GRIMANESA AMORÓS

BIOGRAPHY 

Grimanesa Amorós is a Peruvian-born American multimedia creative whose work explores community connections intersecting history, technology, and architecture. Her keen understanding of structure enables her to create monumental sculptures incorporating various elements such as video, lighting, and electronic components to create immersive environments and connect the viewer to their surroundings. Technology compliments the concepts of her work without defining it.

Describing her work as a "constant romance with the unknown," Amorós first incorporated light into her practice following a fated trip to Iceland. While there, she saw the northern lights and realized the powerful ephemeral magic light held. She discusses light's ability to transcend social and geographic boundaries: "We all connect to light."

Drawing upon critical cultural legacies and landscapes, Amorós is inspired by the communities within which she creates. Installing and programming each piece on-site, direct interaction with the surrounding architecture is key to creating her work. "Ultimately, the piece connects the viewers, space, and light sculpture, merging them into one." Grimanesa Amorós’ artwork ties the past, present, and future — pushing viewers to think beyond and challenging their initial perceptions.

Amorós has connected cultures and viewers through the medium of light in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Her work is included in dozens of institutional collections including the National Museum of Art in Lima, Peru, Ludwig Museum in Koblenz, Germany, and the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022 Richard Taittinger Gallery, Women (New York, NY)
2018 La Fragua Tabacalera, Ocupante (Madrid, Spain)
2018 Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba, Moviendo América con Grimanesa Amorós (Havana, Cuba)
2016 Ludwig Museum, OCUPANTE, (Koblenz, Germany)
2016 Katonah Museum of Art, OnSite Katonah, (Katonah, NY)
2016 Chappelle of Couvent Des Ursuline, a-part festival, Let’s Dance, Corps en mouvements (Tarascon, France)
2014 Rutgers University, Momentum: Women, Art, and Technology (New Jersey, USA)
2013 Museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, The Mirror Connection (Beijing, China)
2013The Litvak Gallery, Light Between the Islands (Tel Aviv, Israel)
2012 YUAN Museum, Voyager Video Retrospective (Beijing, China)
2012 A-part Contemporary Art Festival, Golden Uros (Alpilles-Provence, France)
2012 Seoul National University Museum of Art, LIGHTING / SCULPTURE / VIDEO (Seoul, Korea)
2011 Paul and Lulu Hilliard Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Uros House (Lafayette, Louisiana)
2011 Museo De Arte Contemporaneo de Alcoy La Sala NETART, Video Retrospective (Alcoy, Spain)
2010 Son Espace Gallery, Preciosas Burbujas/Preoccupation (Girona, Spain)
2010 The Lab Gallery Rogersmith, La Incubadora (New York, NY)
2009 Centro de Cultura Antiguo Instituto (CCAI), Optica Fesvial, Remolino and La Maleta Del Inmigrante (Gijon, Spain)
2008 Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Rootless Algas (Peekskill, NY)
2008 Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, You Cannot Feel It…I Wish You Could (Miami, FL)
2006 City Art Gallery, Fifth Edition, Natural/Human Festival, Reflexion Obscura (Varna, Bulgaria)
2006 Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Between Heaven and Earth & Rootless Algas (Bronx, New York)
2004 Maxwell Fine Arts, The Peekskill Project,You cannot feel it…I wish you could (Peekskill, NY)
2004 Artspace, Rootless Algas (Raleigh, NC)
2003 R&F Gallery, Encaustic Panels (Kingston, NY)
2003 Artco Gallery, Installations of Drawings (Lima, Peru)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024 Neomudejar Museum, Conectando Arte y Politica (Madrid, Spain)
2024 Museu Valencia, Fashion Art by Manuel Fernandez (Valencia, Spain)
2022 The Wall Art Gallery, HOLOGRAM (Miami, FL)
2021 N5, Real Jardin Botanico, PRECIOUS NIPPLES (Madrid, Spain)
2017 Arte Al Límite: Colección Al Límite, Sin Límites (Santiago, Chile)
2016 Lichtundfire Gallery, Linea Lingua Universalis or Random Connectivity, Uros Island (New York, NY)
2013 Georgian National Museum’s National Gallery, Miranda (Tbilisi, Georgia)
2012 The Flag Art Foundation, Watch Your Step Exhibition, Uros (New York, NY)
2012 Rutgers Institute for Women and Art, Momentum: Women/Art/Technology, Uros 2012 Video (New Brunswick, NJ)
2012 The Watermill Center 19th Annual Summer Benefit – The Big Bang, Sparkling Aurora (Water Mill, NY)
2011 Traveling Exhibition, 54th Venice Biennale Illuminazioni – Illuminations Collateral Event Future Pass, Uros Island at the Fondazione Claudio Buziol (Venice, Italy)
2011 Wereldmuseum (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
2011 The National Museum of Fine Arts (Taichung, Taiwan)
2011 The Today Art Museum (Beijing, China)
