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Creative Minds

Creative Mind: Miles Greenberg

The boundary-pushing New York artist explores the human experience through performance, sculpture, and installation

By Stefanie Li

The work of Miles Greenberg can be difficult to define, and even curators of his exhibitions have had a tough time putting his practice into words. His mix of long-duration performance, sculpture, and installation all stem from the human form, often referencing classical sculptures like Venus de Milo or Winged Victory of Samothrace. “There’s this sort of infinity to these objects, a life span that I’ve tried to replicate with my performances,” he says.

Person with braided hair and tattoos wearing a fur coat against a plain background.
Miles Greenberg. Photo: STEPHEN VELASTEGUI, Courtesy of the artist and I-D Magazine
Abstract black sculpture with multiple figures in a gallery setting, surrounded by a water feature and artwork on the wall.
The artist’s The Shadows of Spring installed at the New Museum. Photo: Courtesy of the artist and New Museum, New York.

New materials: Greenberg’s sculptures give fresh insight into his performances. For his exhibition “The Shadow of Spring” at the New Museum in New York, the artist had his body 3D scanned from Fountain I (2022), an earlier performance work where he stood on a plinth for seven hours as a blood-like liquid dripped down his body. This scan was then crafted into kinetic fountains surrounded by pulsating sound pieces composed by collaborator Vivian Caccuri. “I learned how to make performance by looking at sculpture, and now I’ve learned how to make sculpture by doing performance,” Greenberg explains.

Two individuals standing back-to-back covered in pink liquid on a white platform, wearing pink pants and with braided hair.
The artist’s Fountain II (2023) at Pace Gallery in New York. Photo: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PACE GALLERY

Up next: Greenberg is staging a solo performance curated by 2019 Creative Mind Klaus Biesenbach in Venice during the biennale this year as well as working on new marble sculptures. His first solo museum show at Buro Stedelijk in Amsterdam, “Manifestation #23: TRUTH,” is open until March 31. 

Art installation featuring dark humanoid sculptures on pedestals in an industrial space with a reflective white floor.
The artist’s Late October (2020). Photo: Adrien Bertolle, Courtesy of the artist

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.