Born in Melrose, Massachusetts, 1965.
EDUCATION
Beaux Arts, Rouen, France; La Napoule Art Foundation, La Napoule, France, 1985.
Cooper Union, NYC, NY, B.F.A., 1987.
New York Academy of Art, NYC, NY, 1988.
Lives in New York City.
SELECTED SOLO SHOWS
1995
Distensions, Silverstein Gallery, NYC, NY.
1996
Silverstein Gallery, NYC, NY.
1998
Silverstein Gallery, NYC, NY.
1999
Devil's Fudge Falls, I-20 Gallery, NYC, NY.
2000
Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
2001
Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
Jablonka Galerie, Koln, Germany.
2002
Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
2003
Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, France.
Mario Diacono Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts.
2004
Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
2005
New Paintings and Works on Paper, Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
2007
Drawings, Glenn Horowitz Gallery, East Hampton, New York.
2008
Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, Colorado.
2009
Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
2010
Will Cotton: Monoprints, Pace Prints Chelsea, NYC, NY.
Will Cotton: Paintings, Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, France.
2011
Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
2012
Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
Pace Prints, NYC, NY.
2014
Ronchini Gallery, London, England.
2016
InFlux Exhibition Series: Will Cotton, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida.
2017
Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
1994
Invitational Exhibition, Silverstein Gallery, NYC, NY.
1995
Mad River Post, NYC, NY.
95°, Silverstein Gallery, NYC, NY.
Way Cool, Exit Art, NYC, NY.
1996
Menu du Jour, Silverstein Project Space, NYC, NY.
The January Show, Silverstein Gallery, NYC, NY.
Toy's, Gallery Camino Real, Boca Raton, Florida.
Splash, Monique Knowlton Gallery, NYC, NY.
Image of Self, Schick Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga, New York.
1997
Works on Paper, Annina Nosei Gallery, NYC, NY.
Importance of Toys, Monique Knowlton Gallery, NYC, NY.
1998
Marketplace of Ideas: Culture Jamming in the Visual Arts, Wriston Art Center, Laurence University, Appleton, Wisconsin.
1999
A room with a view, Sixth @ Prince Fine Art, NYC, NY.
Will Cotton and Stuart Elster, Tate, NYC, NY.
2000
The Darker Side of Playland: Childhood Imagery from the Logan Collection, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California.
Emotional Rescue: The Contemporary Art Project Collection, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, Washington.
2003
Giverny, Salon 94, NYC, NY.
2004
The Big Eat: From Pop till the Present, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
Drawings: Summer 2004, Lucas Schoormans Gallery, NYC, NY.
Hors d'œuvre: Ordre et Désordres de la Nourriture, capc Musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
2006
Why the Nude? Contemporary Approaches, The Art Students League of New York, NYC, NY.
The Food Show: The Hungry Eye, Chelsea Art Museum, NYC, NY.
2007
Timer .01: Intimità/Intimacy, Triennale Bovisa, Milan, Italy.
In Monet’s Garden: The Lure of Giverny, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio.
I Want Candy: The Sweet Stuff in American Art, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York.
Abbondanza, Salvatore Ferragamo Gallery, NYC, NY.
2008
In Monet’s Garden: The Lure of Giverny, Musée Marmottan, Paris, France.
WALL ROCKETS: Contemporary Artists and Ed Ruscha, FLAG Art Foundation, NYC, NY.
2009
Dilletants, Dandies and Divas, Gavlak Gallery, West Palm Beach, Florida.
Talk Dirty to Me, Larissa Goldston Gallery, NYC, NY.
WALL ROCKETS: Contemporary Artists and Ed Ruscha, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
Chelsea Visits Havana, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba.
Transitions, Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
A Tribute to Ron Warren, Mary Boone Gallery. NYC, NY.
2010
Think Pink, Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida.
Heads or Tails, Mary Ryan Gallery, NYC, NY.
Divine Comedy, Sotheby’s, NYC, NY.
25th Anniversary Show, Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
2012
American Dreamers: Reality and Imagination in Contemporary American Art, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy.
Bad For You, Shizaru Gallery, London, England.
2014
Last Night, Salomon Contemporary, NYC, NY.
Look at Me: Portraiture from Manet to the Present, Leila Heller Gallery, NYC, NY.
Disturbing Innocence, FLAG Art Foundation, NYC, NY.
2015
River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home, Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill, New York, and Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, New York.
Eye Pop: The Celebrity Gaze, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC.
2016
Summer School, FLAG Art Foundation, NYC, NY.
2017
Really?, Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
2018
Peers and Influences, The Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia.
Paintings, Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
2019
Paintings, Mary Boone Gallery, NYC, NY.
Like Sugar, Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Levin, Kim, Voice Choices: William Cotton, THE VILLAGE VOICE, 20 December 1994.
Servetar, Stuart, William Cotton, NEW YORK PRESS, 18 April 1995.
Mastock, John, Despite price, art retains risk in latest shows, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 4 June 1995.
Servetar, Stuart, William Cotton, NEW YORK PRESS, 20 March 1996.
Levin, Kim, Voice Choices: William Cotton, THE VILLAGE VOICE, 26 March 1996.
Levin, Kim, Voice Choices: especially recommended, THE VILLAGE VOICE, 24 November 1996.
Jaeger, William, 'Images' is beautiful and intelligent, ALBANY TIMES UNION, 8 December 1996.
Mumford, Steve, William Cotton, REVIEW, December 1998.
Johnson, Ken, William Cotton, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 4 December 1998.
Staff, William Cotton, THE NEW YORKER, 21 December 1998.
Staff, William Cotton, TANK, September 1999, pp. 168-171.
Frimbois, Jean-Pierre, New York New Wave, ART ACTUEL, March 2000, pp. 10-15.
