Mario Ybarra Jr. (1973) Mexican-American, a conceptual artist born and raised in Los Angeles. His artwork operates as examinations of excluded social norms, often examining complete environments, histories, and narratives. He received an MFA from the University of California Irvine and a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design. He has been featured in many local, national, and international exhibitions/fairs including the 2008 Whitney Biennial, the Tate Museum in London, at the Orange County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, MOCA Los Angeles, MOCA Detroit, the ICA Boston, Museo De Cervantez Spain, ARCO Fair 2011 and 2013, LACMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. In 2002, in partnership with his wife Karla Diaz, he co-founded Slanguage (an artist-run space/collective in Los Angeles that hosted art exhibitions, residencies, and programming for youth and adults). He has been featured as a speaker in many national and international venues including most notably at the Creative Summit in New York, and Art Pace San Antonio.
Born 1973, Los Angeles, CA
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
EDUCATION
2001 MFA, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
1999 BFA, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA
1996 Art Center College of Art, Pasadena, CA
SELECTED RESIDENCIES
2014 Asian Cultural Grant, research residency, Tokyo Japan
2013 The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2011 Århus Kunstbygning Centre for Contemporary Art, Sigrids Space, Århus, Denmark
Encuentro Medellin 2011, Medellin Colombia
2003 International Artist-in-Residence, Artpace, San Antonio, TX
SELECTED AWARDS AND GRANTS
2013 Tiffany Foundation, New York, NY
2008 Levitt Fellow, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
2000 Artsbridge Scholar Award, Irvine, CA
1997 Otis College Institutional Grant, Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 Like A Cow Visiting a Butcher Shop, Southwest School of Art Gallery, San Antonio,
TX
2013 Heroes and Villians, Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles CA
Mario Ybarra, Jr.: Books of Drawings, Beyond Our Dreams, Blame Our Dads,
Brains On Drugs, Better Off Dead, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Double Feature, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Mario Ybarra Jr.: The Tío Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara,
CA
2011 Wilmington Good, Cardi Black Box, Milan, Italy
2010 Silver and Blacks, Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin, Germany
2009 Silver and Blacks, Artpace, San Antonio, TX
2008 Take Me Out... No Man Is An Island, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Black Squirrel Society, Lehmann Maupin, New York, NY
Scarface Museum, Galerie Bob Van Orsouw, Zurich, Switzerland
2007 Be Good ... lf You Can't Be Good Be Careful..., Galleria Maze, Turin, Italy
Mario Ybarra Jr., curated by Jens Hoffman, Capp Street Project, CCA Wattis
Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Undoing Time: Art and Histories of Incarceration, ASU Art Museum, Tempe, AZ
2019 Rituals of Labor and Engagement: Carolina Caycedo and Mario Ybarra Jr., The
Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA
The Best in the West Salad Stacking Contest, Candlewood Arts Festival, Borrego
Springs, CA
2014 Left Coast: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art,
Santa Barbara, CA
Trouble with the Index, UCR ARTSblock, Riverside, CA
PRE-GLO, Centre for the Living Arts, Mobile, AL
The Manifest Destiny Billboard Project, LAND, Los Angeles, CA
This is not a self-portrait…chicana/o art in los angeles, California State University,
Northridge, Los Angeles, CA
2013 The Past is Present, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI
Around The Table: Food, Creativity, and Community, San Jose Museum of Art, San
Jose, CA
Creative Time Summit 2013, New York, New York
2012 Los Angeles Biennial: Made in L.A, organized by the Hammer Museum in
collaboration with LAXART, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Frieze Art Fair, Frieze Foundation, London, UK
Possible Worlds: Mario Ybarra Jr., Karla Diaz, and Slanguage Studio Select from the
Permanent Collections, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Invisible Cities, curated by Kris Kuramitsu and Christopher Miles, Madrid, Spain
Lush Life, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York, NY
2009 Ultrasonic IV, Mark Moore Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2da Trienal Poli/Gráfica de San Juan: América Latina y el Caribe, San Juan,
Puerto Rico
2008 Scarface Museum, Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, Los Angeles Museum of Art,
Los Angeles, CA
2007 The Theater of Life, Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea di Trento, Trento, Italy
The World as a Stage, curated by Jessica Morgan, Tate Modern, London, UK and
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Prague Biennial 3, Prague, Czech Republic
2006 California Biennial, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
Alien Nation, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, UK
Grey Flags, Sculpture Center, Long Island City, NY and Musee d'art contemporain, Bordeaux, France
Consider This..., designed by Barbara Kruger, LACMA LAB, Los Angeles, CA
Home of the Free, curated by Jens Hoffman, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2005 Uncertain States of America, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Daniel Birnbaum, and
Gunnar B. Kvaran, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway, traveling
to Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, New York; Serpentine Gallery,
London, UK; Moscow Biennale, Moscow, Russia; CCA Warsaw, Poland; Le Musee
de Serignan, Serignan, France; Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic; and
Songzhuan Art Centre, Beijing, China
2004 100 Artists See God, curated By John Baldessari and Meg Cranston, The Jewish
Museum, San Francisco, CA and Laguna Beach Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
SELECTED PERFORMANCES
2005 For I AlI Know He Had My Friend Angel Killed, Art Basel Miami Beach,
Art Positions, Miami Beach, FL
2003 Below The Belt, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
2002 Cowboys On Broadway: A Show That Will Show That A Show Is Not Just A Show,
curated by Jens Hoffman, The Project, Los Angeles, CA
2000 Working Classics, Side Street Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Monster Mash, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA
1999 Allmodcons, Otis College Of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2013 Heroes & Villians, Los Angeles: Honor Fraser, Inc.
