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Cate Giordano

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Cate Giordano
Born1986 (age 39–40)
Alma materMassachusetts College of Art (BFA)
Occupations
  • Installation artist
  • video artist
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship (2026)

Cate Giordano (born 1986) is an American installation artist, video artist, and drag performer. They use drag in their work, including their 2020 solo exhibition REX, and they have made several appearances at the Spring/Break Art Show in New York City. In 2026, they were awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Biography

[edit]

Giordano, a native of Pensacola, Florida, was born in 1986,[1] and studied at the Massachusetts College of Art, where they obtained a BFA in 2008.[2] They contributed an installation to the 2015 Spring/Break Art Show in New York City.[3] They were a 2016 Smack Mellon studio artist.[2]

Giordano appeared at the 2016 Spring/Break Art Show, where they created an installation involving "a full-scale diner, with fake food, actual booths, and fully dressed stick-figure patrons".[4] Their piece TV Guide, which depicts a house interior, appeared at the 2017 Spring/Break Art Show; Rachel Miller of Brooklyn Magazine called it "more intense and crazier in a way only havoc can be"[5] while Sarah Cascone of ArtNet said: "By drawing on [their] childhood memories, Giordano has created a deeply personal and instantly accessible work that calls out for exploration".[6] They later returned to Spring/Break in 2018.[7] That same year, their installation After the fire is gone premiered; composed of three sets themed after a diner, living room, and taxi, it features several television sets playing several parts of the titular film.[8]

Giordano was a 2019-2020 Onassis AiR international resident artist.[9] In December 2023, their multimedia installation Parts of the Brain, which depicts a pale-colored crocodile, appeared at Art Basel Miami Beach 2023; Alexander Morrison of The Art Newspaper called it "light stuff" due to what its gallery the Galerie Christophe Gaillard called its "psychological interpretation of animal and mythological figures as representations of human behavior".[10] Two of their films, Hunter in the Woods (2007) and Species (2008), were part of Participant After Dark's 2025-2026 Cate Giordano, early movies exhibition.[11] In 2026, they were awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Film and Video.[12]

Giordano uses drag as part of their work. After portraying Henry VIII in one of their first drag works, Giordano portrayed David Koresh in The Final Wife, inspired by the Waco siege.[13] In December 2020, they hosted a solo exhibition at Postmasters Gallery, titled REX and inspired by Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves, in which Giordano dresses as both Anne and a drag version of Henry VIII;[14] Jillian Steinhauer of The New York Times called Giordano "magnetic and wickedly funny, particularly as the bumbling, vainglorious king".[15] Giordano is planning another drag work involving Zeus' male pregnancy with Athena.[9]

Giordano lives in Brooklyn, where they also work as an artist.[2] Giordano uses singular they pronouns.[15]

References

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  1. ↑ "Cate GIORDANO | 9 October - 6 November 2021 - Overview". Galerie Christophe Gaillard. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Cate Giordano". Smack Mellon. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  3. ↑ Meier, Alison (March 4, 2015). "Jam-Packed Spring/Break Art Show Pulls into Moynihan Station". Hyperallergic. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  4. ↑ Yablonsky, Linda (March 7, 2016). "Rites of Spring". Artforum. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  5. ↑ Miller, Rachel (March 4, 2017). "Best in Show: Brooklyn at NADA & SPRING/BREAK". BKMAG. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  6. ↑ Cascone, Sarah (March 1, 2017). "Don't Miss These Unbelievable Installations at SPRING/BREAK". Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  7. ↑ Vartanian, Hrag (March 8, 2018). "Spring Break Is an Oasis for Art Fair Haters". Hyperallergic. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  8. ↑ Ruhl, Amy (January 9, 2018). "Cate Giordano by Amy Ruhl". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Cate Giordano". www.onassis.org. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  10. ↑ Morrison, Alexander (December 8, 2023). "Art Basel serves up a croc of gold with its reptile-themed art". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Cate Giordano "early movies" at Participant After Dark presented by PARTICIPANT INC, New York". Mousse Magazine. December 19, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  12. ↑ "American Artist, Penny Arcade Among 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship Cohort". Artforum. April 14, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Off Brand Video #9: Cate Giordano's "The Final Wife—Negotiation 1"". Believer Magazine. Archived from the original on June 6, 2026. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  14. ↑ Packard, Cassie (November 20, 2020). "The Absurdist Echoes of Tudor Tyranny". Hyperallergic. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "4 Art Gallery Shows to See Right Now". The New York Times. December 30, 2020. ProQuest 2473833917.
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