Jill Greenberg

b. 1967, Montreal
Over the last fifteen years, Greenberg has made memorable images of many of the world's most recognizable celebrities, in addition to creating a recognizable filter of vision itself. An early adopter of digital effects, Greenberg has developed a world that is more intense, more razorsharp
than the one in which we actually reside. Jill Greenberg creates portraits that seize our attention, that create an altered universe staring back at us.
Her most recent series, "End Times," combines beautiful, poignant imagery, impeccably executed, with both political and personal relevance. Greenberg's subject is taboo: children in pain. She utilizes this uncomfortable image as a way to break through to the pop mainstream and participate in a growing national dialogue of the real dangers facing this country and world. Jill Greenberg's images are sharp and saturated, stunning and quirky; her work is soaked with realism and imagination. Greenberg's new work has already hit a national nerve.
For the series «Monkey Portraits,» Greenberg has created a series of monkey portraits and asks us to consider, in another way, our origins. We look into her monkey's expressions, their faces- their peculiar physiognomy- and somehow see ourselves. It is frightening and disorienting, exhilarating and awesome. She mischievously shows us another type of mirror-stage, where we confront an ancient and distorted reflection, another startling spectacle, and try to make sense of who or what we are seeing. By intentionally anthropomorphizing her monkeys, we can not help but identify with their gaze, and be reminded of people we know, expressions that we have seen before.

Since the age of 10, Jill Greenberg has staged photographs and created characters using the mediums of drawing, painting, sculpture, film and photography. She is known worldwide for her uniquely human animal portraits, which intentionally anthropomorphize her subjects, as well as her infamous series, “End Times” which struck a nerve in its exploration of religious, political, and environmental themes exploiting the raw emotion of toddlers in distress. Her newest work marks a return to the postmodern feminist theory that inspired her senior thesis, “The Female Object” as an art student at RISD in the 80’s: “The disciplinary project of femininity” and the predetermined failure of all women who attempt to “succeed” at it.

As a working photographer she travails to straddle the line between assignment work and her own personal work. On one notable occasion, a conflict arose when she was assigned to photograph the Republican candidate for presidency in the summer 2008, at the height of his popularity; after delivering the assignment exactly as requested, she chose to speak out in the form of agit-prop outtakes on her own website, which she was legally allowed and morally compelled to do. The violent backlash from her political art has informed this return to the question of what is tolerated by women in our culture.

Selected Exhibitions:
2008 «Jill Greenberg: Apes and Monkeys,» Eleanor London Cote-St-Luc Public Library,
Montreal, Canada
«Jill Greenberg: Monkey Portraits,» National Academy of Sciences, National
Academy's Upstairs Gallery, Washington DC
«Photo LA,» Los Angeles
2007 «Art Miami,» Miami
«Jill Greenberg,» Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles
«Jill Greenberg: Ursine,» ClampArt, New York City
«Jill Greenberg: End Times,» ClampArt, New York City [In the Project Room]
«Eat the Food!,» Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto (Curated by
Camilla Singh)
«Kids: Julie Blackmon, Ruud van Empel, Jill Greenberg,» David Winton Bell Gallery,
List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (Curated by Jo-Ann
Conklin)
«Jill Greenberg: Monkey Portraits,» National Academy of Sciences,
Keller Gallery, Washington DC
«The Evolution of the Digital Portrait,» ClampArt, New York City
"Ominous Atmosphere," Heather Marx Gallery, San Francisco (Co-curated by
Jeff Dauber)
«Human in Animals,» Judi Rotenberg Gallery, Boston
«Why Look at Animals,» Artspace, New Haven, Connecticut (Curated by Denise
Markonish)
«Slideluck Potshow IX,» Sandbox Studios, New York City
«Photo LA,» Los Angeles
2006 «Photo Miami,» Miami
«Animal House,» Islip Art Museum, East Islip, New York (Curated Karen Shaw)
«It's All About Me,» Chelsea Art Museum, New York City
«Jill Greenberg: Monkey Portraits,» ClampArt, New York City
«End Times,» Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles
«Offspring,» Boston University Art Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
«Scope,» New York City
«The Photography Show 2006,» The Association of International Photography Art
Dealers, New York City
«Art LA,» Los Angeles
«Photo LA,» Los Angeles
2005 «Animal Tales», DFN Gallery, New York City
«Pulse Miami,» Miami, Florida
«AAF Contemporary Art Fair,» New York City
2004 «Monkey Portraits,» Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles
1999 «Christmas Show,» American Fine Art, New York City
Selected Articles and Reviews:
2007 The New Yorker: The Arts Issue (October 2007)
Washington Square News (October 2007)
Wired, Blog Network: «Underwire» (October 2007)
The Morning News (October 2007)
Cool Hunting (October 2007)
Manhattan Users Guide.com (October 2007)
Hungry Hyaena: Gallery Report (October 2007)
Photo District News: «The Fine Arts Photography Issue» (September 2007)
Lemon No.3: «A Clockwork Lemon» (August 2007)
The Boston Globe (July 26, 2007)
SPD 42nd Publication Design Annual, Cover Art (2006)
Le Monde (May 23, 2007)
Lemon (May 2007)
idpure (May 2007)
944 Magazine (February 2007)
Yale Daily News.com (February 2007)
ConnecticutCentral.com (February 2007)
Art & Auction (February 2007)
AdelaideNow… (March 2007)
Cool Hunting (February 2007)
View, Deutschland (January 2007)
2006 ZOOZOOM.com (December 2006)
Vanity Fair (November 2006)
BusinessWeek (November 27, 2006)
ZOOZOOM.com (November 2006)
Cool Hunting (September 20, 2006)
Time Out New York (November 9, 2006)
Photo, France (November 2006)
The New Yorker (November 6, 2006)
The New York Sun (October 26, 2006)
Photo Media (Fall 2006)
Leica World (November 2006)
The Ticker (October 23, 2006)
Entertainment Weekly (October 2006)
Harper's (September 2006)
The London Sunday Times, United Kingdom (August 2006)
National Post, Canada (August 2006)
Donna Magazine, Italy (August 2006)
Chicago Tribune (July 2006)
Los Angeles Sunday Times (July 2006)
American Photo (July 2006)
The Guardian, United Kingdom (July 2006)
El Mundo Newspaper, Spain (July 2006)
Moving Picture Magazine (June 2006)
Artkrush (May 2006)
Angeleno Magazine (April 2006)
2004 Paper (November 2004)
Los Angles Magazine (November 2004)
In Style (November 2004)
The New Yorker (October 2004)
LIFE (October 2004)
Daily Candy (October 2004)
Zoom (September 2004)
The Walrus (September 2004)
Black + White (September 2004)
2002 Creativity (February 2002)
1999 Studio Photography & Design (April 1999)
1998 PDN - Photo District News (May 1998)
1997 American Photo (November 1997)
Selected Books:
Hirsch, Robert; Light & Lens: Photography in the Digital Age (Focal Press, St. Louis)
Monkey Portraits (Bulfinch Press, New York City)
End Times (Exhibition catalog in conjunction with exhibition at Paul Kopeikin Gallery)
Monkey Portraits (Exhibition catalog in conjunction with exhibition at Paul Kopeikin Gallery)
Awards:
2007 Society of Publication Designers- Silver Medal
AP23 American Photography
2006 Award of Excellence, Communications Arts
Print Placement - 2nd Place, PDN/Nikon
Direct Mail Award - 1st Place, PDN/Nikon
2005 Special Book- 2nd Place, PDN/Nikon Self Promotion
2004 Self-Promo Award- 2nd Place, PDN/Nikon
1997 Award of Excellence, Communications Arts

Selected collections:
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC Sprint Nextel Corporation, Overland Park, Kansas

Education:
1989 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography, Rhode Island School of Design,
Providence, Rhode Island.
1988 «Semiotics in Media,» coursework with Mary Anne Doane, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.