2012 The Tío Collection, Oxnard: Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum
2008 Whitney Biennial 2008, New York: The Whitney Museum of American Art
Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement, Oakland: University of
California Press
2007 The World as a Stage, curated by Catherine Wood and Jessica Morgan, London:
Tate Modern
2006 Anna Helwing Gallery Conversations: Karl Haendel and Mario Ybarra Jr, Los
Angeles: Anna Helwing Gallery
Alien Nation, London: Institute of Contemporary Arts
California Biennial ‘06, Newport Beach: Orange County Museum of Art
2005 Uncertain States of America, Oslo: Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art,
2004 100 Artists See God, Independent Curators International, curated by John
Baldessari and Meg Cranston
2002 A Show That Will Show That A Show Is Not Just A Show, curated by Jens
Hoffman, Los Angeles: The Project Democracy When?, curated by Tone O.
Nielson, Los Angeles: Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2014 Shaw, Matt. “Drive-By Art: I-10’s Billboard Masterpieces.” Architizer, June 30
Steinhauer, Jillian. “Westward Exhibition: Billboard Art Unfolds Across America.”
Hyperallergic, June 20
Lee, Kevin. “Space 301 widens artistic focus with latest PRE-GLO exhibition.”
Lagniappe, April 16
Lombard, Cherish. “See Pre-Glo Exhibit at Centre for the Living Arts.” Fox10 News
Mobile, April 10
Zimmer, Lori. “Expansion West: The Manifest Destiny Billboard Project.” Mutual Art,
April 2
Ikenberg, Tamara. “‘Manifest Destiny Billboard Project’ brings L.A. life to Mobile.”
Alabama.com, January 23
2013 Ontiveros, Mario. “Review: This is Not a Monster…” X-TRA, Fall
Bellman, Erica. “On View | Art Comes to the Interstate.” The New York Times
Magazine, September 24
Buckley, Annie. “Mario Ybarra Jr.” Art in America, April
Dambrot, Shana Nys. “Mario Ybarra, Jr.: ‘Double Feature’ at Honor Fraser Gallery.”
art ltd., March/April
Myers, Holly. “Review: Mario Ybarra Jr. Deftly Mixes Reality and Fiction.” Los
Angeles Times, March 8
Ulrichs, David. “10 Intriguing Highlights From ARCO 2013, From a Butcher Shop to
an Unlit Booth.” Blouin ARTINFO, February 15
Wagley, Catherine. “Werewolf on the Harbor Freeway.” LA Weekly, January 24
Steffen, Patrick. “Mario Ybarra Jr.” FlashArtonline, January 14
2012 Griffin, Jonathan. “Made in L.A.” Frieze, September 4
Mohseni, Yasmine. “Beyond the White Cube: Mario Ybarra, Jr., and his Tios.”
Huffington Post, August 8
“The LA Agenda: 7 Art Picks, Featuring Scott Greenwalt, Matthias Düwel, A+D
Urban Hike, Flux Screening Series.” Artinfo, August 3
Knight, Christopher. “Art Review: The Hammer Biennial ‘Made in L.A. 2012’ Succeeds.” Los Angeles Times, June 8
Garcia, Cesar. “SLANGUAGE,” in Made in L.A. 2012. Los Angeles: Hammer Museum, p. 3 (catalogue)
Finkel, Jori.“Hammer Biennial Lends Artists Helping Hand.” Los Angeles Times, May 2
2011 Mizota, Sharon. “Art Review: ‘Possible Worlds’ at Los Angeles County Museum of Art.” Los Angeles Times, July 14
2010 Miranda, Carolina A. “How Chicago is It?” ARTNews, September
Schleussner, Laura. “Reviews: Mario Ybarra Jr.” Flash Art, October
2008 Stillman, Nick. “Mario Ybarra Jr., Lehmann Maupin.” Artforum, October
Chambers, Christopher. “Reviews: Mario Ybarra Jr.” Flash Art, October
Hudson, Suzanne. “Mario Ybarra Jr.” Whitney Biennial
2007 Jury, Louise. "Barber shop Tate-a-Tate." The Evening Standard, October 22
Mizota, Sharon. "Mario Ybarra Jr.: Bring Me the Head of ... " Art Ltd, May, p. 21
Knight, Christopher. “Thin Show Sports Sharp Barbs." Los Angeles Times, February 23