Biography
Tyler Mitchell (b. 1995, Atlanta, GA) is an artist, photographer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn. He received his B.F.A. in Film and Television from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. His work introduces new narratives about Black beauty and desire, embracing themes of the past and creating fictionalized moments of the imagined future. Mitchell’s work is characterized by a visual representation of Black life that emphasizes empowerment, play and self determination. He is often inspired by pastoral and domestic scenes from his upbringing in suburban Georgia.
In 2018, he made history as the first Black photographer to shoot a cover of American Vogue for Beyoncé’s appearance in the September issue. The following year, a portrait from this series was acquired by The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery for its permanent collection.
Mitchell has been a visiting artist and lecturer at a number of institutions including Yale University, Harvard University, NYU, Paris Photo, and The International Center of Photography.
Selected Press
Books
2020
I Can Make You Feel Good, Prestel, 208 pages, Hardcover, Jul 28
2015
El Paquete, Self Published, 108 pages, Softcover, Nov 10
Exhibitions
2022
Solo
Frieze Masters Commission 2022, Frieze London, Regents Park, Oct 12-16
Chrysalis, Gagosian, London, Davies Street, Organized by Antwaun Sargent, Oct 6-Nov 12
Cultural Turns, 26th Edition of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto, ON, CONTACT Gallery, Metro Hall, Toronto Billboards, Curated by Mark Sealy, Apr 28-Jun 30
Sunlight, Shadow, and A Rainbow: Matt Eich and Tyler Mitchell, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, Jul 3 – Nov 6
Group
Black Melancholia, Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, Curated by Nana Adusei-Poku, Jun 25-Oct 16
2021
Solo
An Imaginative Arrangement of the Things Before Me, The Gordon Parks Foundation, Pleasantville, NY, Sept 24-Jan 2, 2022
Dreaming in Real Time, Jack Shainman Gallery, 20th St, New York, Sept 9-Oct 30
I Can Make You Feel Good Pt. 3, Jack Shainman Gallery, 24th St, New York, Sept 9-Oct 30
Group
Social Works II, Gagosian, London, Grosvenor Hill, Curated by Antwaun Sargent, Oct 7-Dec 18
Feedback, Jack Shainman Gallery, The School, Kinderhook, NY, Curated by Helen Molesworth, Jun 5-Oct 30
2020
Solo
I Can Make You Feel Good Pt. 2, The International Center of Photography, New York, NY, Jan 25-Mar 15 & Sept 1-Jan 4, 2021
2019
Solo
I Can Make You Feel Good, Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, April 19-June 5
Group
The New Black Vanguard, Aperture Foundation, Oct 24-Jan 18, 2020, (Now on view in Arles, France as part of Recontres d'Arles)
2018
Group
The Way We Live Now, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY, Curated by Siobhán Bohnaker, Brendan Embser, Marvin Orellana, and Antwaun Sargent, Jun 28-Aug 24
Labs New Artists II, Red Hook Labs, Brooklyn, NY, Jun 13-24
The Artsy Vanguard, Bergdorf Goodman, New York, NY
Lectures, Panels & Programs
2022
In conversation with Mark Sealy, CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto, ON, May 4
Night at the Cinema Vol. 4, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, Curated by Tyler Mitchell and Sophie Cavoulacos, Apr 11
In conversation with Antwaun Sargent, SCAD, Savannah, GA, Apr 4
Paradise Now, Detroit Institute of the Arts, Virtual, Feb 24
2021
In conversation with Helen Molesworth, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen, CO, July 23
2020
ENGAGE Symposium, MoAD, San Francisco, CA, Feb 22
2019
In Conversation with Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Paris Photo, Grand Palais Paris, Nov 9
Seeing Differently, With Thelma Golden, Vogue Forces of Fashion, New York, NY, Oct 10
Artist Walkthrough of Roy DeCarava’s exhibition Light Break, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY, Sept 14
On Feeling Good, With Deborah Willis and Grace Wales Bonner, Foam Amsterdam, Apr 19
In Conversation with Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, Harvard University, Mar 7
2018
Take the Shot: Photography in the Digital Age, With Deana Lawson, Ming Smith and Hank Willis Thomas, No Commission Art Basel Miami, Dec 6
Reimagining the Image: Tyler Mitchell, International Center of Photography Museum, With Ashleigh Kane, Nov 7
Podcasts
Talk Art: Tyler Mitchell, Talk Art Podcast with Russell Tovey and Robert Diamant, Dec 3, 2020
Dialogues: Tyler Mitchell and Antwaun Sargent, David Zwirner Podcast with Lucas Zwirner, April 8, 2020
Tyler Mitchell, From Skateboarding to Photographing Beyoncé, The Business of Fashion Podcast with Imran Amed, July 26, 2019
Fellowships, Honors & Awards
BOF 500, 2018
The Artsy Vanguard, 2018
Residencies
Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen, CO, 2021
Teaching
2022
Visiting Critic, Yale University, Photography Department, New Haven, CT
Public Collections
FOAM Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam
LACMA
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
The Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Pizzuti Collection of Colombus Museum of Art, OH
Selected Publications
American Vogue, British Vogue, Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, WSJ Magazine, M Le Monde, i-D Magazine, AnOther Magazine, Dazed Magazine, Document Journal, The Guardian, The FADER
Selected Clients
Comme des Garçons, Calvin Klein, Prada, Gucci, Uniqlo, Apple, Mercedes Benz, Loewe, JW Anderson, Simone Rocha, Moncler, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Converse, Nike, Adidas, Ray-Ban