Christa Blackwood is a photo, text and installation artist working with themes related to identity, history, and popular culture. Raised in Oklahoma City and New Orleans, Blackwood now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Her visual voice was developed while a student at New York University, when she began producing street art such as the poster, Butcherknives(1991), a work that addressed issues of sexual violence. A chilling juxtaposition of billboard-like close-ups and text from poet, Michelle Kotler, Butcherknives, was plastered all over the streets of lower New York City on the evening of the William Kennedy Smith verdict was announced. The posters timely and provocative appearance resulted in heightened critical attention for Blackwood, including an invitation to join The Woman’s Action Coalition(WAC) from renowned artisits and scholars, Kiki Smith and Lucy Lippard.
She received a Master of Arts from New York University and Bachelor’s degree in Classics and Filmaking from The University of Oklahoma and has exhibited her work since the early 1990’s, most notably at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Ogden Museum, The Houston Center for Photography, The Institute of Fine Arts NYU, San Francisco City Hall and the Contemporary Austin. Her work has been featured in many publications, including The New York Times, The Chicago Sun Times, The Village Voice, Lenscratch and Art Desk Magazine.
Blackwood also founded and managed The Children’s Photographic Collective, offering free/low cost photo and literacy workshops to elementary through high school students in New York City and Austin, Texas from 1995-2007.
selected solo exhibitions and installations
Christa Blackwood, The Rochester Museum of Fine Arts, Rochester, NH 2019
The Photographic Nude, LightBox Photographic Gallery, Astoria, Oregon 2018
Boys Boys Boys, RECSPEC Gallery, Austin, TX 2017
Prix West, Martine Chaisson Gallery, New Orleans February 2017-March 2017
Prix West, Capsule Gallery, Houston October 2016-January 2017
Naked Lady: A Dot Red, JRB Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK 2016
Prix West, Photo Methode Gallery, Austin, TX 2016
The Ballad of Irrelevant Histories, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas 2016
a dot red, Gallery 291, Mills Valley, CA 2015
a dot red, SRO Gallery, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 2015
a dot red, Martine Chaisson Gallery, New Orleans, LA 2014
a dot red, wall space gallery , Santa Barbara, CA 2014
a dot red, Candela Books and Gallery, Richmond, VA 2014
Silver and Ink, Christa Blackwood, Photo Methode Gallery, Austin, TX 2014
Naked Lady: A Dot Red, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO 2013
laute & hasslich, poster drops, Hamburger Banhof, Berlin Documenta 13, Kassel, Germany 2012
bam bam cha, poster drops, ISA, Wilfredo Lam Center, La Cabana Fortress, Havana Biennale 2012
Mannequin Piss , poster drop, Untitled, Nada, Pulse, Miami Convention Center, Basel Miami, 2012
girls girls girls girls, Dop Dop Salon, New York City, NY 2005
Genetically Gifted, Gallery 1313, Austin, TX 2002
Made you Look, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX 2000
Whackxing Poetic, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX 1998
Disappeared, The Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL 1996
Butcherknives, Poster Installation, Printed Matter, New York City, NY 1994
L'Ultima Toiletta, Art In General, New York City, NY 1994-1995
ritualistic deviance and social order, 10 on 8, New York City, NY 1993
Rancho Notorious, 80 Washington Square East Gallery, New York City, NY 1992
draw blood for proof, street poster installation, New York City, NY 1992
Semi-Automatic, PS 122 , New York City, NY 1992
Whackxing Poetic, The Henry Street Settlement, New York City, NY 1992
Work in Progress, Scoula Grande de Carmini, Venice, Italy 1991
Butcherknives, street poster installation, Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, New York City, NY 1991
Imitation of Life, Kampo Cultural Center, New York City, 1991
selected group exhibitions
Knowing Who We Are : The Contemporary Dialogue, The Ogden Museum’s 20th Anniversary Exhibition, New Orleans, LA 2023
The Photogravure: Examples from 1897-2023, Obscura Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2023
The Houston Center for Photography’s Print Auction Exhibition, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX 2023
The Land and That which Live On It, Fotofocus Cincinnati Bienale, Cincinnati, OH 2023
