Brendan Fernandes

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Artist, Choreographer | 2024 Platform Award Recipient

Brendan Fernandes works at the intersection of dance and visual arts. A graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program and based out of Chicago for the last ten years, Brendan’s projects utilize dance and installation to address issues of migration, protest and other forms of collective movement.

Fernandes (b.1979, Nairobi, Kenya) attended York University for his Bachelors (hons.) and is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program (2010). Selected solo presentations include The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA (2023); Lurie Garden at Millennium Park, Chicago, IL (2022); The Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC (2022); The Art Gallery in Ontario, Toronto, ON (2021); Chrysler Art Museum, Norfolk, VA (2020); moniquemeloche (2019); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (2019); The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC (2019); The Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; and DePaul University Art Museum, Chicago, IL (2018). His projects have been featured in the 2019 Whitney Biennial, New York, NY; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON; and The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI, among many others. Recent and upcoming projects include performances and solo presentations at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis, MO; Remai Modern, Saskatoon, CA; Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway; a collaboration with Danish National Radio, Copenhagen, Denmark, a group show at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and a two person show at Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA. 

Fernandes is an Associate Professor in the department of Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University. Fernandes currently lives and works in Chicago, IL. 

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Instagram: @brendanfernandes

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Brendan Fernandes, Returning to Before, 2023. Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

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Brendan Fernandes, Hard Return, 2023. Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

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Brendan Fernandes, The Calls, 2023. National Radio, Denmark. Performed by The Danish Vokalensemble. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

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Brendan Fernandes, The Left Space II, 2022. PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art, Montréal, CA. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

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Brendan Fernandes, in/visible, 2022. Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

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A Solo Until We Can Dance Again, 2021. Hellenic Parliament + NEON, Athens, Greece. Image courtesy of the artist. Photo by Natalia Tsoukala. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

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Brendan Fernandes, 72 Seasons, 2021. The Lurie Garden, Chicago, IL. Photo by Dabin Ahn. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery

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Brendan Fernandes, The Master and Form II, 2019. The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery Photo by Paula Court.

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Brendan Fernandes, Contract and Release, 2019. The Noguchi Museum, New York, NY. image courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche GalleryPhoto by Nicholas Knight.