Michael Portnoy (b. 1971, Washington, DC, USA) is a New York-based artist. Coming from a background in dance and stand-up comedy, his performance-based work employs a variety of media: from participatory installations to film, sculpture, theater, writing and curation. Portnoy is largely concerned with manipulating language and behavior as a tool for world-bending – either in his "Relational Stalinist" game structures in which confusion, complication, and ambiguity are used to stretch participants' speech and movement; or his quest to "improve" existing breeds of art through re-engineering. He has presented internationally in museums, art galleries, theatres and music halls, including recently Steirischer Herbst, Graz, Austria (2023, 2019, 2018); Witte de With, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2016); the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2015); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2014); Cricoteka, Krakow, Poland (2014); Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2013); KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany (2013); The Kitchen, New York, USA (2013); dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel, Germany (2012); 11th Baltic Triennial (co-curator), Vilnius, Lithuania (2012); and the Taipei Biennial, Taipei, Taiwan (2010).
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS AND PERFORMANCES
2023
The Society of Societies, Steirischer Herbst, Graz, Austria
Progressive Touch, The Emily Harvey Foundation, NY
2020
Progressive Touch, Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art, Middelburg, Netherlands
URGENT, Wilfried Lentz, Rotterdam
2019
Progressive Touch, commissioned by Steirischer Herbst, Graz, Austria
Portnoy (born 1936) Improvises, Hauser & Wirth, NY; FIAC, Paris, Block Universe, London
2018
Touching on Everything, commissioned by Steirischer Herbst, Graz, Austria
WRIXLING.COM, online project, commissioned by CAC Vilnius with CORPUS
2017
Character Assassination, Akademie der Künste der Welte, Cologne, Germany
Progressive Touch - Total Body Language Reprogramming, KW Berlin, Germany
2016
Relational Stalinism - The Musical, Witte de With, Rotterdam
2015
100 Big Entrances, Donaufestival, Austria
2014
100 Beautiful Jokes, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
2013
THRILLOCHROMES, Wilfred Lentz Rotterdam
27 Gnosis, Playground Festival, STUK, Leuven, Belgium
27 Gnosis, The Kitchen, NY
2012
I'm back fore ground!, IBID PROJECTS, London
Alligators! Experimental Comedy Club, Beursschouwburg, Brussels, Belgium
2011
Script Opposition in Late Model Carrot Jokes, Objectif Exhibitions, Antwerp & Wilfried Lentz Rotterdam
2010
Alligators!, de Appel, Amsterdam, curated and directed by Michael Portnoy and Ieva Miseviciute
2009
Human Intwist Group, Kunstverein, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
On se bat toujours quelque part, Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France
2008
The Dudion Levers, Martos Gallery, New York, USA (with Oliver Sudden)
Lend a Polt in the Put, IBID PROJECTS, London
Casino Ilinx, Sculpture Center, New York, USA
2007
Wandbiss, Art Unlimited 38 Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Presented by The Swiss Institute, New York
Seminar in Subliminal Carnage – The 33 Holdmusic Variations, Performa 07, The Swiss Institute, New York, USA
Talus, Dexter Sinister, New York, USA
The Gutsongs of Xar, Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
Piano Destruction Party, 159 Rivington, New York, USA
2006
Necktie over the Atlantic (performance with Theodore Fivel), Migros Museum, Zurich, Switzerland
The K Sound, The Kitchen, New York, USA
2005
Strangergames, Kaaitheater, Brussels, Belgium
2004
Shucking the What, The Kitchen, New York, USA
Billy Joel Nose, chashama, New York, USA
2001
Strangergames, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Centre, New York, USA 1998
Soy Bomb, Radio City Music Hall, New York, USA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND PERFORMANCES
2023
It’s Weird, Shedhalle, Zurich, Switzerland
2021
Une Exposition Mise En Scène, La Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel, France
When Gondola Engines Were Taken to Bits, GES-2, Moscow
2018
Objects Like Us, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, CT, USA
2017
A Choreographed Exhibition, CA2M, Madrid, Spain.
