Brian Cirmo was born in Utica, New York. He has an M.F.A. in painting and drawing from the State University of New York at Albany. He teaches at Pratt and lives and works in Albany, New York.
Cirmo primarily uses historical references, literature, popular culture to address themes such as love and loss, evolution and creationism, comedy and tragedy, mark and expression, and fame and anonymity in his oil paintings.
Brian Cirmo was born in Utica, New York. He has an M.F.A. in painting and drawing from the State University of New York at Albany. He teaches at Pratt and lives and works in Albany, New York.
Cirmo primarily uses historical references, literature, popular culture to address themes such as love and loss, evolution and creationism, comedy and tragedy, mark and expression, and fame and anonymity in his oil paintings.
Robert Shane, Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, has said of the artist’s work, “Like a novelist working in paint, Brian Cirmo tells tales of contemporary malaise and nostalgia, offering an empathetic and humorous take on vulnerable characters who find themselves lost in daydreams or trapped in absurd scenarios.”
With obvious absurdity humor, Philip Guston has played an influential role in the artists creative language, one that he describes as allowing artists the freedom to make the paintings they want to make, and that invite personal psychology into the work. Following the Abstract Expressionist idea of mark and colour, movement and scale, Guston introduced “a kind of anti-hero, beat-up weathered man” impression, one that evidently lingers in Cirmo’s body of work.
Brian Cirmo is a nationally exhibiting artist. Solo exhibitions include Where Teardrops Fall, 532 Gallery, Paintings, Lake George Arts Project, Black, the Rice Gallery, McDaniel College, Westminster, and Patterns, Cycles, and Change, Wilson Gallery, Le Moyne College, all located in New York. He has appeared in numerous group exhibitions across the United States and has been featured in numerous publications including: Vast Magazine, and Studio Visit Magazine. Curated exhibitions include: Masters of War at Albany Center Gallery; Abstract /’kelCHer/ at OCC Art Gallery and The Roaring Twenties at Joyce Goldstein Gallery, again both in New York.
He has been an Artists in Residence at Salem Art Works in Salem NY and the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency in Washington County, New York. His work is held in a variety of public and private collections.
EDUCATION
2002 State University of New York at Albany, MFA
1999 The College of Saint Rose, BFA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, So Much Depends on the Weather, Dublin, Ireland (online)
2021 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, Where Teardrops Fall, New York, NY
2020 OCC Gallery, SUNY Onondaga Community College, Big Shot, Syracuse, NY
2020 Mercer Gallery, Monroe Community College, People Are Absurd, Rochester, NY
2019 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, Gray Matters, New York, NY
2019 Courthouse Gallery, Brian Cirmo, paintings, Lake George, NY
2018 Wilson Gallery, Le Moyne College, Patterns, Cycles, and Change, Syracuse, NY
2016 The Burrell Roberts Triangle Gallery, Sinclair College, Doldrums, Dayton, OH
2016 Yates Galley, Siena College, When Blackness Was a Virtue, Loudonville, NY
2015 Rice Gallery, McDaniel College, Black, Westminster, MD
2014 Standish Gallery, Massry Center for the Arts, The College of Saint Rose, Black, Albany, NY
2014 Juergensen Gallery, Mohawk Valley Community College, American Berserk, Utica, NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 GR Gallery, New York, NY
2021 Elizabeth de C. Wilson Museum, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Force, Manchester, VT, Curated by Pearl Cafritz
2020 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, Fall Breeze, New York, NY
2020 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, Summer Loving, New York, NY
2019 Joyce Goldstein Gallery, Up With People, Chatham, NY, Curated by Patrick Neal
2018 Collar Works Gallery, MADE in Granville, Troy, NY
2017 Albany Center Gallery, Masters of War, Albany, NY Scarlet Seven Gallery, Peculiar Quaintness, Troy, NY
2016 The Hyde Collection Museum, Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region, Glens Falls, NY, Curated by Michael Oatman
2015 Boston Center for the Arts, Mills Gallery, 24th Drawing Show: Feelers, Boston, MA, Curated by Susan Metrican University Art Museum, University at Albany, Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region, Albany, NY, Curated by Rachel Uffner
ART FAIRS
2021 CONTEXT Art Miami, 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, NY
2020 CONTEXT Art Miami, 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, NY
2019 CONTEXT Art Miami, 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, NY
2020 Pinta Miami, 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, NY
2019 Art Aspen, 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, NY
RESIDENCIES
2020 Salem to Salem, Salem Germany (postponed due to pandemic)
2019 Salem Art Works, Salem to Salem, Salem, NY
2018 Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency, Granville, NY
PUBLICATIONS
2022 Winter, Barzakh Magazine, Featured Artist, Albany, NY
2021“When I started making paintings, I realized that I’m as much a storyteller as anything”, Robert R. Shane for White Hot Magazine, New York, US
2021 “Brian Cirmo: Where Teardrops Fall at 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel”, David Rhodes and Melissa Stern art critic discussion for The Review Panel (artcritical.com), Chelsea, UK
2021 “Salem Art Works, Force: The power of art indoors and out”, Mary Gow for Rutland Herald, Rutland, UK
2020 Summer, Vast Magazine, Featured Artist, issue no. 1
2020 February, Stone Canoe, Issue No. 14, Syracuse, NY
2018 Summer/Fall Lunch Ticket Magazine, Patterns, Cycles, and Change, Featured Art Portfolio, Antioch University, Los Angeles, CA
2018 “Solo Show at Le Moyne College”, Nicole Hawley for Rome Sentinel, Rome, NY
2017 Summer, The Matador Review, Artist profile, Chicago, IL
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
University Art Museum, the State University of New York at Albany
Siena College, Loudonville, NY
The College of Saint Rose, Albany, New York
