Biography

Allan Wexler (b. 1949) has worked in the fields of architecture, design, and fine art for over fifty years. In the late 1960s, he was an early member of the group of architects and artists who questioned the perceived divide between art and the design disciplines. They called themselves non-architects or paper architects. In 2017, Lars Müller published Absurd Thinking: Between Art and Design, a book on Wexler’s work and creative process. The book features projects developed across the artist’s career that mediate the gap between fine and applied art using the mediums of architecture, sculpture, photography, painting, and drawing.

Wexler earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts (1971) and his Bachelor of Architecture (1972) from RISD and his Master of Architecture from Pratt Institute (1976). He is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (2016), is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, and a winner of both a Chrysler Award for Design Innovation and the Henry J. Leir Prize from the Jewish Museum. He has executed public art commissions at several locations, including Hudson River Park at 29th Street (2006), Atlantic Terminal, Long Island Railroad (2009), and Pratt Institute (2008, 2012).

He has exhibited nationally and internationally, including La Arsenale, Biennale Architettura, Venice, IT; The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA; Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY; San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA; Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum, Hagen, DE; De Cordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA; The Jewish Museum, New York, NY; among many others. Wexler currently teaches at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.

Works
  • Allan Wexler, Conic Landscape – Solid Void, 2024
    Conic Landscape – Solid Void, 2024
  • Allan Wexler, Landscape Props, 2024
    Landscape Props, 2024
  • Allan Wexler, Conic Spiral, 2022
    Conic Spiral, 2022
  • Allan Wexler, Mapping, 2022
    Mapping, 2022
  • Allan Wexler, Platonic Landscape, 2022
    Platonic Landscape, 2022
  • Allan Wexler, Speakers, 2022
    Speakers, 2022
  • Allan Wexler, Extruded Dinnerware, 2021
    Extruded Dinnerware, 2021
  • Allan Wexler, Light Table, 2021
    Light Table, 2021
  • Allan Wexler, Body / Glassware Studies, Breath, 2018
    Body / Glassware Studies, Breath, 2018
  • Allan Wexler, Body / Glassware Studies, Carry, 2018
    Body / Glassware Studies, Carry, 2018
  • Allan Wexler, Body / Glassware Studies, Hear, 2018
    Body / Glassware Studies, Hear, 2018
  • Allan Wexler, Breath, 2018
    Breath, 2018
  • Allan Wexler, Sabbath Cell Phone Silencer, 2017
    Sabbath Cell Phone Silencer, 2017
  • Allan Wexler, Body / Glassware Studies, See, 2016
    Body / Glassware Studies, See, 2016
  • Allan Wexler, Cones of Vision, 2016
    Cones of Vision, 2016
  • Allan Wexler, Reframing Nature, 2015
    Reframing Nature, 2015
  • Allan Wexler, Sheathing the Rift, 2014
    Sheathing the Rift, 2014
  • Allan Wexler, Interchange, 2008
    Interchange, 2008
  • Allan Wexler, Burnt Chair / Charcoal Drawing, 2007
    Burnt Chair / Charcoal Drawing, 2007
  • Allan Wexler, 2 x 4 with cutout, 1997-1998
    2 x 4 with cutout, 1997-1998
  • Allan Wexler, Paper 2 x 4, 1997-1998
    Paper 2 x 4, 1997-1998
  • Allan Wexler, 4 Collars Sewn into a Tablecloth, 1991
    4 Collars Sewn into a Tablecloth, 1991
  • Allan Wexler, 4 Handled Broom, 1991
    4 Handled Broom, 1991
  • Allan Wexler, 4 Shoes Connected Together, 1991
    4 Shoes Connected Together, 1991
  • Allan Wexler, Four People Watching a Television, 1991
    Four People Watching a Television, 1991
  • Allan Wexler, Four People Wearing a Television, 1991
    Four People Wearing a Television, 1991
  • Allan Wexler, Coffee Seeks Its Own Level, 1990
    Coffee Seeks Its Own Level, 1990
  • Allan Wexler, Set D, 1989
    Set D, 1989
  • Allan Wexler, Set E, 1989
    Set E, 1989
Exhibitions
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