Peter Nagy

Artist-dealer Peter Nagy founded the fabled East Village gallery, Nature Morte, with fellow artist Alan Belcher in 1982. Nature Morte was among one of the most important artist-run galleries of the 1980s, focused on a new type of work that blended Conceptualism and Pop Art exploring the relationship between art and commodity and exhibiting some of their generation’s most promising young artists including Gretchen Bender, Jennifer Bolande, Joel Otterson and Steven Parrino. In addition, Nature Morte hosted one-off exhibition projects with a number of artists including Vito Acconci, Ross Bleckner, Louise Lawler, Sherrie Levine, Thomas Nozkowski, Richard Pettibone, Keith Sonnier, Robert Gober and a collaborative work by Laurie Simmons and Allan McCollum. Throughout the 80s, Nagy was represented by International With Monument, a gallery run by Liz Koury and Meyer Vaisman which also exhibited Peter Halley, Jeff Koons and Richard Prince. Nagy's iconic work includes his Xeroxes (the earliest body of work he produced from 1982 to 1985) as well as his black and white Cancer, Baroque and Rococo, and early Orientalist Paintings. Nagy went on to exhibit his work to critical and commercial acclaim throughout the 80s and 90s nationally and internationally, holding multiple solo exhibitions at Jay Gorney Modern Art and in Europe. Peter Nagy has lived and worked in New Delhi India since 1992 and reopened Gallery Nature Morte in New Delhi, India—considered by many to be the most important gallery of contemporary art in India today.

Peter Nagy studied Communication Design, Art History and Theory at Parsons School of Design, N.Y., from 1977 to 1981. His work has been included in solo and group exhibitions at Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY; The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; and The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. He also participated in installations by Group Material at Documenta 8, Kassel, DE and Americana in the 1985 Whitney Biennial. Recently Nagy’s works from the ’80s were included in shows at The Met Breuer, New York, NY; the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC; Magenta Plains, New York, NY; Tate Modern, London, England; Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Nagy has received awards from the Pollock Krasner Foundation, the Jean Stein Foundation, as well as an award for Curatorial Excellence from the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Nagy lives and works in New Delhi, IN.

Born in 1959, Bridgeport, CT
Lives and works in New Delhi, IN

Education

1981

BFA, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY

Solo Exhibitions

2020

Peter Nagy: Entertainment Erases History, Jeffrey Deitch in collaboration with Magenta Plains, New York, NY

2011

Peter Nagy: Entertainment Erases History: Works 1982-1990 curated by Richard Milazzo, EISBox Projects, Brooklyn, NY

2004

Publicity for Amusement, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, India; Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre, New Delhi, IN

1997

So Much Deathless, Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York, NY

1993

Studio Guenzani, Milan, IT
Galeria Il Capricorno, Venice, IT

1992

A Soft History of Imhotep, Galerie Georges-Philippe Vallois, Paris, FR
Edward Totah Gallery, London, ENG
A Soft History of Imhotep, Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY

1991

Galerie Faust, Geneva, CH
Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Hamburg, DE
Studio Guenzani, Milan, IT
Jablonka Galerie, Cologne, DE

1990

Baron/Boisante Gallery, New York, NY
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY

1989

Galerie Jablonka, Cologne, DE

1988

Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY
Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1987

Galleria Pinta, Genova, IT
International with Monument Gallery, New York, NY

1986

International with Monument Gallery, New York, NY

1985

International with Monument Gallery, New York, NY

Group Exhibitions

2021

Friends & Family, Magenta Plains, New York, NY
ALIEN NATION, curated by Kenta Murakami, Von Ammon Co, Washington, D.C.

2018

Everything Is Connected: Art and Conspiracy, The Met Breuer, New York, NY
Malevolent Eldritch Shrieking, Aftercliffe, Sheffield, UK
Brand New: Art and Commodity in the 1980s, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC

2017

Nagy / Libby / Le Va, Magenta Plains, New York, NY
(DYS)-TROPISM, Super Dakota, Brussels, BE

2016

Every Future Has a Price: 30 Years After Infotainment, Elizabeth Dee, New York, NY
Age Before Beauty: The Past and Present of Alan Belcher and Peter Nagy, TB Projects, Provincetown, MA
La Collection Thea Westreich Wagner et Ethan Wagner, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR
Efficient Frontier, Magenta Plains, New York, NY

2012

Spies in the House of Art: Photography, Film, Video, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980’s, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Walker Art
Center, Minneapolis, MN; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Loughelton Revisted, curated by Barbara Broughel, Winkleman Gallery, New York, NY
25 Years of Talent, curated by Michelle Grabner, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY

2011

All of the Above: Carte Blanche to John M. Armleder, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, FR

