Born in 1984, New York, NY. Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
EDUCATION
2018
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME
2017
MFA, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2007
BFA, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
SOLO and COLLABORATIVE EXHIBITIONS
2023
A New Flood, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2020
La Brea and the River, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019
Milk Plastic Incubator, LAMOA DS#3 at Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles, CA
2018
Maintain Disgust (with Haena Yoo), AWHRHWAR, Los Angeles, CA
2017
Pressure Drop (MFA Thesis Show), ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2016
Fountain for Vernon, Vernon Gardens, Vernon, CA
Less World and Working World (with Haena Yoo), ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2015
Broken Window, Metropolitan Structures, Baltimore, MD
Large Ear >PP+EPDM-TX10<, Lana's, New York, NY
2012
A Structure to View Geological Time in Pictorial Space, A Slender Gamut, New York, NY
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS, PROJECTS, and SCREENINGS
2024
Water & Flower, curated by Michael Slenske, Wilding Cran Gallery, New York, NY
Moved/ Displaced, curated by Anneae Cyr and Rebecca Shippee, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA
2023
Hot Glue, presented by Night Gallery at NADA East Broadway, New York, NY
Out Yonder, Tyler Park Presents, Los Angeles, CA
2022
Plein Air, curated by Aurora Tang, MOCA Tucson, Tucson, AZ; Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA (2023)
Shrubs, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2021
Love in Bright Landscapes, curated by Annika Kristensen, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth, Australia
If it's good for you, it's fine for me, organized by Gracie Hadland, Harkawik, Los Angeles, CA
SUBSTRATA, EPOCH + LAMOA, Los Angeles, CA
Frieze Los Angeles with Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2020
From Dallas to Baum Bridge, curated by Anna Frost, Los Angeles River, Los Angeles, CA
Majeure Force, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019
Grey Garden, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2018
La Biennale di Vista del Oro II, curated by Santi Vernetti, Yard Pedro, San Pedro, CA
"An Ode To All That," screening of video works by sixteen ArtCenter Grad Art alumni spanning 1987-2018, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA
2016
Refresh!, Galerie La Croix, Pasadena, CA
2015
Water's Shape, 308 at 156 Project Artspace, New York, NY
Finally Every Dimension of the Soil, American Medium, New York, NY
2014
Maspeth's World of Wheels (MWOW) Auto Show Extravaganza, Knockdown Center, Maspeth, NY
I'll Miss Your Garbage, Molasses Books, Brooklyn, NY
Search Results, A Slender Gamut, Brooklyn, NY
2013
A Disourse on Plants, RH Gallery, New York, NY
AWARDS
2019
Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist Grant
SELECT ARTICLES and INTERVIEWS
2023
FOX 11 Los Angeles Digital Team, “Floating artwork seen in Ballona Creek,” Local FOX News story, June 6
Matthew Rodriguez for KCAL NEWS, “Apparent homeless encampment found floating around Ballona Creek,” Local CBS News story, June 6
Matthew Rodriguez for KCAL NEWS, “Makeshift ran docked, removed after being spotted on Ballona Creek,” Local CBS News story, June 7
AX Mina, "Staying Close to the Land With Plein Air Painting," Hyperallergic, September 18
Sarah Cascone, "Artist Sterling Wells Built a Floating Studio in Order to Paint the View From L.A.'s Ballona Creek. Then the City Demolished It," Artnet, July 19
Annabel Keenan, "LA Artist's Floating Painting Studio Removed by Local Officials," Hyperallergic, June 29
"Breakfast with ARTnews: The Digest," June 8
2022
Thao Votang, "Plein Air Is a Sobering Reminder of Human Impact on the Environment," Hyperallergic, August 20
Lynn Trimble, "Review: Plein Air Challenges Assumptions and Aesthetics at MOCA Tucson," Southwest Contemporary, June 17
Catherine Yang, "Pick of the Week: Shrubs," Artillery Magazine, January 26
2021
Kim Kirkman, "Tales of two sun-bleached cities," Seesaw Magazine, August 3
Annabel Osberg, "Spelunking Through 'Substrata' at EPOCH Gallery," AEQAI, February 20
Lindsay Preston Zappas, "'Substrata' at Epoch Gallery," KCRW, January 26
The Art Newspaper's XR Panel, "Memories of Myst: Substrata, a new artist-run virtual exhibition, is like entering a magical afterlife," The Art Newspaper, March 12
2017
Dean Kissick, "the best young artist-run spaces and galleries in los angeles," i-d.vice.com, December 4
2015
Cara Ober, "Interview with Sterling Wells by Jan Razauskas," Bmore Art, October 17
2013
Allison Meier, "EMERGING: Artist Sterling Wells Creates Post-Natural Landscape Paintings," BLOUIN Artinfo, January 17
Stephen Truax, "New Art Spaces in the Bushwick Area, Part 1," Hyperallergic, January 9
2012
John Chapline and Lorraine Nam, "Studio Visit: Sterling Wells - Red Hook," #FFFFFF Walls, May 30
COLLECTIONS
University Hospital, San Antonio, TX
New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY