Brenda Biondo is a photographic artist whose work puts the natural world into unconventional contexts to create new ways of perceiving and understanding issues related to light, landscape and conservation. Her work is deeply influenced by her life in the Pikes Peak foothills of Colorado and the high desert expanses of west Texas as well as by her previous career as a writer specializing in environmental subjects. Concern for the land and wildlife is a concept central to her practice.
Brenda's work has been exhibited throughout the country and published in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Her photographs are held in many private and public collections, including those of the Library of Congress, the Museum of Photographic Arts, the Denver Art Museum, the Center for Creative Photography and the San Diego Museum of Art. A solo exhibit of her work opened at the San Diego Museum of Art in 2017.
Her first book of photographs, Once Upon a Playground, was published by the University Press of New England in 2014 and was the subject of a five-year traveling exhibit organized by ExhibitsUSA.
A native New Yorker, she’s been a resident of Colorado since 1999 and currently divides her time between Manitou Springs, CO and Marfa, TX.
Education: B.A. in communication arts (journalism concentration), James Madison University
Solo Exhibitions
2024 Sun to Earth, Koslov Larsen, Houston, TX
2024 Legacy of Shadows, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO
2023 Brenda Biondo: Paper Skies, Assaf-Plotek Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2023 Sun to Earth, Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, CO
2023 Brenda Biondo: Paper Skies, Roaster Gallery, Marfa, TX
2022
Legacy of Shadows, Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, Fort Collins, CO
2020
Sky Light, Foto Relevance, Houston, TX
2019
Paper Skies, Foto Relevance, Houston, TX
2018
Moving Pictures, Goodwin Fine Art, Denver, CO
2017
Brenda Biondo: Play, San Diego Museum of Art, CA. Organized by Ariel Plotek, PhD, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. Click here for details (museum website).
Paper Skies, Goodwin Fine Art, Denver, CO
2017-2022
Once Upon a Playground, multiple locations throughout the United States (for details, click here)
2015
Remnants & Revival, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo, CO
2014
Remnants & Revival, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
2013
Remnants & Revival, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO
2010
Once Upon A Playground, Reed Photo-Art Gallery, Denver, CO
2008
Once Upon A Playground, Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder, CO
Once Upon A Playground, Lincoln Center Galleries, Fort Collins, CO
Found Flora, Business of Art Center, Manitou Springs, CO
Group Exhibitions (selected)
2021
”Curious Visions,” Denver Art Museum, CO. Curated by Eric Paddock
”In Conversation with the Land,” The Center for Fine Art Photography. Curated by Karen Haas, Museum of Fine Arts Boston
2020
Undisclosed Image, Norick-Hulsey Gallery, Oklahoma City University, OK (five-person exhibit)
2019
Imprints & Abstractions, Filter Space, Chicago, IL (three-person exhibit). Curated my Jennifer Murray
Art of the State, Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, CO
Inspiration / Expression, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO
2018
Contemporary Photography 2008-2018, Site:Brooklyn. Juror: Kristen Gaylord, MOMA (NYC)
Membership Exhibition, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO. Juror: Brian Clamp, ClampArt
Color Cue (projection exhibit), Center, Santa Fe, NM. Jurors: Laura Pressley and Angie Rizzo, Center
2016
Reinventing the Image, Museum of Outdoor Arts, Englewood, CO
Art of the State, Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, CO
2015
Illuminate, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO. Juror: Elizabeth Avedon
Memories, Stories, Histories, Center for Fine Art Photography. Juror: Amy Galpin, Cornell Fine Arts Museum
Center Forward, Center for Fine Art Photography. Juror: Hamidah Glasgow, C4FAP
Members Show, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO. Juror: Kate Ware, New Mexico Museum of Art
IceBreaker 6, Ice Cube Gallery, Denver, CO. Juror: Lauren Wright, curator/artistic director, Biennial of the Americas
Excerpts, Goodwin Fine Art, Denver CO. Group exhibit with David Maisel, Linda Connor, Binh Danh and Andrew Beckham
2014
The Photo Review 2014 Competition, The Photo Review, Juror: Jennifer Blessing, Guggenheim Museum
Still Life, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO. Juror: Becky Senf, Center for Creative Photography
Discovering & Interpreting the West: 21st Century Landscapes, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
Wondrous Indeed, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO. Juror: Phil Toledano
One by One, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO. Juror: Eric Paddock, Denver Art Museum
IceBreaker5, Ice Cube Gallery, Denver, CO. Juror: Dean Sobel, Clyfford Still Museum
Membership Show, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver. Juror: Mark Sink
2013
Center Forward, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO. Juror: Hamidah Glasgow, Center for Fine Art Photography
Photography and Environmental Concern, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT. Juror: Katherine Ware, New Mexico Museum of Art
Art of the State, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, CO. Jurors: Dean Sobel (Clyfford Still Museum) and Collin Parson
TimeCapsule, Core New Art Space, Denver, CO. Juror: Hamidah Glasgow, Center for Fine Art Photography
2012
Santa Fe Photographic Workshops/Outside magazine contest, honorable mention. Jurors: Debra Klomp Ching, Darren Ching, Amy Silverman, Reid Callanan, Eddie Soloway
2011
PhotoSpiva 2011, Spiva Center for the Arts, Joplin, MO. Juror: Anthony Bannon
Merge, Flash Gallery, Lakewood, CO. Juror: Hamidah Glasgow, Center for Fine Art Photography
It’s All Here in Black and White, tbell phototographic studio/gallery, Denver, CO. Juror: Loretta Young-Gautier
The Big Picture Show, Illiterate Gallery, Denver, CO
2010
Best of the Santa Fe Arts District, 910Arts, Denver, CO. Juror: Michael Paglia
Natural World, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO. Juror: Susan Spiritus
2009
Juried Members Exhibit, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, (at Edge Gallery), Denver, CO. Juror: Loretta Young-Gautier
Mind/Full: A Contemplative View of Photography, Flash Gallery, Lakewood, CO
2008
Colorado Triple Crown, Flash Gallery, Lakewood, CO. Juror: Mark Sink. Awarded Best of Show
Denver Modernism, Denver, CO. Jurors: Hugh Grant, Chris Herron (Kirkland Museum)
The Captured Moment, Core New Art Space, Denver, CO. Juror: Mark Sink
Current Photography on the Front Range, Sliding Door Gallery, Denver, CO
Press (click on publication name for link to article)
Solace, “Legacy of Shadows” work featured in 2020 publication by Kris Graves Projects
Blow Photo (Irish photography magazine), "Paper Skies" featured on cover, plus interior feature and interview
GUP (Dutch photography magazine), "Paper Skies" series featured in Feb. 2016 online portfolio
Der Greif (German photography magazine), January 2015, abstract image chosen by curator of Hamburg's House of Photography
The Wall Street Journal, May 2014, playground book feature
The Huffington Post, June 2014, playground book feature
The Denver Post, June 2014, playground book feature
Hyperallergic, May 2014, playground book feature
Gizmodo, May 2014, playground book feature
LensCulture, Editor’s Pick, April 2014
The Denver Post, August 1, 2013, exhibit review
Lenscratch, Dec. 11, 2012
Diffusion Magazine, Vol. III, 2011, Group Showcase
F-Stop Magazine, April 2010, four images chosen for Group Exhibit section
Denver Magazine, June 2010, High Notes feature photograph
Mocoloco.com Dec. 2009, photography feature
The Denver Post, 2008, “Memories, Sliding Away,” feature article
The Gazette, 2007, “Photographer Chases Past,” feature article
Collections
Denver Art Museum
San Diego Museum of Art
Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA
Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ
Library of Congress
Kaiser Permanente Colorado
University of New Mexico (acquired through New Mexico's Art in Public Places program)
Westin Denver International Airport
First Western Trust
Ritz-Carlton Denver
Artist Residencies
Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Virginia (2023)
Galerie Huit, Arles, France (2021)
Books: Once Upon A Playground (University Press of New England, 2014)
Represented by:
Koslov Larsen, Houston, Texas www.koslovlarsen.gallery
Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, Colorado www.michaelwarrencontemporary.com