JO BABCOCK www.jobabcock.com

EDUCATION:

  • San Francisco Art Institute, BFA-1976, MFA Degree-1979
  • University of California at Los Angeles, 1975

SOLO SHOWS:

  • San Francisco Public Library, SF, CA 2018
  • B.C. Space, Laguna Beach, CA, 2015
  • Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA, 2014
  • Savernack Street Gallery, SF, CA 2014
  • RAYKO Photo, San Francisco, CA 2013
  • Duncan Miller Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 2011
  • RAYKO Photo, San Francisco, CA, 2010
  • Steven Wolf Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA, 2009
  • Butte College, Chico, CA, 2007
  • Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland, CA, 2005
  • P.S. 122, New York, NY, 2001
  • Terrain Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 1997
  • Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SF, CA, 1996
  • Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY, 1990
  • ARTSPACE, San Francisco, CA, 1989
  • Marcuse Pfeifer Gallery, New York, NY, 1988
  • Zwinger Gallery, Berlin, West Germany, 1987
  • James Turcotte Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 1983
  • School of the Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL, 1982
  • A.R.E. Inc., San Francisco, CA 1981
  • Modernage Photo, New York, NY, 1980

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

2010 – 2020

  • Nat’l Media Museum, Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
  • Culinary Institute of America at Copia, Napa, CA
  • Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
  • Columbia College, Columbia, MO
  • Dyransky Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  • New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, NM
  • William D. Cannon Art Gallery, Carlsbad, CA
  • Institute for Visual Studies, Harrisonburg, VA
  • Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
  • Begovich Gallery, California State University, Fullerton, CA
  • Oakland Museum exhibition at Oakland Airport, Oakland, CA
  • Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  • Cheryl Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2000 – 2009

  • Mina Dresden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  • New York Camera Club, New York, NY
  • 707 Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
  • Society of Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Ross Museum, Wesleyn College, Delaware, OH
  • Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
  • Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA
  • DIESEL, Brooklyn, NY
  • Santa Cruz Museum of Art, Santa Cruz, CA
  • SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA
  • San Francisco State University, SF, CA
  • ZEUM, San Francisco, CA
  • Scott Pfaffman Gallery, New York, NY
  • 681 Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
  • Theater for the New City, New York, NY

1990 – 1999

  • Tyson Center for Visual Arts, Charlotte, NC
  • McAllen International Museum, McAllen, TX
  • Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
  • Vancouver Museum, Vancouver, British Colombia
  • The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
  • Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
  • Transamerica Pyramid Bldg, San Francisco, CA
  • M.H. de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, SF, CA
  • Sonoma State University, Cotati, CA
  • The Luggage Store, San Francisco, CA
  • San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, SF, CA
  • Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
  • San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
  • Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  • Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ
  • Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA
  • Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
  • Capp Street Project, San Francisco, CA
  • Kyle Roberts Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  • San Francisco International Airport, North Terminal
  • Gallery of Contemporary Art, Colorado Springs, CO
  • George Eastman House, Rochester, NY
  • Addison Gallery, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
  • Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco, CA
  • Charleston Heights Art Center, Las Vegas, NV
  • Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
  • Oliver Art Center, CCAC, Oakland, CA
  • Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  • Centre Photographie D’lle De France, Paris, France
  • Athol McBean Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute
  • Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX
  • De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Amarillo Art Center, Amarillo, TX
  • A.T.A., San Francisco, CA
  • Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art, Moraga, CA
  • Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  • Museo de Arts Moderno, Cartegena, Colombia
  • Centro Colombo Americano, Medellin, Colomobia
  • Museo Arguelogico La Merced, Cali, Colombia
  • Centro de Arts Actual, Pereira, Colombia

1980 – 1989

  • Centre Saidye Bronfman, Montreal, Quebec
  • San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, SF, CA
  • White Columns, New York, NY
  • Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH
  • Group Material, The D.I.A. Foundation, New York, NY
  • Artists at the Rock, Alcatraz, CA
  • Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
  • C.E.P.A., Buffalo, NY
  • Roanake Museum of Fine Art, Roanoke, VA
  • Fine Arts Museum of Long Island, Hempstead, NY
  • Hotel Project, Oakland, CA
  • Ledel Gallery, New York, NY
  • Otis Parsons Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
  • Pro Arts, Oakland, CA
  • Sao Paulo Bienale, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Public Image, New York, NY
  • The Clocktower, New York, NY
  • Windows On White, New York, NY
  • KALA Institute, Berkeley, CA
  • Outdoor Installation, Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco
  • Ten On Eight, New York, NY
  • Fashion Moda, Bronx, NY
  • Terminal New York, Former Brooklyn Army Terminal
  • South of Market Cultural Center, San Francisco
  • The Living Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
  • Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL
  • James Turcotte Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
  • 80 Langton Street, San Francisco, CA
  • Wooster Street Gallery, New York, NY
  • Camerawork Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  • The Alternative Museum, New York, NY
  • Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
  • Club Generic, San Francisco, CA
  • Avignon Festival, Conseil Cultural Avignon, France
  • Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, CA
  • A.R.E. Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1975 – 1979

  • Cal Arts, Valencia, CA
  • Friends of Photography Gallery, Carmel, CA
  • Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, SF, CA
  • Hampshire College, Amherst, MA

 

GRANTS AND AWARDS:

  • Gray Loft Gallery, Best In Show, Oakland, CA, 2018
  • Rayko Photo Center, Artist In Residence, SF, CA 2010
  • San Francisco Arts Commission, Public Art Grant, SF, CA 1992
  • Capp Street Project, Sponsored Project, San Francisco, CA 1991
  • National Endowement for the Arts, Fellowship, 1990
  • New York State Council for the Arts, Governor’s Award, 1989
  • Visual Studies Workshop, Artist In Residence, Rochester, NY 1988
  • Lightwork, Artist In Residence, Syracuse, NY 1987
  • Headlands Art Center, Artist In Residence with David Ireland, Marin, CA 1985-86
  • Interarts of Marin, Project Grant, Marin, CA 1986
  • 18th Bienale de Sao Paulo, 1985
  • City of Oakland, Public Art Grant, Oakland, CA 1985

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

  • Photo ZINE, Issue #2, International Pinhole Day, April, 2019

  • KPOO Radio Interview, Potrero/Mission Bay Photographs, SF, CA, 6/15/18

  • Audi commercial 10/2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9zx4Uw_ao4

