An Online Retrospective Countdown


Martin Kersels’ performative practice spans sculpture, photography, installation, and action. He is best known for his absurdist works in which he uses the forces of humor, pathos, and sometimes just gravity to explore the preposterousness of living on earth. Looking back at this incomprehensible year, we posted new images from throughout Kersels' incomparable career in the form of a "Finis Calendar".


Kersels received his BA in 1984 and MFA in 1995, both from UCLA. From 1984 to 1993, he participated in the collaborative SHRIMPS, an alternative performance art group. Kersles taught at CalArts from 1999 until 2012 when he moved to the Yale School of Art to become the Director of Graduate Studies in Sculpture.


Kersles' work is held in public collections at major institutions worldwide, including Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona; Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; Fonds national d’art contemporain, Paris; Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris; and Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona.