Scott Hug is an interdisciplinary artist working in photography, film, and recycled media—remixing materials to find new modes of expression in a world out of balance.
My past art has explored the comic-tragedy that pervades popular culture and current events—investigating politics, pop culture and media obsession. More recently my practice has evolved into exploring the social documentary aesthetic through photography and film. I am currently working on a feature documentary; Bern Porter: DON’T WAIT FOR TOMORROW (w.t.). A film about humanity through the underground influences of scientist/poet, Bern Porter addressing nuclear war, consumption, and the fundamental nature of a wasteful society.
I self-publish artist’s books, fanzines and curate shows. I have acted as a catalyst collaborating with my peers creating interactive installations in a variety of DIY social contexts. I am committed to challenging various disciplines and fusing these endeavors into political engagement with the world.
Scott Hug was born in Jefferson City, Missouri and currently lives/works in New York. Scott received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Masters from Pratt Institute. Hug’s work has been featured in New York at John Connelly Presents, Deitch Projects, D’Amelio Terras, and Greene Naftali—internationally at Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, Galerie du Jour agnès b, Paris, and Hiromi Yoshii, Tokyo. His work has been reviewed in the New York Times and has appeared in the New Art Examiner and Zingmagazine. He was awarded a Rema Hort Mann grant in 2004 and a LMCC residency in 2005.
K48 is the quintessence of publication-as-synthesis, embracing music, fashion, art, and design as it disregards genre in the pursuit of an aesthetic of sensory overload. Its name evokes the inscrutable codes at the loose in the culture (on pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electronics, and weapons). Each Issue is a CD-size block, containing contributions from dozens of artists, friends and heros, often with a CD of music and videos. Youth Culture permeates the magazine, from the implicit demographic of its advertisements to the explicit youth of issue 3’s “Teenage Rebel.” Anarchy lies in the magazine’s tonal diversity, in its appropriation of styles and icons from the broader culture. The result is an idiosyncratic, collaborative parallel culture that blends naïve celebration with curious skepticism, a self-described “personal expressive Pop.” K48 exists, according to Hug, as an “act of generosity on everybody’s parts,” a hybrid even in its perpetuation. —Victor Brand, In Numbers: Serial Publications by Artists Since 1955.
Education
2000 Pratt Institute, New York, NY, MA, Graphic Design
1991 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, BFA
Solo Exhibitions
2012 HELL TO PAY, Rawson Projects, Brooklyn, NY
2009 NADA, Solo Presentation with John Connelly Presents, Miami Beach
Million Dollar Spit in the Ocean, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
2007 Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
2006 A Current Affair, Locust Projects, Miami, FL
2005 Wookie’s Need Love Too, in collaboration with Michael Magnan, Hiromi Yoshii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2004 Boys Gone Wild, in collaboration with Michael Magnan, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 Brainbow, curated by Matthew Bede Murphy, Shelter Gallery, NYC
2020 Street Encounters, curated by Paula Tognarelli, Arlington Museum of Art, TX
2019 Circus of Books, curated by Rachel Mason, FIERMAN Gallery, New York, NY
2016 Abstract Communication, curated by Dan Halm, HERE, New York, NY
12 x 12, Black Ball Projects, Brooklyn, New York
2 Years of Looking, curated by Erik Hanson, New Art Projects, London, UK
Foundation Barbin Presents: REDEUX (Sort of), curated by Lucky DeBellevue, Kai Matsumiya Gallery, New York, NY
2014 Purple and Gold, Louis B. James Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Pulp, curated by Guido Maus, Beta Pictoris Gallery, Birmingham, AL
ART/ACTIVISM, curated by Jacob Robichaux, Clifford Chance, New York, NY
Draw Gym, curated by Brian Belott, 247365 & KNOW MORE GAMES, Brooklyn, NY
2012 Pig Party, organized by Gina Beavers, New York City Gallery, New York, NY
Up Against It, curated by Billy Miller, Munch Gallery, New York, NY
Portrait of a Generation, curated by Kathy Grayson, The Hole, New York, NY
The Quality of Presence, curated by Dmitry Komis, Chelsea Hotel, New York, NY
Queens International 2012: Three Points Make a Triangle, curated by Larissa Harris, Jamillah James, and Manuela Moscoso,
Queens Museum, NY
Data Deluge, curated by Rachel Gugelberger and Reynard Loki, Ballroom Marfa, TX
2011 View of Outer Space from an Aquarium, curated by Billy Miller, Famous Accountants, Brooklyn, NY
Magic For Beginners, curated by Joseph Whitt and Jamie Sterns, P.P.O.W, New York, NY
