Kevin Beasley

Born 1985 in Lynchburg, VA
Lives and Works in New York, NY

Kevin Beasley’s sculptures evolve out of an inventive, performative process that incorporates found materials, including the artist’s own clothing, into composite objects. Beasley gives structure to these materials using a mixture of polyurethane foam and resin; during the half hour the compound takes to set and harden, the artist is able to push and mold the objects into their sculptural form. His sculptures trace the movements and actions of the artist’s body while also themselves resembling bodies or flesh, though fragmented or dismembered. Reworking traditions of Process art and assemblage, Beasley’s sculptures are rooted in the personal and particular contexts of their materials and in the urban, postindustrial landscapes in which the artist has lived, including Detroit; New Haven, Connecticut; and New York.

Building on his experiments in materiality and sound, Beasley has developed a site-specific sound sculpture and performance for the 2014 Biennial, which will take place in the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Gallery on the first floor from May 12 to 18. For this installation, the artist has made sculptures incorporating microphones that will capture the sounds of Museum visitors to build a sound-based, immersive environment.

On View
Third Floor

Kevin Beasley’s work is on view in the Museum’s third floor galleries. A site-specific sound sculpture and performance will take place in the Lobby Gallery, May 12–18.

Works by Kevin Beasley