2011 Fashion Art Art Fashion, Traveling Exhibition (Centro de Arte Tomas y Valiente, Madrid, Spain; Insituto de la Cultura y Las Arte de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain)
2011 NYU Bronfman Center, Something’s Missing (New York, NY)
2010 Gaga Art Center, La Conexión (Garnerville, NY)
2010 Son Espace Gallery, Biennal Off, Projecte Collateral Oficial A La VI-Biennal de Fotografia Xavier Miserachs (Girona, Spain)
2010 Porsche Center Padova, Tina B Meets Porsche (Padova, Italy)
2009 UBS Art Gallery, A Parallel Presence 1889-2009 (New York, NY)
2009 Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, A Parallel Presence (New Brunswick, NJ)
2009 Slag Gallery, Turn On (New York, NY)
2009 Irreversible 100 Most CIFO, Fill Me Up (Miami, FL)
2009 Artspace, Reconsidered: Past Summer Artist-in-Residency, You Cannot Feel It, I Wish You Could (Raleigh, NC)
2009 Primo Piano LivinGallery, Water Cube (Rootless Algas) (Lecce, Italy)
2009 NYU’s Bronfman Center Gallery, Einstein On Witherspoon Street (New York, NY)
2009 CANART, Wynwoodland China, Reflexion Obscura (Shanghai, China)
2009 Galeria Vertice, En transito al Paraiso – Imaginarios de la migración, Remolino (Lima, Peru)
2008 Your Documents Please, Traveling exhibition (Itami, Japan; Budapest, Hungary; Bratislava, Slovakia; Yokohama, Japan; Berlin, Germany; Guadalajara, Mexico)
2008 Arte Americas, Trends, curated by Milagros Bello (Miami, FL)
2008 Primo Piano, Art Woman 2008, Carlo V Castle (Lecce, Italy)
2007 Primo Piano, Human Being (Lecce, Italy)
2007 Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Objecthood (Miami, Florida)
2007 Galerie Beckers, To Be Continued… (Frankfurt, Germany)
2007 Queens Museum of Arts, Forja Arte (Queens, NY)
2007 Chelsea Art Museum, [PAM] Installation, La Procesion (New York, NY)
2007 The Tribes Gallery, Deep Rootz (New York, NY)
2007 The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts, Nature, Industry, Art (Auburn, Alabama)
2006 The Peekskill Project, Between Heaven and Earth (Peekskill, NY)
2006 Livin Gallery, Human Being (Lecce, Italy)
2006 Hotel Omm, Art & Book at OMM (Barcelona, Spain)
2006 IX Bienal de la Habana, Art & Book & La Habana (Habana, Cuba)
2006 Primo Piano, Air Terminal (Lecce, Italy)
2006 Yellow Bird Gallery, Best of the Lab (Newburgh, NY)
2005 Son Espace Gallery, DRAW (Girona, Spain)
2005 Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Plane and Form (Minneapolis, MN)
2005 scopeMiami, Collector’s Choice (Miami, FL)
2005 Art Basel Safari, Omniart III (Miami, FL)
2005 Abrons Arts Center, AT HOME: Visions of our place in the World (New York, NY)
2005 The ESTHER M. KLEIN Art Gallery, The Americas (Philadelphia, PA)
2004 NURTURE art, White Matter(s)
2004 Museum of the Americas, Sculpture in 4 Dimension (Washington, DC)
2004 Salomon Gallery, Flesh (New York, NY)
2004 Artspace, Instructor Exhibition (Raleigh, NC)
2004 Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, Normalcy Denied (Athens, GA)
2004 The Lab at Roger Smith Hotel, The Anxious Landscapes (New York, NY)
2004 Gallery at Dieu Donne Papermill, Inc., New Projects (New York, NY)
2004 ART in General, Artist Studio Benefit Tour (New York, NY)
2004 The Times Square Lobby Gallery, Art Happens (New York, NY)
2004 Asia Society, International Asian Art Fair (New York, NY)
2004 Sculpture Center, Spring Benefit (New York, NY)
2004 Santa Fe Art Institute, Duct & Cover (Santa Fe NM)
2004 Asian American Arts Center, Below the Canal (New York, NY)
2004 Art In Embassies Program of the U.S. Department of State (Lima, Peru)
2003 Progetto Anglioletta Firpo, Arte Senza Tempo 4 (Alessandria, Italy)
2003 Liberarti Free Arts Festival (Liverpool, UK)
2003 Santa Fe Art Institute, 9/11 Refuge (Santa Fe, NM)
2003 Free Manifesta Biennial (Frankfurt, Germany)
2002 SculptureCenter, Spring Benefit, Deitch Projects (New York, NY)
2002 SITE Santa Fe, Monothon 16 (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
2002 Polytechnic University of Milan, Post Post Scriptum, Traveling Exhibition (Milan, Italy)
2001 Museum of New Art, DOCUMENTA USA (Detroit, MI)
2001 NURTUREart, curated by NURTUREart, Rio Gallery, (NYC)
2001 The Nassau County Museum of African Art (Hempstead, NY)
2001 Art In Embassies Program of the U.S. Department of State (Ankara, Turkey)
2001 Institute of Culture, Palma de la mano (Cuenca, Ecuador)
2001 Archeological Museum Art Gallery (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
2001 Gruppo 12, Post Post Scriptum 2nd Edition (Anagni, Rome Italy)
2001 Biblioteca Civica, Libro d’Artista (Alessandria, Italy)
2000 Gruppo12, Polisgramma, Post Post Scriptum (Rome, Italy)
2000 The Florida Museum of Latin American Art, Women in Textile Art 2000 (Coral Gables, FL)
2000 The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Good Business is the Best Art, 20 Years AIM Program (Bronx, NY)
2000 Colgate University, Latin American Painters in NYC - Global Art in the year 2000 (Hamilton, NY)