  • Blurring the Lines, Amy Wilder, Columbia Daily Tribune, MO 10/25/15
  • Untouched Photos, SF Chronicle, Anita Katz, 8/27/15
  • The Indie, Laguna Beach, CA, December 18, 2015
  • KQED and N.P.R. http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201401171630/f 2014
  • Common Tread, University Press, Fullerton, CA 2014
  • Photography Beyond Technique, Persinger, Focal Press, 2014
  • Poetics of Light, Renner/Spencer, Univ of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, 2014
  • Pinhole Possibilities, University Press, Atlanta, GA, 2013
  • Center Forward, Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft Collins, CO, 2012
  • World Wide Pinhole Photo Day, Featured Artist, April 2012
  • PHOTOJOJO, http://www.photojojo.com May, 2012
  • Crazy Toy Camera, http://crazytoycam.com Indonesia, June 2012
  • Open Show, http://www.openshow.org June 2012
  • Art Photo Index, www.artphotoindex.com October 2012
  • Expressions of Humankind, http://www.aday.org
  • Jo Babcock Reviewed, L.A. Weekly, March 17, 2011
  • From Pinhole to Print, Alternative Photography, Sweden, 2010
  • Photographic Possibilities, Robert Hirsch, 4th Edition, 2009
  • S.F. Chronicle, Photo Shows Balance, Kenneth Baker, 9/19/09
  • Prison Culture, City Lights Foundation, 2009
  • Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, Christopher James, 2008
  • Stenope, Delphire Publications, France, 2007
  • S.F. Chronicle, Datebook by Kenneth Baker, 6/ 23/07
  • Without Lenses, Interview with Jo Babcock, March 2007
  • Photo-eye, Survey of New Books, Darius Himes, Summer 2006
  • MAKE Magazine, Camera On Wheels, Megan Williams, Nov 2006
  • SF Camerawork Quarterly, Book Review, Spring 2006
  • Woodburners, Review of New Books, June 2006
  • S.F. Chronicle, Book Review, Kenneth Baker, 12/18/05
  • The INVENTED CAMERA, Low Tech Photography & Sculpture, 2005
  • Pinhole Photography, Eric Renner, 1st ed-1995, 3rd ed-2004
  • Ready Made, Eye of the Needle, Jennifer Weaver, Spring, 2003
  • Who’s Who In American Art; 1991- 2014
  • Art & Architecture, SF Civic Center Complex, 2001
  • Artweek, Conceptual Color, Colin Barry, November, 2001
  • Exploring Color Photography, Robert Hirsch, 3rd Ed., 1996
  • 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area, DeYoung Museum, 1995
  • ZYZZYVA, West Coast Writers and Artists, Fall, 1994
  • New York Observer, Pictures & Sculpture Married, A.D. Coleman, 1991
  • SF Chronicle, Getting the Big Picture, Kenneth Baker, 9/30/90
  • West Art, Robert Atkins, February 23, 1990
  • Oracular Orifices, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA1990
  • Newsweek, Into the Fun House, Peter Plagens, 8/21/89
  • San Francisco Magazine, You Gotta Have Art, May 1989
  • LOW TECH, Subject Meets Object, Robert Atkins, 1989
  • S.F. Chronicle, Good Bad and Overexposed, Liz Lufkin, 3/26/89
  • Arena, Up and Coming, Ingrid Sichey, 1989
  • Lightwork Contact Sheet #63 (cover), Jeffrey Hoone, 1989
  • FLASH ART, Arte a San Francisco, Martina Corgnati, Feb 1988
  • 150th Anniversary of Photo, Centre Saidye Bronfman, Montreal, Qubc, 1989
  • The Village Voice, Photo, Vince Aletti, May 10, 1988
  • International Pinhole Photography Exhibition, James Hugunin, 1988
  • Artweek, Exhibitions, Rebecca Solnit, September 25, 1987
  • Die Tageszeitung, Berlin, WELTUNTERGANG, 4/4/87
  • Darkroom Photography, Enduring Pinhole, Russell, 10/86
  • East Bay Express, Jim Jordan, December 26, 1986
  • S.F. Chronicle, Kenneth Baker, July 28, 1986
  • Oakland Tribune, Charles Shere, July 22, 1986
  • Pinhole Journal, Camera As Subject, Jo Babcock, 1986
  • 18th Bienale de Sao Paulo, 1985
  • UNSOUND (cover), August 1984
  • San Francisco/Science Fiction, catalog, 1984
  • Mother Jones, Indestructible Industry, Mark Hertsgaard, May 1983
  • Los Angeles Institute Contemporary Art, Trends Traditions, Robert Atkins, 1981

COLLECTIONS:

  • Smithsonian-National Gallery of American Art, Washington, D.C.
  • Palace of Governors, State Photographic Archives, Santa Fe, NM
  • J. Paul Getty Library, Los Angeles, CA
  • The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
  • Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco, CA
  • Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA
  • The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
  • Levi Strauss & Company, San Francisco
  • Pacific Telesis, San Francisco, CA
  • San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, SF, CA
  • Lightwork, Syracuse, NY
  • Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
  • La Biblioteque, Avignon, France
  • San Francisco Public Library, Potrero Hill Branch
  • History Room Archive, San Francisco Public Library, Civic Center, SF, CA
  • Berkeley Art Museum, University of California
  • State of California Courthouse Building, San Francisco, CA
  • George Eastman House, Rochester, NY

REPRESENTED BY: BC SPACE, Laguna Beach, CA

Biography:

Jo Babcock was born in 1954 in St. Louis, and graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA 1976, MFA 1979). Since 1977, Babcock has experimented prodigiously with pinhole cameras and other handmade “low-tech” devices. He has created cameras out of an array of objects including suitcases, MSG cans, a guitar case, a Shinola tin, a VW bus and a classic Airstream motorhome, to produce both small and mural scale photographs. His one-of-a-kind paper negatives are distinctive for their distortion of form and color. Babcock’s imagery of landscapes is transformed by his process into an eerie, painterly world of emotional dreamscapes and startling familiarity. Jo Babcock’s work has been exhibited internationally, including exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Alternative Museum, the Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens, and the Sao Paulo Bienale.

Mark Johnson; Professor of Art, San Francisco State University