Highlights from Photo Nola, Photographic Gallery SMA, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico 2023
The Houston Center for Photography Annual Print Auction Exhibition, Houston, Texas, 2022
Crit Group Reunion, The Contemporary Austin, Austin, TX 2021-2022
The Living Image:Alternative Photography, The Halide Project, Philadelphia, PA 2021-2022
American Dreams or Imagined Landscapes, The Booth Museum, Cartersville, GA 2020-2021
Keeper of the Hearth: Picturing Roland Barthe’s Unseen Photograph, The Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX 2020-2021
Reimagined Landscapes, The Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA 2020
The Right to Herself, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO 2020
Own It, Examine It, Confront It Head On, Dorf World, ATX, 2021
Melancholia, FotoNostrum, Barcelona, Spain 2021
The International, The Center for Photographic Arts, Carmel, CA 2020
Oh What a Night!, The Ogden Museum, New Orleans, LA 2020
Unbound9!, Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA 2020
Julia Margaret Cameron Award Exhibition, FotoNorstrum Gallery, Barcelona, Spain 2020
Helsinki Photo Festival, Winner Open Call, Customs House Exhibition Hall, Helsinki, Finland 2019
Center Annual, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX 2019
The NUDE, RECSPEC Gallery at The Museum of Human Achievement, Austin, TX 2019
Westward, San Francisco City Hall, San Francisco, CA 2018/2019
Portfolio Showcase 12 Exhibition and Publication, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO 2019
O What a Night! The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA 2019
Contemporary Portraiture with Juror Ann M. Jastrab, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO 2019
Red Dot Exhibition, Women & Their Work, Austin, TX 2019
New Southern Photography, Ogden Museum of Southern Art , New Orleans, LA 2018
Royal Reversal, Colorado Photographic Art Center, Denver, CO 2018
18+, RECSPEC Gallery, Austin, TX 2018
20thAnnual Postcards From the Edge, Gallery 524, New York City, NY 2018
Candela Gallery at AIPAD, New York City, NY 2017
The Eyes Have It, RECSPEC Gallery, Austin, TX 2017
Her Feet Firmly Planted on the Ground, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX 2017
Currents, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA 2016-2017
Fotofilmic 16, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Vancouver 2016-2017
Center Forward, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO 2017
Art of the Nude, JRB Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK 2017
Center Forward, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO 2016
UnBound5!, Candela Gallery and Books, Richmond, VA 2016
Postcards From The Edge, Luhring Augustine, New York, NY 2016
You are Here, Texas Respond to the Texas Landscape, Fotofest, Houston 2016 and The University of Texas, College Station, TX 2016
Inherent Nature, Texas Art House, Johnson City, TX 2016
Agave Print at EAST, EAST Austin Studio Tour, Austin, TX 2016
FotoFilmic 15, New York City, Vancouver, Seoul, Grand Prize Winner 2015/2016
Candela Gallery Presents, Candela Artisits exhibition with Chris McCaw, Linda Conner, Holly Roberts and Alyssa Soloman, Richmond, VA September/October 2015
Postcards From The Edge, Luhring Augustine, New York, NY 2015
Artist in Resident Exhibition, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass, CO 20015
Deux, Photo Methode Gallery Photographers, Austin, TX 2015
Breaking Ground: Contemporary Photography at William and Mary College, curated by Elliot Dudik, William, VA 2014 Postcards from the Edge, Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York City, New York 2014
The Enigmatic Object, Johalla Projects, Chicago, IL 2014
Print Auction Exhibition, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX 2014
The Griffin Museum of Photography's 20th Annual Juried Exhibition, Boston, MA 2014
Center Forward, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO 2014
Portraits in Contemporary Photography, Drift Gallery, Portsmouth, NH 2014
Rayko's 7th Annual International Plastic Camera Show, San Francisco, CA 2014
5x7 exhibition, The Contemporary, Austin, TX 2014
Currents, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA 2013
Unbound2!, Candela Books and Gallery, curated by Gordon Stettinius, Richmond, VA 2013
Fringe Festival Projection Exhibition, Architects Alley, New Orleans, LA 2013
