Rodney McMillian

McMillian delves into the intricate and tense interplay between history and contemporary culture, examining their expressions not only in American politics but also within American modernist art traditions. 

Biography of Rodney McMillian

Rodney McMillian was born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1969. In 1991, he received a BA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. In 1998, he completed a BFA Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

McMillian also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2002. Two years later, he obtained an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.

The artist received the William H. Johnson Prize (2007) and the Suzanne Deal Booth Art Prize (2016).  

McMillian has garnered acclaim for his innovative installations and exhibitions. His installation "In this land" (2019) was showcased as part of the New Work series at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, while a solo exhibition at the Underground Museum in Los Angeles in October 2019 further solidified his reputation as a leading contemporary artist. 

His recent solo exhibitions include "Landscape in Red" at Vielmetter Los Angeles in Los Angeles (2023), "Regarding Violence" at Petzel Gallery in New York (2022-2023), "Historically Hostile" at Blaffer Museum of Art in Houston (2020), and many more. 

Over the years, McMillian's work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions at esteemed institutions worldwide, including The National Portrait Gallery in London, MASS MoCA in Massachusetts, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.