Living Live, curated by David Louis Fierman and RJ Supa, The Center, New York, NY
2010 NeoIntegrity II Comic Edition, curated by Keith Mayerson, The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, New York, NY
Lost Horizon, curated by Billy Miller, Exile, Berlin, Germany
Lush Life, Chapter 2: LIAR, curated by Franklin Evans and Omar Lopez-Chahoud, On Stellar Rays, New York, NY
Troll, curated by Keehnan Konyha, Envoy Gallery, New York, NY
Gasoline Rainbow, curated by Kenneth Wright, CS13, Cincinnati, OH
2009 A Dry Run, Charlie Horse, Brooklyn, New York, NY
Black Mondays, Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, New York, NY
Glitterati, Headquarters, New York, NY
Mutual: On Collaboration, Samson Projects, Boston, MA
2008 The Possibility of an Island, curated by Ruba Katrib, MOCA, North Miami
The Meaning of Life, Galleria Glance, Torino, Italy
Cover Version, curated by Timothy Hull, Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles
A New High in Getting Low NYC, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
AA Bronson's School for Young Shamans, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
2007 Fact or Friction, curated by Ruba Katrib and Geir Heraldseth, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA
Red Badge of Courage, curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud, The National Newark Building, Newark, New Jersey
The Male Gaze, (in collaboration with Michael Magnan) The powerhouse Arena, Brooklyn, NY
Artists’ Self-Portraits as Porn Stars, curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud, Circus of Books, West Hollywood, CA
Just Kick it Till it Breaks, curated by Deborah Singer & Matthew Lyons, The Kitchen, New York, NY
2006 The Golden Hour, curated by Susanna Cole and Erin Donnelly, Gigantic ArtSpace, New York, NY
Kamp K48, curated by Scott Hug, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
Six Degrees of Separation 2: The Inner Workings of Cold Contact, Stux Gallery, New York, NY
Test Patterns, City-Wide installations & Pinkard Gallery, Bunting Center, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Celebrity, Sixtyseven Gallery, New York, NY
Tempest, curated by John Connelly, The Fireplace Project, East Hampton, NY
Bring The War Home, organized by Drew Heitzler, QED Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Bring The War Home, organized by Drew Heitzler, Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, NY
Art for Relief, Metropolitan Gallery, New York, NY
Never Mind the Bullocks, Here’s Amanda Lear, Envoy, New York, NY
Group Show, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
2005 With Us Against Reality, Or Against Us, curated by Ida Ekblad & Anders Nordby, S.E., Norway
Picture Window, curated by Gary Kachadourian, Baltimore City, MD
2004 The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, curated by Ed Bucholtz, The Gallery, Pittsburg, PA
Phiiliip: Divided by Lightning, curated by Philip Guichard, produced by John Connelly Presents for Deitch Projects Brooklyn, NY
Democracy is Fun?, curated by Michelle Thursz and Defne Ayas, White Box, NY
Collage Party, curated by Simon Watson, Bergdorf Goodman, New York, NY
Majority Whip, curated by Kathy Grayson and Laura Tepper, White Box, New York, NY
The Collector’s Cabinet, curated by Simon Watson, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
2003 The Outlaw Series, curated by Lisa Kirk, New York, NY
You, curated by Lisa Kirk, New York, NY
Today’s Man, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
Now Playing, D’Amelio Terras, New York, NY
Invitation No. 75: Fashion, Art, Design, Bureau Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Magazin, Marres/Jan Van Eyck Academy, Maastricht, The Netherlands
2002 Guide to Trust No. 2, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Franscico, CA,
1999 2 Ways In, Henry Urbach Architecture, NY NY; 2 person exhibition with Claude Parent, New York, NY
Free Coke, Greene Naftali, New York, NY
Chicago Art Fair, Chicago Project Room, Chicago, IL
List 99 The Young Art Fair in Basel, Chicago Project Room, Chicago, IL
BMW: black met white, ANP, Antwerp, Belgium
1998 Three Person Exhibition (with Richard Hawkins and Jeff Ono), Feature, New York, NY
Odyssey: Post Pop and the New Generation, Greene Naftali, New York, NY
Drawers, Feature, New York, NY
F.I.S.T., ANP, Antwerp, Belgium
Vienna Beef, organized by the Chicago Project, Room Bricks & Kicks, Vienna, Austria
WOp: works on/off paper, Anp, Antwerp, Belgium
Four person exhibition (with Alix Lambert, Lori Daniels, and Megan Cump), Chicago Project Room, Chicago, IL
1997 More, curated by Tony Payne, XL Gallery, New York, NY
New York Drawers: The Pierogi 2000 Flatfiles, Gasworks, London, England; Cornerhouse, Manchester, England
Current Undercurrent: Working in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
