Josh Kline (artist)

Josh Kline (born 1979 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American artist and curator living and working in New York City. Josh Kline is represented by 47 Canal, Lisson Gallery, and Modern Art.

Kline's first solo gallery exhibition was held at 47 Canal in 2011. In 2014 his work Skittles was displayed along the High Line in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. In 2015 His installation Freedom (wherein Teletubby statues stand in the abound in SWAT gear while a computerized version of Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential inaugural address is played) was included in the New Museum Triennial, Surround Audience". The aforementioned piece gained widespread attention and acclaim in the News and art presses.

In 2015, his piece Cost of Living (Aleyda) (2014) was included in America is Hard to See, the opening exhibition of the new Whitney Museum of American Art facility in the Meatpacking area of Manhattan, which was composed entirely of works from their permanent collection.

He participated in the 2019 Whitney Biennial.

The Whitney Museum of American Art hosted a solo exhibition of Kline's work titled Project for a New American Century, from April 19 through August 13, 2023. The exhibition featured the installation works Contagious Unemployment and Civil War. In these works, he utilized technology, digitization, and image manipulation to address the influence of political and social issues on people who make up the labor force.

Work
Freedom (2015)

Full-body figures of police officers in riot gear with the facial features of Teletubbies. These sculptures also feature monitors embedded in the chests of the sculptures, playing video inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests, in which the artist participated. This body of work was first presented at the New Museum for their 2015 Triennial.

Notable exhibitions
Group Exhibitions:

2015 Triennial: Surround Audience, New Museum, New York, February 25–May 24, 2015.

America is Hard to See, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 1–September 27, 2015.

New Order, Museum of Modern Art, New York, March 17–June 15, 2019.

Whitney Biennial 2019, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 17–October 27, 2019.

Solo Exhibitions:

Freedom, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, England, August 22–October 18, 2015.

Josh Kline: Project for a New American Century, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 19–August 13, 2023.