2010

This and That Part II, Corvi-Mora, London, UK

2009

Pop Life: Art in a Material World, The Tate Modern, London, England; Kunsthalle Hamburg; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA
Les années 80’s, Centre National d’art contemporain, Geneva, CH

2004

Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois, Paris, FR
Androgyne curated by Dr. Alka Pande, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, IN

2003

L’invention du Monde, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR

2000

Edizioni Elena Levi, Rome, IT

Calender 2000, Center for Curatorial Studies Museum, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

1999

Trippy World, Baron/Boisante Gallery, New York, NY

1998

Gallery Nature Morte, New Delhi, IN

1997

A Gift for India organized by SAHMAT, Lalit Kala Akademie, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, IN

1996

Dissimilar & Unrelated Sculptures, Baron/Boisante Gallery, New York, NY
Everything that’s interesting is new, Athens School of Fine Arts, The Factory, Athens, GR
The Dakis Joannou Collection organized by the Deste Foundation, Athens, GR
Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, DK

1995

In a Different Light: Visual Culture, Sexual Identity, Queer Practice curated by Nayland Blake, Lawrence Rinder and Amy Scholder, University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Black & White & Read All Over curated by J.P.Schwartz, Nationsbank Plaza, Charlotte, NC
Romantico Contemporaneo, Castello di Beutivaglio, Bologna, IT

Reinventing the Emblem: Contemporary Artists Recreate a Renaissance Idea, The Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

1994

The Institute of Cultural Anxiety: Works from The Collection curated by Jeremy Miller, Institute of Contemporary Art, London, UK
Japan: Tradition and Invention: Contemporary Artists Interpret the Japanese Garden, Sogetsu Plaza, Tokyo, JP
Art Against AIDS curated by Nam Jun Paik, Robert Rauschenberg and Hiroshi Teshigahara, Thread Waxing Space, New York, NY
Die Orte der Kunst, Sprengel Museum, Hanover, DE
Arabesque, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, NY

1993

Commodity Image, International Center of Photography, New York, NY; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Excess in the Techno-Mediacratic Society curated by Joseph Nechvatal, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY

1992

Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY
Tattoo Collection, Galerie Air de Paris, Nice, France; Galerie Urbi et Orbi, Paris, France; Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY
Quotations: The Second History of Art, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT
Works-Concepts-Processes-Situations-Information curated by Robert Nickas, Galerie 1900-2000 and Galerie de Poche, Paris, FR

1991

Works on Paper, Galerie Georges-Philippe Vallois, Paris, FR
Teppiche, Tanja Grunert Galerie, Cologne, DE
Galerie Georges-Philippe Vallois, Paris, FR
Proiezioni curated by Gregorio Magnani, Castello di Rivara, Rivara, IT
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY
Six Logos Around the Carpet, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam, Holland, AN
Anni Novanta, Galleria Comunale d’Arte Moderna, Bologna, IT
and Musei Comunali, Rimini, IT
Working with Art: The Robert J. Shiffler Collection, Miami University Art Museum, Oxford, OH
Peter Nagy & Andreas Schon curated by Udo Kittelmann, Forum Kunst Rottweil, Rottweil, DE; Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Hamburg, DE
Who Framed Modern Art or the Quantitative Life of Roger Rabbit, curated by Collins & Milazzo, Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, NY
Word as Image: American Art from 1960 - 1990 curated by Russell Bowman and Dean Sobel, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI

1990

Galerie Georges-Philippe Vallois, Paris, FR
Total Metal curated by Richard Phillips, Simon Watson Gallery, New York, NY
All Quiet on the Western Front, Galerie Antoine Candau, Paris, FR
Stendhal Syndrome: The Cure,” curated by Catherine Liu, Curtis Mitchell and Andrea Rosen, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY
Information curated by Robert Nickas, Terrain, San Francisco, CA
The Indomitable Spirit, International Center of Photography Midtown, New York, NY
Image World: Art and Media Culture curated by Marvin Heiferman and Lisa Phillips, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Dream Reality curated by Peter Nagy, The School of Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY
Studio Guenzani, Milan, IT

Strange Attractors: Signs of Chaos, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
The Desire of the Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Order of Facts curated by Haim Steinbach, Galerie Achim Kubinski, Stuttgart, DE
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY
A Forest of Signs: Art in the Crisis of Representation, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Figures, F.R.A.C., Rhone-Alpes, FR
Conspicuous Display curated by Sid Sachs, Stedman Art Gallery, Rutgers University, NJ
A Climate of Site curated by Robert Nickas, Galerie Barbara Farber, Amsterdam, Holland, AN

