Glenn Ligon

Glenn Ligon employs various mediums in his artistic practice, such as painting, neon, video, and photography.

Biography of Glenn Ligon

Glenn Ligon was born in 1960 in the South Bronx, New York. At the age of seven, his divorced, working-class parents secured scholarships for him and his older brother to attend Walden School, a prestigious and progressive private school.

He enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he spent two years before transferring to Wesleyan University. He completed his undergraduate studies at Wesleyan, earning a B.A. in 1982. In 1985, Ligon participated in the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program.

After completing his studies, he worked as a proofreader for a law firm, dedicating his spare time to painting in the Abstract Expressionist style. Ligon rose to prominence in the early 1990s.

In 1997, Glenn Ligon received the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant. His other awards and accolades include the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (2003), the Skowhegan Medal for Painting (2006), Studio Museum's Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize (2009), and the International Association of Art Critics Award (2012). 

His recent solo exhibitions include "Post-noir" at Carré d'Art de Nîmes in Nîmes (2022), "Glenn Ligon: An Open Letter" at Thomas Dane Gallery in London (2022), "It's Always a Little Bit Not Yet" at Hauser & Wirth in New York (2021), "In A Year With a Black Moon" at Rat Hole Gallery in Tokyo (2019), and many more.

Glenn Ligon's works have been exhibited in various group shows worldwide, such as "Invisibility: Powers, Perils and the Beauty of the Unseen" at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles (2024), "The Weight of Words" at Henry Moore Institute in Leeds (2023), "Juan Francisco Elso: Por América" at Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix (2023), among others.  

Glenn Ligon's Art Style

Glenn Ligon is known for his exploration of themes such as race, language, desire, sexuality, and identity. While initially pursuing abstract painting, he transitioned to incorporating text and words into his work during the mid-1980s to articulate his political concerns and ideas about racial identity more effectively. Much of the text he utilizes is sourced from prominent African-American writers such as James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison.

While Ligon's artistic repertoire encompasses sculptures, prints, drawings, mixed media, and neon, painting remains a central focus. Within his paintings, he seamlessly integrates texts—ranging from literary fragments to jokes and poignant quotes sourced from various authors—by hand-stenciling them directly onto the canvas.