The Fall 2026 Graduate Art guest lecture series, organized by Jan Tumlir and Jack Bankowsky.

John Divola

This event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are not required.

John Divola (b. 1949, Los Angeles) BA, 1971 California State University, Northridge; MA 1973: MFA 1974, University of California, Los Angeles. Since 1975 he has taught photography and art at numerous institutions including California Institute of the Arts (1978-1988), and since 1988 he has been a Professor of Art at the University of California, Riverside. Currently, Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

Since 1975, Divola's work has been featured in more than one hundred solo exhibitions in the United States, Japan, Europe, Mexico, and Australia, including Galerie Marquardt, Paris, 1990; Seibu Gallery, Tokyo, 1987; the University of New Mexico Art Museum, 1982; The Patricia Faure Gallery, Los Angeles, 2000; and Janet Borden Gallery, New York, 2001. Since 1973 his work has been included in more than two hundred group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, and Japan, including: "Mirrors and Windows," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, 1978; "1981 Biennial Exhibition," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York. 1981; "California Photography: Remaking Make-Believe," Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York. 1989. "The Photographic Condition," The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California. 1995; "Photo Binennale, Enschede (Obsessions. From Wunderkammer to Cyberspace)," Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enchede, Netherlands. 1995 "Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity 1900-2000, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, , 2000; "Architecture Hot and Cold," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2000, and "Los Angeles 1955-85," Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2006, “The Conspiracy”, Kunsthalle Bern. Bern, Switzerland, 2009, "Surface Conditions: The Photographs of John Divola, " Kunstverein Freiburg, Germany. "Whitney Biennial 2017," Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, NY 2017

Among Divola's Awards are Individual Artist Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1973, 1976, 1979, 1990), a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (1986), a Flintridge Foundation Fellowship (1998), a City of Los Angeles Artist Grant (1999) and a California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship (1998) Recent books by John Divola are, "Continuity" art work and preface by John Divola. Ram Publications/Smart Art Press, Los Angeles, California. October, 1997. 72 pages, "Isolated Houses," with Essay by Jan Tumlir, 48 pages with 24 color plates, Nazraeli Press, 2000, "Dogs Chasing My Car In The Desert," preface by John Divola, 48 pages with 20 duotone plates, Nazraeli Press, 2004, and the Aperture book "Three Acts," essay by David Campany, interview by Jan Tumlir, 109 duotone and 54 color plates,144 pages, May, 2006, "The Green of This Notebook," Nazraeli Press, 41 four color plates, 2009. "As Far As I Could Get," 244 pages, 200 Color Illustrations, Prestel, 2013, Vandalism, Mack Books, 2018, "Chroma," Skinnerboox, 2020, "Terminus,", Mack Books, 2021,"Scapes," Skinnerboox, 2022, "Sheila," TBW Book, 2026.

John Divola works primarily with photography and digital imaging. While he has approached a broad range of subjects he is currently moving through the landscape looking for the oscillating edge between the abstract and the specific.

Image: John Divola, Dogs Chasing My Car in the Desert (1996-98). Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of the artist.

See the full Fall 2026 Seminar schedule here.

Support for this series is generously provided by the following: Jack Shear, Brenda R. Potter, Brendan Dugan, Lisson Gallery, Beth Rudin DeWoody, David Kordansky, Jeffrey Deitch, Gattopardo, Tara Walters, Alan Hergott, and an anonymous donor.

ArtCenter's Graduate Art program is based on intensive studio practice and rigorous academic coursework. The program is distinguished by its low faculty-to-student ratio that provides students with the attention and feedback they need to refine and achieve their artistic goals. Faculty and students are artists working in all genres—film, video, photography, painting, sculpture, performance and installation. A significant number of alumni have achieved national and international acclaim and often return to share their insights and expertise as visiting faculty and guest lecturers.