Oliver Herring was born in Heidelberg, Germany in 1964. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His ever-expanding body of work ranges from early sculptures knit with Mylar tape to experimental videos, complex photo-sculptures, and TASK events,which invite participants to entirely shape the work by assigning each other creative tasks to complete.
Since 1998 Herring has regularly involved other people in his work. From stop-motion videos, scrupulously rendered photo-sculptures, and participatory performances, these intimate interactions have expanded his practice into new realms, culminating in the more open series of TASK Events, Parties, and Workshops. Though varied in form, his projects share a focus on social interactions, human relationships, and playful experimentation. Herring has exhibited widely including the Museum of Modern Art, NY; the Solomon R.Guggenheim Museum of Art, NY; the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; the Camden Arts Centre, London, England; the Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto, Japan; the He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China; the Xth Lyon Biennale, Lyon, France; the 2010 Aichi Triennale, Nagoya, Japan; Performa 09, NY; and many others venues. In 2009 the Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY organized a 15 year survey of Herring’s work. Herring was featured on Season 3 of Art21/PBs’s program: Art21, Art in the 21st Century.