Geographica, Fototropia Center for Contemporary Photography, Guatemala City, Guatemala 2013
RMFA Biennial, curated by A.B. Minor of The Boston Museum of Fine Arts 2013
Postcards from the Edge, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York City, NY 2013
Krappy Kamera XV International Juried Competition, juror, Christy Karpinsky, Soho Photo Gallery, New York City, NY 2013 Rayko's 6th Annual International Plastic Camera Show, curated by Ann Jastrab, San Francisico, CA 2013
Postcards from the Edge, Cheim and Read, New York City, NY 2012
NYU Venice, 80 Washington Street Gallery, New York City, NY 2012
Holga Out of the Box International HolgaCompetition, juror Michael Kenna, TCC Gallery, Longview, TX 2012
Modern Vintage, FotoDC Festival 2012
Filter/Unfiltered, Filter Photo Festival, Chicago, IL 2012
Photofest 2012, curated by Julie Maguire, JRB Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK 2012
Plastic Fantastic III, curated by Susan Burnstein, LightBox Photographic Gallery, Portland, OR 2012
Rayko's 5th International Plastic Camera Show, juried by Ann Jastrab, San Francisco, CA 2012
5x7 Exhibition, Arthouse, Austin, TX 2011
Arthouse 5x7 Exhibition, Austin, Dallas and Houston, TX 2010
Alternative Photography, Julia Dean Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2009
Arthouse 5x7 Exhibition, Austin, Dallas and Houston, TX 2008
Alternative Photography, Julia Dean Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2007
Arthouse 5x7 Exhibition, Austin, Dallas and Houston, TX 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Alternative Photography, Julia Dean Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2006
Black/White/Schotz, Gallery 1313 Satellite Exhibition Space (now Marfa Ballroom), Marfa, TX 2002
Shake, PS 122 Gallery, New York City, NY 1998
AIM Benefit Exhibition and Auction, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY 1996
Arresting Images, Gallery 400, Chicago, IL 1995
American Standard, Here, New York City, NY 20015
Fagosites, Gallery 400, Chicago, IL 1995
Untitiled IV and V, Book Arts Exhibition, Gallery 450, New York City, NY 1994-1195
Oh Me Oh My/Politically Correct Poster Installation, Exit Art, New York City, NY 1995
Issues of Violence, Orange County Museum of Art, Santa Ana, CA 1994
Institute of Fine Arts Faculty and Staff Exhibition, IFA, New York City, NY 1994
Ecstasy, Dooley Le Cappeleine Gallery, New York City, NY 1994
Photowork 93, Barrett House Galleries, Poughkeepsie, NY 1993
The Gift, Dooley Le Cappeleine Gallery, New York City, NY 1993
Artist in the Marketplace(AIM), Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY 1992
Dreaming, Rosenberg Gallery, New York City, NY 1992
selected publications
Lenscratch, Christa Blackwood: Boy Play, February 17, 2022
England, Odette, editor. Keeper of the Hearth / Picturing Roland Barthes’ Unseen Photograph, page 277, 2020
Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, The Female Gaze, Sightlines, June 7, 2019
Melissa Smith, Capturing the Complexities of the Modern South, In Pictures, The New York Times November 21, 2018
PDN Editorial, Three Women Photographers Challenge Long-held Ideas of Beauty and Gender, PDN, March 23, 2018 PDN Editorial, PDN Photo of the Day, Christa Blackwood March 23, 2018
The Eye of Photography, Role Reversal: women photographers depicting male subjects, March 2018
Melany Jean, 18+ at RECSPEC Gallery, The Austin Chronicle, March 2, 2018
Roger Thompson, Photos Across the Country, Don't Take Pictures, January 24 2018
Tara Cronin, Tara Cronin interviews Christa Blackwood, Lenscratch, December 6, 2017
Melany Jean, RECSPEC'S The Eye's Have It, September 22, 2017
Ashley Kaushinger, Process Alternative: Christa Blackwood, Light Leaked, Spring 2017
Editorial Staff, Nature Revisited, Aesthetica Magazine, March 9 2017
Aline Smithson, Her Feet Firmly Planted on the Ground, Lenscratch, March 6, 2017
Zora J Murph, Strange Fire Collective, Ain't Bad Magazine, May 16, 2016
Awst Press, Chap Book Series, curated by Owen Egerton, cover images for 4 books, February 2016
Aline Smithson, Christa Blackwood: Prix West, Lenscratch, January 12, 2016
Jeanne Claire Van Ryzin, Critics Notebook, Christa Blackwood's Prix West, Austin American Statesman, January 28, 2016
Hamidah Glasgow, Q & A: Christa Blackwood, Strange Fire, December 31, 2015
Editorial Staff, Print Austin 2015, cover image, Austin American Statesman, January 2015
Michael Kirchoff, Wide: Christa Blackwood, Blur Magazine issue 39, October 2014