2016
Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, UK
2015
Nouveau Festival, Centre Pompidou
2014
Nothing Twice/Nic 2 Razy, Cricoteka, Krakow, Poland
Father Can't You See I'm Burning, de Appel arts centre, Amsterdam
Before Normal: Concept after Concept , Museum for Contemporary Art Roskilde, Denmark
The Crime Was Almost Perfect, Witte de With Contemporary Art, Rotterdam
2013
Nuit Blanche, Paris, France
Jew York, Zach Feuer Gallery, NY
Un Escalier d'Eau, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
The Bet, KW Institute of Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
2012
dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel, Germany
11th Baltic Triennial, co-curator, Vilnius, Lithuania
Radical Languages, Cricoteca, Krakow, Poland
2010
Clifford Irving Show, Objectif Exhibitions, Antwerp, Belgium
Taipei Biennial 2010, Taipei, Taiwan
The Prompt & Living Pictures, Transart Festival for Performa, Bolzano, Italy
Une Forme Pour Toute Action, Le Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse, France
Répétition Island , Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Macedonian Museum for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
2009
This place you see has no size at all..., Kadist Art Foundation, Paris, France
The Prompt, Kunstverein, New York, USA. Co-curator. Performa 09 Biennial
Made in the USA at Pete’s Motors, Pete’s Motors Showrooms, Great Barrington, USA
STRIP/STRIPE, Emily Harvey Foundation, New York
Remap2, Athens, Greece
Paper Exhibition, Artists Space, New York, USA
Dr. Portnoy (screening), Sundance Film Festival, Park City, USA
2008
One of These Things is Not Like the OtherThings, 1/9 Unosunove, Rome, Italy
Word Event, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland
2007
A Choreographed Exhibition, Kunsthalle St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Chemical City, Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston, USA
Speak Easy: Reading on the Rocks, SculptureCentre, New York, USA
5 on 5 is 5, Central House of Artists, 2nd Moscow Biennale, Russia.
2006
The Invasionistas, Kling & Bang Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland
Deitch Gallery Art Parade 2006, New York, USA
An Evening of Experimental Jokes (and other joke swills), Andrew Kreps Gallery, NY, USA
Male Entertainment, Monkeytown, New York, USA
Everything Beautiful and Noble Is the Result of Reason and Calculation, EFA Gallery, NY
2005
Concrete Castle, Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France
Deitch Gallery Art Parade 2005, New York, USA
threeASFOUR Fashion Show, threeASFOUR, New York, USA
Still Ill, Momenta Art, New York, USA
Jump On Me, Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany.
2004
Collision, Ace Gallery, New York, USA
Shucking the What (prelude), Canada Gallery, New York, USA
Domestic Porn, Galeria Fundacji Foksal, Warsaw, Poland
2003
Secrets, Little Theatre at Tonic, New York, USA
Professor Kiffy on Kitchen Jokes, Little Theatre at Tonic, New York, USA
2002
The Yoghurt Boys, Bowery Pottery Club, New York, USA
As Four Opera, Cooper Union Great Hall, New York, USA
2001
Arse about Face, Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, USA
2000
The Yoghurt Boys, Dumbo Arts Festival, New York, USA
Tie-Off Fear Sleeves, Chashama, New York, USA
1999
Bucket, (the working title), in collaboration with Claude Wampler. Triple X Festival, Amsterdam;
Kaiitheater, Brussels; Victoria Festival, Ghent; P.S. 122, New York.
Bunnipatchers, White Box, New York, USA
1998
Bucket, (the working title), collaboration with Claude Wampler. National Festival of Live Art; Glasgow, Scotland. Downtown Arts Festival, New York, USA
24 Hours on the Staten Island Ferry, Staten Island Ferry, USA
Eviannese Gesamtcuntsjerk, Audio Room, Vienna, Austria
SONTAG, Movement Research, Judson Church, New York, USA
1997
How’m I Doin’? HERE Gallery, New York, USA
Moronmachine, P.S. 122, New York, USA
Lepsies, St. Marks Church, Downtown Arts Festival, New York, USA
EDUCATION
1993 BA English Literature/Creative Writing, Vassar College, New York
TEACHING/RESIDENCIES
EMPAC, Troy, NY – residency, 2014
Confuse the Cat (residency leader), The Banff Centre Canada, 2014
Visiting Lecturer in Visual Arts MFA Program, Malmö Art Academy, Malmö, Sweden, 2013-ongoing
Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam, MFA workshop leader, 2013
Experimental Comedy Training Camp (residency leader), The Banff Centre, Canada, 2012
Goldsmiths, Art Writing MFA, London, workshop instructor, 2012
Werkplaats Typografie, Arnhem, Netherlands, workshop instructor, 2010
Bard College, NY, USA, MFA Faculty, 2009
Yaddo, NY, USA – residency, 2005
Visiting artist at Art Institute of Chicago, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Chicago, HEAD (Geneva), Piet Zwart Institute (Rotterdam), School of Visual Arts, and New York University.