 November – 22 December)
39 Great Jones, New York. Symphonic Poem,
curated by Ugo Rondinone (3 May – 30 June)
2016 Whitespace, Miami Beach. Termite Mounds
(1 November 2016 – 15 April 2017)
Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. David Adamo
(26 February – 9 April)
2015 Ibid Gallery, Los Angeles. David Adamo
(31 March – 30 May)
Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New York. David Adamo
(22 January – 17 May)
2014 Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels. David Adamo
(3 April – 31 May). Catalogue.
2013 Capri Gallery, Düsseldorf. David Adamo
(15 November 2013 – 5 January 2014)
UNTITLED, New York. David Adamo
(8 September – 20 October)
Mendes Wood Gallery, São Paulo. David Adamo
(2–23 March)
2012 MD72, Berlin. David Adamo
(13 December 2012 – 2 February 2013)
Ibid. Projects, London. David Adamo
(17 November 2012 – 12 January 2013)
Galerie Nelson-Freeman, Paris. David Adamo
(15 September – 10 November)
Kunstverein Bielefeld, Germany. David Adamo: Untitled,
curated by Thomas Thiel (12 May – 15 July). Catalogue.
2011 UNTITLED, New York. David Adamo
(12 May – 19 June)
Fruit and Flower Deli, Stockholm. Untitled Monument
(12 March – 12 April)
2010 Kunsthalle Freiburg, Switzerland. David Adamo,
curated by Corinne Charpentier (17 November 2010 – 16 January 2011)
Ibid Gallery, London. David Adamo
(25 September – 13 November)
Galerie Nelson-Freeman, Paris. David Adamo
(6 March – 2 April)
2009 N.O. Gallery, Milan. David Adamo
(18 September – 15 November)
Hoet-Bekaert Gallery, Ghent. David Adamo: Untitled (music for strings)
(31 May – 28 June)
Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France. Michael Portnoy and David Adamo:
On se bat toujours quelque part/There is still fighting somewhere (20 March – 17 May)
2008 Ibid Gallery, London. David Adamo: Untitled (The Rite of Spring)
(23 May – 21 June)
Fruit and Flower Deli (Eldridge Optician), New York. David Adamo: Untitled (Louli)
(25 January – 21 February)
2007 Dispatch to Festival des Urbaines, Lausanne, Switzerland. Untitled (Valeria)
(6–8 December)
Dispatch Bureau, New York. Museum Museum: My Own Private Marathon
(4 November); Museum Museum XX: A day long duet with Madame X (15 November)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Peter Freeman, Inc., Paris. En travaux
(16–26 October)
BY ART MATTERS, Hangzhou, China. Moments are Monuments
(15 August – 13 October)
Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. Made in Cologne
(22 May – 26 July)
2023 Casa Museo Jorn, Albissola, Liguria, Italy. A Casa: Adamo, Porfiri, Staehle
(29 June – August)
Sevil Dolmaci, Istanbul. Mystics of the World Unite,
curated by Bob Nickas (5 May – 17 June)
Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. BACK
(12 January – 25 February)
2022 APALAZZOGALLERY, Brescia, Italy. Strange Attractors, The Anthology of
Interplanetary Folk Art, Vol. 3: Lost in Space (21 May – 18 September)
rodolphe janssen, Brussels. Sausage Party
(19 March – 7 May)
2021 rodolphe janssen, Brussels. Breakfast Club
(24 April – 22 May)
2020 KANAL-Centre Pompidou, Brussels. None of the Above, 2004–2020
(24 September – 27 December)
Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. In Situ: a changing installation
(15 September 2020 – 20 February 2021)
2019 Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. Downtown Painting,
presented by Alex Katz (5 June – 26 July)
DISPARI&DISPARI, Berlin. Greenery
(19 January – 23 March)
2018 Grieder Contemporary, Berlin. Works from a Private Collection
(5 October 2018 – 18 January 2019)
Kunstverein Schwäbisch Hall, Germany. Carte Blanche
(16 September – 4 November)
Musée Alice et David Van Buuren, Brussels. Present
(25 June – 30 September)
Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. Summer,
curated by Ugo Rondinone (8 June – 27 July)
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut. The Domestic Plane:
New Perspectives on Tabletop Art Objects (20 May 2018 – 13 January 2019). Catalogue.
Ibid Gallery, Los Angeles. Inventory
(13 February – 31 March)
2017 Redling Fine Art, Los Angeles. Strange Attractors: The Anthology of Interplanetary
Folk Art Vol. 1, organized by Bob Nickas (11 November 2017 – 13 January 2018)
rodolphe janssen, Brussels. birds, cigarettes, guitars, eyes and trees
(9 November – 22 December)
Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago. Small Sculpture
(8 September – 14 October)
Dio Horia, Mykonos. David Adamo & Margarita Myrogianni
(28 July – 22 August)
2016 Bass Museum, Miami Beach. Ground Control
(30 November 2016 – 15 March 2017)
Ibid Gallery, London. David Adamo & Rallou Panagiotou
(5 October – 5 November)
KMAC Contemporary Art Museum, Louisville. Material Issue,
curated by Joey Yates (1 July – 25 September). Catalogue.
