Martine Syms

b. 1998

Martine Syms (b. 1998, Los Angeles) describes her work as having ‘conceptual grit, humour, and social commentary.’ Living and working in Los Angeles, Syms makes film, installation and photographic works that explore themes of black identity, femininity, and the experiences of vernacular often with close relation to autobiographical contexts. In responding to digital climates and historical references she is interested in how identities develop through these new, developing cultures with gender and racial inequalities at the forefront. Syms completed a BFA (2007) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA (2017) from Bard College. She is now on the faculty at the California Institute of the Arts.

Recent solo shows include Present Goo, Sadie Coles HQ, Davies Street, London (2023); Loser Back Home, Sprüth Magers, Los Angeles (2023); Ugly Plymouths, Carré d’Art – Musée d’Art Contemporain, Nîmes (2023). Syms, notably, had a major solo show, Projects 106: Martine Syms (2017), as well as a recent group show, Signals: How Video Transformed the World (2023), at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Martine has received a number of rewards including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2023), the Herb Albert Award in the Arts (2022), and the Creative Capital Award (2021).

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