Megan Kelly, Collodion Rebellion, Richmond Arts Review, October 1, 2014
Amelia Heymann, A Dot Red at Candela Books and Gallery, INK, October 5, 2014
Editorial Staff, The Roads We Travel, Style Weekly, September 9 2014
Jeff Moorfoot, Christa Blackwood: a dot red/the boys of collodion, BETA, issue 10, July 2014
Abby Kurin, In Theory, Art Desk Magazine feature, issue 2, 2014
John Paul Ricco, The Boys of Collodion, Unbecoming Community, July 23, 2014
Eliot Dudik, Breaking Ground: Contemporary Photography at the College of William and Mary, published by the College of William and Mary, 2014
W. Tanner Young, Naked Lady: A Dot Red, Filter Photo, March 3, 2014
Houston Center for Photography, Print Auction Catalogue, Houston, TX 2014
Jeanne Claire Van Ryzin, Mining the Meaning of Photographic Genres, Austin American Statesman, February 7, 2014
Melissa Bryan, Art Lovers Brave Snocapolypse to see Christa Blackwood, Culturemap Austin, January 26, 2014
Le Journal de la Photographie, Naked Lady: A Dot Red, June 26, 2013
Aline Smithson, Lenscratch, Photolucida: Christa Blackwood, Naked Lady: A Dot Red, June 5, 2013
Crista Dix, wall space gallery: Christa Blackwood/Photolucida , May 27, 2013
Editor, NYU Venice, catalogue, cover image, 2012
Robert Faires, Articulations, Austin Chronicle, April 25, 2003
Borderlands, Fall/Winter, issue 17 2001
Editorial Staff, Best Bets, Austin American Statesman, May 23, 2000
Kate Messer, Public Notice, September 17, 1998
Bill Stamets, AIDS Artwork Shuns Sentimentality, Chicago Sun-Times, Nov. 28 1996
Stephen Longmire, The Living and the Disappeared, Windy City Times, December 19, 1996
Jennifer A. Footlik, Disappeared: Scene Unseen at Randolph Street Gallery, City Art December
Play Issue, White Walls, a journal of language and art, number 38 1996
Editorial Staff, Surfacing Art, New York Times, March 6, 1994
Jake Tilson, Artists Alphabet, Atlas Magazine, Issue 4, 1994
Butcherknives Poster, Printed Mater Catalogue, 1994
Connie Butler, Artist in the Marketplace catalogue, Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1992
Vivian Raynor, Show Serves as Cosmopolitan Clearinghouse for New Talent, New York Times, July 26, 1992
Kim Levin, Voice Choices, The Village Voice, December 6, 1992
Editorial Staff, two page spread of Butcherknives Poster, NYQ Magazine, Issue no.4 1991
selected awards and residencies
Finalist, Critical Mass 2019
Open Call Winner, Helsinki Photo Festival 2019
Analogue Forever Top Ten Favorites from Critical Mass 2019
Finalist, Critical Mass 2017
5 Best Solo Exhibitions for Prix West, Austin Critics Table Awards, 2015-2016
Third Prize Winner, PhotoNola 2016
Center Forward Award, The Center for Fine Art Photograph 2016
Artist in Residence, Anderson Ranch, Fall 2015
First Place, FotoFilmic 15, 2015
Finalist, Critical Mass 2014
Visiting Artist, Virginia Commonwealth University 2014
5 Best Solo Gallery Exhibitions for Silver and Ink, Austin Critics Table Awards, 2013-2014
Honorable Mention, Center Forward, the Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, Co 2014
Finalist, Critical Mass, 2013
3rd Place, Krappy Kamera XV International Juried Competition, juror, Christy Karpinsky 2013
Honorable Mention, DC Photo Festival 2012
Best in Show, Holga Out of the Box International Photography Competition 2012
Third Place Prize, Alternative Photography, Julia Dean Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2009
Best in Show, Alternative Photography, Julia Dean Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2006
Artist in Residence, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX 2001
Artist in Residence, Mexic-Arte, Museum, Austin, TX 1999 and 2002
Visiting Artist, The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1996
Best in Show, Photowork 93, Barrett House Galleries, Poughkeepsie, NY, 1993
Artist in Residence, Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY: Artist in the Marketplace 1992
Best in Show, Venice Press Award, Work in Progress, Scoula Grande de Carmini, Venice, Italy, 1991
selected collections
The Booth Museum of Western Art, Cartersville, GA
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art , New Orleans, LA
Geoff Dyer and Rebecca Wilson Collection, Los Angeles, CA
The Nowlin Collection , Austin, TX
The Candela Collection, Richmond, VA
The Royal Collection, Richmond, VA
The Center for Fine Art Photography , Fort Collins, CO
The Fish Collection , Austin, TX
Katie Ford Collection , CEO, Ford Modeling Agency
Xavier University , New Orleans, LA