Museo Civico / Santa Maria della Scala / Accademia dei Fisiocritici, Siena, Italy.
Che il vero possa confutare il falso (25 June – 16 October)
Dio Horia, Mykonos. honey;love;pheromones
(24 June – 27 July)
Ibid Gallery, London. Holiday Summer Group Show
(18 June – 6 August)
Galerie Patrick Seguin, Paris. Pieces-Meubles
(2 June – 23 July)
rodolphe janssen, Brussels. Something Old, Something New
(26 May – 18 June)
2015 Ibid Gallery, London. Inaugural Group Show
(15 October – 23 November)
Ibid Gallery, Los Angeles. Tree House Down
(11 August – 26 September)
David B. Smith Gallery, Denver. Back to the Real
(10 July – 8 August)
The Journal Gallery, New York. Freedom Culture,
curated by Graham Collins (1 July – 8 August)
Kai Matsumiya, New York. Tableau
(30 June – 9 August)
König Gallery, Berlin. Material
(25 April – 27 June)
Bureau, New York. It Rained Again
(11 January – 15 February)
2014 Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels. Black Out
(7 November – 20 December)
Rob Tufnell, London. On the devolution of culture
(19 September – 25 October)
Museo de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro. Some schools are cages and some schools are wings
(26 August 2014 – 11 January 2015)
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Colorado. Game Changer
(17 July – 14 September)
The Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw. SLOW FUTURE
(27 June – 14 September)
Public Art Project, Sennestadt, Germany. Vor Ort [On Site]
(25 May – 8 October)
Fürstenberg Contemporary, Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Sammlungen, Donaueschingen, Germany.
Dreierlei (9 May – 13 July)
S|2 London, UK. Just Now,
curated by Bert Kreuk (30 January – 4 March)
2013 Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. David Adamo / James Castle
(7 September – 10 October)
VeneKlasen / Werner, Berlin. Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together
in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict (6 July – 14 September)
Galerie Perrotin, Paris. Souvenir
(22 June – 27 July)
Künstlerhaus Bethanien Showroom, Berlin. Berlin. Status. [2]
(24 May – 16 June). Catalogue.
Gallery EXIT, Hong Kong. Nature of Speed, co-organized by Ibid. Projects, London
(23 May – 22 June)
Denver Art Museum, Colorado. Material World
(19 May – 22 September)
Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels. Rien faire et laisser rire,
curated by Bob Nickas (6 May – 22 June)
James Cohan Gallery, Shanghai. DOWNTOWN: A View of New York’s Lower East Side
(8 March – 5 May)
2012 Patricia Low Contemporary, St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Man Who Would be King
(27 December 2012 – 2 February 2013)
Saint Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent. Sint Jan,
curated by Jan Hoet and Hans Martens (2 June – 29 July)
Magazzino, Rome. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde – New Works from Berlin,
curated by Vita Zaman (16 March – 30 April)
Kunst Raum Riehen, Switzerland.
If I had eight hours to cut down a tree, I would spend six hours sharpening my axe,
curated by Isabel Harlene, Reto Thuring, and Pedro Wirz (13 January – 19 February)
2011 Bergen Kunsthall, Norway. No Sense of Space
(11 November – 22 December)
Dublin Contemporary, Ireland. Terrible Beauty –
Art, Crisis, Change & The Office of Non-Compliance (6 September – 31 October)
PSM Gallery, Berlin. Hypothesis for an Exhibition,
curated by Lorenzo Benedetti, with Øystein Aasan, David Adamo, Katinka Bock,
Paolo Chiasera, Dario D'Aronco, Olaf Nicolai, Batia Suter (2–30 July)
Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunet, Inc., New York. Against the Way Things Go,
curated by Andrea Hill (23 June – 29 July)
Atelierhaus Monbijoupark, Berlin. based in Berlin, organized by Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH
(8 June – 24 July). Exhibition travelled: KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin;
Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Germany;
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Germany; Berlinische Galerie,
Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst, Fotografie und Arkitektur, Germany
Thomas Brambilla Contemporary Art, Bergamo, Italy. My Beautiful Mongo
(28 May – 15 July)
Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels. Sympathy for the Devil
(30 April – 30 November)
Tanya Leighton Gallery, Berlin. The Confidence-Man,
curated by Gianni Jetzer (30 April – 25 June)
Peter Freeman, Inc., New York. Sculpture: David Adamo, Marcel Broodthaers,
Walter de Maria, Claes Oldenburg, Joel Shapiro, Richard Tuttle, Richard Wentworth,
Rachel Whiteread (21 April – 14 May)
Winkleman Gallery, New York. Signs on the Road
(25 March – 30 April)
Heidelberger Kunstverein, Germany. Text Werke
(5 February – 27 March)
2010 Carlson Gallery MDC, London. Psycho Painting – Gerhard Richter / Extra Content:
Psycho Sculpture / David Adamo (15 December 2010 – 31 January 2011)
New Jersey Museum of Contemporary Art, Ashbury Park. It’s All American,
curated by Alex Gartenfield and Haley Mellin (23 October – 14 November)
Grimmuseum, Berlin. Vivere Country,
curated by Nonna Bruna (16–26 September)
UNTITLED, New York. David Adamo, Heather Cook, Brendan Fowler, Rashid Johnson,
Phil Wagner (10 September – 12 October)
Kunstenfestival Watou, Poperinge, Belgium.