Hass, Nancy, Stirring Up the Art World Again, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 5 March 2000, pp. ST1, ST4.
Smith, Roberta, Will Cotton, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 10 March 2000, p. E41.
Hunt, David, Will Cotton, TIME OUT NEW YORK, 16 March 2000, p. 81.
Vincent, Steven, The Temporary Contemporary of Linda Farris, ART & AUCTION, 1 April 2000, p. 38.
Leffingwell, Edward, Will Cotton at Mary Boone, ART IN AMERICA, May 2000, p. 158.
Chambers, Christopher, Will Cotton, FLASH ART, May 2000, pp. 116-117. (illus: "Cream", p. 117, B/W).
Sillman, Amy, New York e-Mail: Will Cotton at Mary Boone, ART ISSUES, June 2000, p. 40.
Bensinger, Ken, High-Tech Execs Become Virtual Art Collectors, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7 July 2000, p. W3.
Staff, Will Cotton, THE NEW YORKER, 7 May 2001, p. 19.
Walen, Audrey, Will Cotton Candy, NY ARTS, May 2001, p. 69.
Darwent, Charles, Let Them Paint Cake, MODERN PAINTERS, July 2001, p. 102.
Giuliano, Charles, The Young and the Restless: Delia Brown, Will Cotton, Tim Gardner, Hilary Harkness, and Damian Loeb, NY ARTS, July 2001, pp. 70-71.
Johnson, Ken, Will Cotton, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 27 September 2002, p. E32.
Drolet, Owen, Will Cotton, FLASH ART, November 2002, p. 101.
Jana, Reena, Sweet Deal, ART NEWS, December 2003, p. 27.
Greene, Rachel, and Andy Comer, The New Nude: Will Cotton, VITALS, September 2004, p. 84.
Powers, Bill, Art: 100% Cotton, BLACK BOOK, September 2004, p. 64.
Cohen, David, Animated Awkwardness & Academic Cotton Candy, THE NEW YORK SUN, 16 September 2004, pp. 1, 19.
Korotkin, Joyce, Will Cotton, THE NEW YORK ART WORLD, October 2004, pp. 9-10.
Saltz, Jerry, Critical Call, THE VILLAGE VOICE, 6 October 2004, p. 151.
Staff, Will Cotton, THE NEW YORKER, 11 October 2004, p. 21.
Nakamura, Marie-Pierre, Will Cotton, ART ACTUEL, November 2004, pp. 64-65.
Kino, Carol, Go Figure, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 17 April 2005, pp. AR1, AR26.
Oliva, Andrés, Will Cotton: Welcome to Cottonland, BELIO MAGAZINE (Madrid), January 2006, pp. 31-36, 133-134.
Dambrot, Shana Nys, Los Angeles: Will Cotton, MODERN PAINTERS, February 2006, p. 112.
Ford, Tom, Crowning Glory: Tom Ford on Will Cotton, BLACKBOOK, October 2006, p. 66-67.
Dignan, Stephen, Naked Ambition, THE NEW YORK SUN, 14 April 2008, pp. 1, 14.
Adam Stennett in Conversation with Will Cotton, WHITEHOT MAGAZINE, December 2008, pp. 40-45.
Eden, Laura, Will Cotton, ELLE DÉCOR, March 2009, p. 58.
Staff, Will Cotton’s Sweet Dreams, DEUTSCHE GUGGENHEIM MAGAZINE, March 2009, p. 28.
Frankel, David, Will Cotton, ARTFORUM, May 2009, pp. 233-234.
Honigman, Ana Finel, Cotton’s Candy, SLEEK (Berlin), November 2009, pp. 62-67. (illus: Rachel, Cover, C).
Orden, Erica, Local Fine Artists Go Pop, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 28 July 2010, p. A25.
Gregg, Gail, Nothing Like the Real Thing, ART NEWS, December 2010, pp. 68-71. (illus: Cotton Candy Katy, Cover, C).
Gamerman, Ellen, The Changing Face of Portraits, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5 August 2011, pp. D1-D2.
Newsom, John, Will Cotton, FLATT, April 2012, pp. 68-79.
Staff, The Playmate as Fine Art, PLAYBOY, January 2013, pp. 82-89.
Cotton, Will, Candy Land, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, 18-25 February 2013, Cover, pp. 100-122.
Hearst, Amanda R., Sweet Visions, TOWN & COUNTRY, October 2013, p. 90.
Lane, Mary M., Will Cotton’s ‘Eye Candy’, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 20 June 2014, p. A19.
Douglas, Sarah, Editor’s Letter, ART NEWS, Summer 2015, p. 16. (illus: Candy Crown, Cover, C).
Herriman, Kat, How Will Cotton Gets His Friends Naked, NYTIMES.COM, 29 September 2015.
Stewart, Martha, Celebrating Our Silver Anniversary with Artist Will Cotton, MARTHASTEWART.COM, 9 November 2015.
Staff, Visions of Sugar, MARTHA STEWART LIVING, December 2015. (illus: Alpine Cookie Forest, Martha, Cover, C).
Flanagan, Sharyn, A frosted Martha Stewart immortalized by artist Will Cotton, ALMANACWEEKLY.COM, 2 December 2015.
Lesser, Casey, I Baked a Cake in Will Cotton's Candyland Studio, ARTSY.NET, 29 March 2017.
Mc Laughlin, Kate, Where Life Meets Art, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5 May 2017, pp. M1, M6-M7.
Belcove, Julie, Picture Perfect, GALERIE MAGAZINE, Summer 2017, pp. 36-37.
Gregory, Alice, Powder Keg, T/THE NEW YORK TIMES STYLE MAGAZINE, 18 February 2018, p. 112.
