Jeffry Cudlin was born in 1972 in Durham, North Carolina; raised in Lynchburg, Virginia; and currently lives in Washington, D.C. Cudlin works as an artist, critic, educator, and curator. He serves as full-time Professor of Curatorial Studies and Practice at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, teaching in George Ciscle's groundbreaking new Curatorial Practice MFA program.
As an artist, Cudlin uses performance, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and parody to create opportunities for awkward encounters. In 2011, Cudlin competed in a sprint triathlon within the confines of the Capitol Skyline Hotel alongside performance artist and collaborator Kathryn Cornelius as a part of the inaugural (e)merge art fair. For his 2010 show at Flashpoint Gallery, "By Request", Cudlin used polling data taken from DC collectors, critics, and curators to create what he claimed was the ideal Washington, DC art exhibition--featuring only images of himself. In 2007, Cudlin’s mockumentary, "Ian and Jan: The Washington Body School," appeared at DCAC. For that project, Cudlin and his collaborator, Meg Mitchell, performed an art-historical intervention by interviewing local art luminaries—including artist Sam Gilliam and blogger Tyler Green—and asking them to describe a nonexistent DC art movement.
As a curator, Cudlin has worked with The Arlington Arts Center (AAC) since 2007. AAC is a 14,000 square foot non-profit contemporary art space just outside of Washington, D.C., focusing on artists from the mid-Atlantic region and beyond. During his tenure as Director of Exhibitions, Cudlin dramatically increased the profile of AAC exhibits, and organized challenging shows on topics like transhumanism, historical reenactments, and experimental geography. Cudlin has shown works by Renee Cox, Mel Chin, Mark Tribe, Olav Westphalen, Ana Lucas, Shane Hope, Arakawa and Gins, Nadine Robinson, Mary Mattingly, Leon Ferrari, Saya Woolfalk, Anton Kannemeyer, Sam Gilliam, and many others.
Cudlin also has taught painting, drawing, and art theory as an adjunct at The University of Maryland, College Park, from 2003 to 2007. While teaching there, he worked closely with the University Union Gallery on a number of projects, including organizing and moderating panel discussions in conjunction with exhibitions, and designing and teaching a theory course funded by the gallery, "Contemporary Art: Theory, Markets and Collecting."
Cudlin received his MFA from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his undergraduate degree in studio art from the University of Virginia. banner image by Dakota Fine