BIO
Marvin Touré (b.1991)
is an Ivorian-American interdisciplinary artist who uses fictional narratives and the objects of innocence as a vehicle to interrogate themes of love, loss, and memory. In 2014 he received a B.A. in New Media Arts with a minor in Architecture from Southern Polytechnic State University (now Kennesaw State University) in Marietta, Georgia. In 2016 he received an M.F.A. in Fine Arts from The School of Visual Arts in New York City and completed a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Touré has also completed residencies at the Franconia Sculpture Park (2018) in Shafer, Minnesota, and SVA MFA Fine Arts’s Life on an Island on Governors Island, New York (2019). Since 2015, Toure has consistently been included in group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions at The AC Institute in New York, New York (2018), and Haul gallery in Brooklyn, New York (2019). In 2020 Touré participated in the group show A Muffled Sound Underwater at LatchKey Gallery and was awarded both a Black Artist Fund grant and the Peter S. Reed Foundation grant for Mixed Media/Sculpture. Touré was awarded one of two 20th anniversary commissions for the I-Park Foundation’s 2021 Site-Responsive Art Biennale(East Haddam, CT). That same year he was named the inaugural artist-in-residence at Alma|Lewis located in Pittsburgh, PA.
photo courtesy of ALMA|LEWIS
Education
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School of Visual Arts
New York, NY
M.F.A. Fine Arts, (2016)
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Southern Polytechnic State University (now Kennesaw State University)
Marietta, Ga
B.A. New Media Arts
Minor in Architecture, (2014)
Residencies
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Alma|Lewis, Inaugural Artist in Residence, Pittsburgh, PA (2021)
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SVA MFA Fine Arts, Life on an Island, Colonels Row, Governors Island, NY (2019)
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Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, MN (2018)
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Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture,
Skowhegan, ME (2016)
Grants, Honors, and Awards
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I-Park Foundation 20th Anniversary Commission (2021)
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The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments Advancing Black Arts Award Recipient (2021)
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Black Artist Fund Grant Recipient (2020)
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Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant Recipient (2020)
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FSP/Jerome Foundation Fellowship, (2018)
Public Works
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Peachwood Circle & Other Southern Gothics, I-Park Foundation, East Haddam, CT (Installed 2021-2023)
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Topic 3: Consciousness, Franconia Sculpture Park
Shafer, MN (Installed 2018-Present)
Publications
Selected Solo Exhibitions
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L’ÉPILOGUE, haul gallery
Brooklyn, NY (2021)
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Paranoia’s Midnight, haul gallery
Brooklyn, NY (2019)
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{Fig. 27} the {X} mutation, The AC Institute
New York, NY (2018)
Selected Group Exhibitions
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Site-Responsive Art Biennale, I-Park Foundation, East Haddam, CT (2021)
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Racism: The Other American Pandemic, Eastern Connecticut State University, Virtual (2020)
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A Muffled Sound Underwater, LatchKey Gallery, New York, NY (2020)
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parade, uhaul gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2019)
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Race and Revolution: Race and Revolution: Still Separate-Still Unequal, Penn State, State College, PA (Jan 29th - April 6th, 2019)/ August Wilson Center, Pittsburgh, PA ( April 19th - July 21st, 2019)
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Race and Revolution: Still Separate-Still Unequal, University of Connecticut-Stamford, Stamford, CT (2018)
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Re: x 12, Pfizer Building, Brooklyn, NY (2017)
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Race and Revolution: Still Separate-Still Unequal, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY (2017)
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Re: x 11, Pfizer Building, Brooklyn, NY (2017)
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SVA x SKOWHEGAN, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York, NY (2016-2017)
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PRIZM Art Fair, Miami, FL (2016)
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With Liberty and (in)Justice For All?, Gateway Project Spaces, Newark, NJ (2016)
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To a point…, SVA MA Curatorial Practice Project Space, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY (2016)
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For Sale By Owner, Hilltop Antiques, Skowhegan, ME (2016)
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popular culture is where the pedagogy is, The Hole, New York, NY (2016)
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Mini Bar, Material Art Fair (as part of an art and curatorial project), Mexico City, Mexico (2016)
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Brooklyn Academy of Music Benefit with Beverly’s, Bridget Donahue Gallery, New York, NY (2016)
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(Re)Vision, Jan Brandt Gallery, Bloomington, IL (2015)
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Jumping the Line: interdisciplinary concept shop, Artiz Group, New York, NY (2015)
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DO YOU FEEL?, SVA MA Curatorial Practice Project Space, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY (2015)
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[RE]VISION, SVA MA Curatorial Practice Program, New York, NY (2015)
Selected Press
Dunne, Susan. “‘Racism: The Other American Pandemic’ virtual exhibit at ECSU looks at presistent crisis” Hartford Courant (2020)
Rodney, Seph. “What Does it Mean to Exhibit ‘Black Excellence’?” HYPERALLERGIC (2020)
https://hyperallergic.com/548933/what-does-it-mean-to-exhibit-black-excellence/
Walker, Dareece. “Paranoia’s Midnight”: Interview with Marvin Touré.” LIVING LIFE FEARLESS (2019)
https://livinglifefearless.co/2019/features/paranoias-midnight-interview-with-marvin-toure/
Waltz, Amanda. “ Race and Revolution: Still Separate – Still Unequal examines educational discrimination in Pittsburgh to address a national problem.” Pittsburgh City Paper (2019)
UConn Communications. “Exhibit Explores Racial Disparities in Public School System.” UConn Today (2018)
https://today.uconn.edu/2018/01/exhibit-explores-racial-disparities-public-school-system/
Cascone, Sarah. “Editors’ Picks: 8 Things to See in New York This Week.” artnet news (2017)
https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/editors-picks-may-22-954953
Sargent, Antwaun. “A Langston Hughes Short Story Inspired a Contemporary Art Exhibition.” VICE (2016) https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qkwyn3/langston-hughes-short-story-contemporary-exhibition
Ward, Kelvin. “MARVIN TOURÉ - BOUSSOUMANI.” THE BHOLDER (2016)
http://www.thebholdr.com/blog/2016/5/2/marvin-tour-boussoumani
SVA Features. “‘SVA x Skowhegan’ Explores the Effects of Globalization on Contemporary Art.” Visual Arts Press (2016) https://sva.edu/features/sva-x-skowhegan-explores-the-effects-of-globalization-on-contemporary-art
Meredith, Maya. “the master’s tools.” Wade in the Water (2016)
https://issuu.com/artistsagainstpoliceviolence/docs/issue_2_final_for_web
HALF (2015)