Tussen Taal en Beeld / Verzamelde Verhalen #02 (3 July – 5 September)
De Vleeshal, Middelburg, the Netherlands. Psychosculptures,
curated by Lorenzo Benedetti (27 June – 12 September)
MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York. Greater New York,
curated by Connie Butler (23 May – 18 October). Catalogue.
Galleria Comunale d'Arte Contemporanea di Monfalcone, Italy.
A Basic Human Impulse (15 May – 27 June)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. 2010
(25 February – 30 May). Catalogue.
2009 Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York. The Perpetual Dialogue
(12 December 2009 – 23 January 2010)
Kadist Art Foundation, Paris. This place you see has no size at all...
(4 December 2009 – 7 February 2010)
Ibid Gallery, London. Group Show
(3–27 September)
Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art 2, Athens. Praxis: Art in Times of Uncertainty
(24 May – 27 September)
Egmont Park, Brussels. Art in the City
(24–27 April)
Shanghai Theatre Academy, China. Broken Tales,
curated by Rainer Ganahl (April)
2008 Rental Gallery, New York. Fair Market,
curated by Haley Mellin (17 July – 17 August)
Ibid. Projects, London. London Summer Group Show: Sights from a Steeple
(5 July – 24 August)
Peter Blum Gallery, New York. Some Thing Else,
curated by Simone Subal (19 June – 1 August)
Jota Castro Studio, Brussels. Elaine Levy Project: The Moonlight Show
(17–21 April). Exhibition travelled: Fruit and Flower Deli (Eldridge Optician), New York;
ShugoArts, Tokyo
Honey Space, New York. Object Salon,
curated by Bob Nickas (26 March – 5 April)
Fruit and Flower Deli, Berlin. The Fruit and Flower Deli Berlin Show: David Adamo,
Julieta Aranda, Jota Castro and Ylva Ogland, curated by Rodrigo Mallea Lira
2007 Fruit and Flower Deli (Eldridge Optician), New York. Snofrid
(27 October – 20 November)
Miami Beach Cinematheque, Florida. Interclub
(12 September)
Peres Projects, Athens. Beyond the Zero
(8 September – 13 October)
Palais de Tokyo, Paris. Grow Your Own,
curated by Peter Coffin (1 February – 6 May)
Art in General, New York. Eternity Awaits Part I: The Spy Who Loved Me
(27 January – 31 March)
The Explorers Club, New York. Reports: A Finding Aid,
curated by David Adamo, Ellie Ga, and Cathleen Chaffee (long-term loan since 2007)
2006 Kling and Bang Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland. New York Artists: Invasionistas – Sequences
(16 October – 5 December)
Wayward Cannon, London. Lisa Kirks Greatest Hits
(13 August)
Himalayas Art Museum, Shanghai. Lovely Shanghai Music
(May)
TART Contemporary, San Francisco. Affair
(6 April – 6 May)
Corcoran Museum, Washington, DC. 25th Annual Art Auction Gala,
curated by Howie Chen (11 February)
Elizabeth Foundation Gallery, New York.
Everything Beautiful and Noble is the Result of Reason and Calculation (February – March)
D’Amelio Terras Gallery, New York. Re-Make/Re-Model
(online exhibition)
Museum of Natural History, New York. My Own Private Marathon
2005 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. My Own Private Marathon
(6 November)
Swiss Institute, New York. Do You Like Stuff?
(September – October)
Printed Matter, New York. On the Beach,
curated by Justin Lowe (23 July – 24 September)
Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York. Red White Blue
(7 July – 13 August)
2004 Swiss Institute, New York. None Of The Above,
curated by John Armleder (23 November 2004 – 15 January 2005)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2018 Claverley, L. Jane, ed. The Domestic Plane: New Perspectives on Tabletop Art Objects
(Ridgefield, Connecticut: The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 2018). Exhibition catalogue.
2014 Knox, Bitsy. David Adamo (Brussels: Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, 2014). Exhibition catalogue.
2013 Drühl, Sven, and Christoph Tannert, eds. Berlin. Status. [2] (Bonn: Kettler, 2013).
Exhibition catalogue.
2012 Thiel, Thomas, ed. David Adamo: Untitled (Berlin: Revolver Publishing, 2012).
Exhibition catalogue.
Thiel, Thomas, and Cynthia Krell. David Adamo and Jenni Tischer: Soliloquy
(Bielefeld: Bielefelder Kunstverein, 2012). Exhibition catalogue.
2010 Biesenbach, Klaus, Connie Butler, and Neville Wakefield. Greater New York 2010
(New York: MoMA PS1, 2010). Exhibition catalogue.
Weinberg, Adam D. Whitney Biennial 2010
(New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 2010). Exhibition catalogue.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New York
High Museum of Art, Atlanta