1988

Works-Concepts-Processes-Situations-Information curated by Robert Nickas, Galerie Hans Mayer, Düsseldorf, DE
Hybrid Neutral curated by Collins & Milazzo, The University of North Texas, Denton, TX; J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Alberta Collage Gallery of Art, Calgary, CA; The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinatti, OH; St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY; Santa Fe Community College Art Gallery and Museum, Gainesville, FL; Mendel Art Gallery and Museum, Saskatoon, CA
Art at the End of the Social curated by Collins & Milazzo, Rooseum, Malmö, SE
A “Drawing” Show curated by Jerry Saltz, Cable Gallery, New York, NY
Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY
Re:Placements, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
Presi per Incantamento, Padiglione díArte Contemporanea, Milan, IT

Marcel Duchamp Fountain, The Menil Collection, Houston, TX

1987

Signs of the Times curated by Jerome Sans, Galerie Hussenot, Paris, FR
Recent Tendencies in Black & White curated by Jerry Saltz, Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, NY
Corporate Crime/Malicious Mischief, Installation, San Diego, CA
Nothing Sacred, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Castle an installation by Group Material, Documenta 8, Kassel, DE
Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Der Reine Alltag, Galerie Christoph Durr, Munich, DE
Art Against AIDS, Jay Gorney Modern Art, New York, NY
Perverted by Language curated by R. Nickas Hillwood, C.W.Post Campus Art Gallery, Brookville, NY
Fake curated by William Olander, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
A Brokerage of Desire curated by Walter Hopps, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR
The Spectre of Saturation curated by H. Halle, McIntosh/Drysdale Gallery, Washington D.C.
Overtalk curated by Gary Stephan White Columns, New York, NY
New York Now curated by Suzanne Landau, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, IL
Kevin Larmon and Peter Nagy, Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Annina Nosei Gallery, New York, NY

1986

Text and Image: The Wording of American Art, Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
Uplifted Atmospheres, Borrowed Taste curated by Howard Halle, Hallwalls, Buffalo, NY
Il Cangiante, Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Milan, IT

American Fine Arts, Colin DeLand Fine Art, New York, NY
More Static, Pyramid Arts Center, Rochester, NY
Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, IL
A Brokerage of Desire curated by Walter Hopps, Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Paravision curated by Collins & Milazzo, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Rooted Rhetoric, Castel dell’Ovo, Naples, IT
Investigations, McIntosh/Drysdale Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Spiritual America, curated by Collins & Milazzo, C.E.P.A. Galleries, Buffalo, NY
Modern Longings performance collaboration with David Robbins, The Kitchen, New York, NY
As Found, curated by Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York, NY
Metro Pictures, New York, NY
The Public Art Show curated by Ronald Jones, Nexus Contemporary Arts Center, Atlanta, GA
The Anticipated Ruin curated by Howard Halle, The Kitchen, New York, NY
World View curated Daniel Levine, C.E.P.A. Galleries, Buffalo, NY

1985

Americana an installation by Group Material, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Smart Art curated by Joseph Masheck, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
20/20, B.K.Smith Gallery, Lake Erie College, Painesville, OH
East Village Exhibition, Saidye Bronfman Centre, Montreal, CA
International with Monument Gallery, New York, NY
Dealers and Critics curated by Robert Nickas, Mo David Gallery, New York, NY
Infotainment, Texas Gallery, Houston, TX; Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, IL; Vanguard Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
A Brave New World, A New Generation curated by Thomas Solomon Exhibition Hall at Charlottenburg, Copenhagen, DK
Talking Back to the Media, Aorta, Amsterdam, HL
The Art of Appropriation, The Alternative Museum, New York, NY

1984

International With Monument Gallery, New York, NY
New Galleries of the Lower East Side curated by Helene Winer, Artists Space, New York, NY
Limbo curated by Walter Robinson and Carlo McCormick, MomA PS1, Long Island City, NY
Still Life with Transaction curated by Collins & Milazzo, International With Monument Gallery, New York, NY; Galerie Jurka, Amsterdam, AN
Natural Genre curated by Collins & Milazzo Fine Arts Gallery, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
East Village Exhibition, Zelermayer Gallery, Berlin, DE
The East Village Scene, I.C.A., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Neo York, University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Virginia Beach Arts Center, Virginia Beach, VA
The New Capital curated by Collins & Milazzo, White Columns, New York, NY

1983

Civilian Warfare Gallery, New York, NY
Gallery Nature Morte, New York, NY

1982

Gallery Nature Morte, New York, NY

Public and Private Collections

The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
The Stillpass Collection, Cincinnati, OH
The Sprengel Museum, Hanover, DE
The Progressive Corporation, Mayfield Village, OH
The Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
The Menil Collection, Houston, TX
The Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY
The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, NY
La Caixa Pensiones, Barcelona, ES
Fondes National d’Art Contemporain, Paris, FR
Collezione Tonelli, Terni, IT

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