AWARDS/GRANTS

2023 The Choose Creativity Awards, The Lulu and Leo Fund (New York, NY)
2022 îM Maison îM Light Award (New York, NY)
2021 CODAWORX Creative Revolutionaries (USA)
2019 Civita Institute NE Chapter Fellowship (USA)
2018 Culture Summit 2018 Artists-In-Residence Award (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
2017 The Bronx Museum of the Arts: AIM Alumni Artist Award (Bronx, NY)
2017 Visionary Art Show Lifetime Achievement Award (Lecce, Italy) 
2014 Estelle Lebowitz Visiting Artist Award (Jersey City, NJ)
2011 Cultural Recognition Award by the City of Newark (Newark, NJ)
2005 X Tumi USA Award (Miami, FL)
2004 Centrum Arts, Residency (Port Townsend, WA)
2004 ARTspace Summer Artist-in-Residence (Raleigh, NC)
2003 Art In Embassies Program of the U.S. Department of State (Lima, Peru)
2002 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship Residency (Lynchburg, VA)
2002 Santa Fe Art Institute Artist Residency (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
2001 Art in Embassies Program of the U.S. Department of State, (Ankara, Turkey)
1994 Travel Grants Fund for Artists, NEA, Arts International (New York, NY)
1993 National Endowment for the Arts Visual Art Fellowship (Washington, DC)
1993 Art-Omi Residency (Columbia County, NY)
1990 The Bronx Museum of the Arts: Aim Program (Bronx, NY)
1986 National Art Club, Gramercy Park (New York, NY)
1986 Art Student League "Merit Scholarship" (New York, NY)
1986 The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, "Participant Biennial Competition" (New York, NY)
1985 The Art Students League of New York, "Painting Fellowship" (New York, NY)

PROJECTS/COMMISSIONS

2025-2027 Harper St. Asphalt Plant, FLEXUS (New York, NY)
2025 Central Hall Westminster (London, England)
2024 Veronique Gabai, L’ OASIS (Paris/New York)
2024 Superhumans Center, FORTITUDE (Ukraine)
2024 PRITCH, LUVINA (London/Paris/New York)
2024 AEVUM (New York, NY) 
2024 SISTRUM (Mexico City, Mexico)
2023 Shelter Island Project, AETERNUM (Shelter Island, NY)
2023 UES Landmark Building, PARADISUS (New York, NY)
2022 The Culture Palace / Noor Riyadh, AMPLEXUS (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
2022 Azkuna Zentroa /The Wellbeing Project, SCIENTIA (Bilbao, Spain)
2021 Reliance Group / Jio World Drive, GOLDEN ARRAY (Mumbai, India)
2020 176 E 82nd St. Building by ODA Architecture, IUGO (New York, NY)
2020 117 Hudson St. The Bayer Building, OSTIUM (New York, NY)
2019 Palazzo Colesanti, CETHA (Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy)
2019 13th Havana Biennale / Detras del Muro, MARIPOSA DORADA (Havana, Cuba)
2018 80 White St, Landmark Building, ARGENTUM (New York, NY)
2018 BRIC at Prospect Park, HEDERA (New York, NY)
2016 Grand Palais - Biennale Des Antiquaires, TIMELESS MOTION (In Life and Light), (Paris, France)
2016 Philippe Starck Malecón Building, DNA (Lima, Peru)
2015 The Peninsula New York, PINK LOTUS (New York, NY)
2015 Scottsdale Public Art, Soleri Bridge, GOLDEN WATERS (Scottsdale, AZ)
2014 Time Equity Art in Building Program, BREATHLESS MAIDEN LANE (New York, NY)
2013 La Fragua Tabacalera, Fortuna, (Madrid, Spain)
2013 Harper’s BAZAAR Art Night Art Basel, Golden Connection, (Hong Kong, China)
2013 The Lite Center, Uros House, (Louisiana, Lafayette)
2012 La Ruta de la Amistad Patronage, WMF, Nina Menocal Gallery, LA TORRE DE LOS VIENTOS (Mexico D.F.)
2012 21c Museum Hotel, UROS (Cincinnati, Ohio)
2012 Breadboard and PECO building, Art in the Air, UVASIS (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
2011 Tribeca ISSEY MIYAKE Headquarters, UROS (New York, NY)
2011 A-PART Contemporary Art Festival, The Chapelle de la Persévérance, GOLDEN UROS (Tarascon, France)
2011 Times Square Alliance Public Arts Program / The Armory Show, UROS HOUSE (New York, NY)
2011 Reflexion Obscura, Between Heaven and Earth, Big Screen Project, LA PROCESIÓN (New York, NY)
2010 Allure of the Seas, RACIMO (Turku, Finland)
2010 Claramatte Parkhaus Façade, LA RECOLECCIÓN (Basel, Switzerland)
2010 No Longer Empty, TAPIZ (New York, NY)
2009 Tribeca ISSEY MIYAKE Headquarter, AURORA (New York, NY)
2007 Jamaica Flux: Workspaces and Windows 2007, REMOLINO (Queens, NY)
2007 AKA One Rittenhouse Square lobby, HUMAN SURVIVAL (Philadelphia, PA)
2007 Phase 4, Hudson River Community Health Center Façade, SUBSTANCIAL (Peekskill, NY)
2006 Hudson River Community Health Center, Mobile Dental Van, AMBULANTE (Peekskill, NY)
2006 The Lab Project, TERRAFORMS (Miami, FL)
2006 The Bayer Building Lobby, Tribeca, TERRARIUM (New York, NY)
2005 Lee Building, 125th Street, FRENTE FEROZ (Harlem, NY)
2005 Hudson River Community Health Center Façade, SUBSTANCIAL (Peekskill, NY)

EDUCATION

1985-1988 The Art Students League (New York, NY)
1980-1984 University of Peru, UNIFE (Lima, Peru)

INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS 

Ludwig Museum (Koblenz, Germany)
La Fragua Tabacalera (Madrid, Spain)
Arte Al Límite (Santiago, Chile)
Nexus Development (New York, NY)
21c Museum Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Allure of the Seas (Turku, Finland)
A-PART, Contemporary Art Festival, Chapelle de la Preserverance (Tarascon, France)
The Bayer Building (New York, NY)
The Lab Advertising Agency (Miami, Florida)
The Lee Building (Harlem, NY)
Red Hat Headquarters, Centennial Campus, NC State University (Raleigh, NC)
aka Rittenhouse (Philadelphia, PA)
Hudson River HealthCare (Peekskill, NY)
The Lab Ideas (Miami, FL)
Centrum Center for the Arts & Creative Education (Pt Townsend, WA)
John Michael Kohler Art Center, Artists Book Collection (Sheboygan, WI)
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Art Library and Research Center (Washington, DC)
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Artists Book Collection (New York, NY)
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Artists Book Collection (Boca Raton, FL)
Racine Art Museum, Artists Book Collection (Racine, WI)
The Museum of Modern Art, Art Library (New York, NY)
Primo Piano Video Library (Lecce, Italy)
Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers State University (New Jersey)
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship Residency (Lynchburg, Virginia)
Santa Fe Art Institute (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
ICPNA, Instituto Peruano Norteamericano (Miraflores, Peru)
MUDIC Museum of Contemporary Drawings (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
Museum of Modern Art (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
Museum of Modern Art (Cuenca, Ecuador)
Museum Nahin Isaias (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
National Museum of Art (Lima, Peru)
Art-Omi Foundation (Columbia County, NY)
Asia American Art Center (New York, NY)
Intergraphic Foundation (Berlin, Germany)
University of Vermont (Burlington, VT)
Giscombe Henderson Inc. (New York, NY)
Advance Insurance Services (New York, NY)
Aurobora Press (San Francisco, CA)
Dieu Donné Papermill Inc. (New York, NY)
Doro Productions (Vienna, Austria)
Jacques Lowe Visual Arts (New York, NY)
Latin American Magazine (Scottsdale, AZ)
Porter-Randall Gallery (San Diego, CA)
Ponside Press (Rhinebeck, NY)
Renaca Corporation (Valparaiso, Chile)