1996 Taking Stock, curated by Kenny Schacter, New York, NY
Summer Group Show, Feature, New York, NY
1991 Betty Rymer Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL
Special Projects
2016 Currently working on a Bern Porter documentary, sponsored by Colby College. Release date pending.
2012 B-OUT, organized by Scott Hug, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY
2011 TAKE-OUT, curated by Scott Hug, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY
K48 Issue #8: ABRAK48DABRA
2010 No Soul For Sale, Tate Modern, K48 Kontinuum, curated by Maurizio Cattelan and Cecilia Alemani, London, England
2009 Out of Order, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY
No Soul for Sale, X Initiative, K48 Kontinuum, curated by Maurizio Cattelan and Cecilia Alemani, New York, NY
2008 Artist Initiated Magazines, curated by Torpedo Press, Oslo, Norway
K48 Issue #7: Starship Counterforce
Artist As Publisher, curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud, Center 4 Book Arts, New York, NY
Featured artist at the 3rd New York Art Book Fair
2007 K48 Issue #6: In Lockdown We Bite!
2005 The Zine Unbound: Kults, Werewolves, and Sarcastic Hippies, Yerba Buena, Los Angeles, CA
Is There Anybody Out There, Hiromi Yoshii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
K48 Sundown Salon, Fritz Haeg residence, Los Angeles, CA, February 20, 2005
2004 K48, Issue #5: K48 is and Animal, 2004 - 2005
2003 ATTACK! The Kult 48 Klubhouse, curated by Scott Hug at Deitch Projects Brooklyn, NY, November 21- December 14, 2003
K48 Teenage Rebel: The Bedroom Show, curated by Scott Hug at Galerie du Jour: Agnes b., Paris, France
K48, Issue #4: Kult 48
K48 Teenage Rebel: The Bedroom Show, curated by Scott Hug at John Connelly Presents, New York, NY
K48, Issue #3: Teenage Rebel, 2001-2002
2001 K48, Issue #2, Guts Cuts and Sore Butts, 2001
2000 K48, Issue #1, Life & Chaos, 2000
1999 Curatorial for Zingmagazine by ANP, Autume, page 165 (reproduction).
1998-97 Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, NY (flatfiles).
Bibliography
2022 No Amplifiers, Polaroids by Scott Hug, evergreenreview.com, 2022
2012 Cara Despain, “Review: Data Deluge,” Art Pulse, Summer, 2012
Holland Cotter, “Art in Review, B-OUT,” New York Times, July 12, 2012
2011 Holland Cotter, “Art in Review; Take –Out,” New York Times, August 19, 2011
Ken Johnson, “Art in Review; Magic for Beginners,” New York Times, August 11, 2011
2010 Holland Cotter, “Lower East Side Tale, Refracted Nine Times,” New York Times, July 8, 2010
Leslie Minora, “Second Lush Life Exhibit, Chapter Two: Liar, Opens Today,” Village Voice Blog, June 23, 2010
Aimee Walleston, “Scott Hug,” The Last Magazine, issue #04, Spring, 2010
2009 Varnelis, Kazys, “The Immediated Now: Network Culture and the Poetics of Reality,” varnelis.networkedbook.org
Cotter, Holland, “Restoring the ‘Eek’ to Eking Out a Living,” New York Times, June 24, 2009
Hromack, Sarah, “NSFS: A Video Interview With K48,” ArtinAmericamagazine.com, June 23, 2009
2008 Lewis, Jaqueline, “Interview with Scott Hug,” Chief Magazine Issue #12
Rosenberg, Karen, “Art in Review: A New High in Getting Low” New York Times, March 7, 2008
Amir, Yaelle, Beautiful Decay, Issue V, 2008
2007 Hug, Scott, Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, The Polaroids: 2002-2007, [artist’s book/magazine, ed 1,000], published
by John Connelly Presents, 2007
Weist, Nicholas, “Art’s New Vanguard,” Out, June 2007
Trebay, Guy, “Gay Art: A Movement, or at Least a Moment,” New York Times, May 6, 2007
Cotter, Holland, “Art in Review; Just Kick it Till it Breaks,” New York Times, April 13, 2007
2006 “Six Degrees of Separation 2: The Inner Workings of Cold Contact,” The New Yorker, September 4, 2006
Simpson, Les, “Kamp K48,” Time Out New York, August 24-30, 2006
Wang, Michael, "Pitching Tents," Artforum Diary, August 10, 2006
“6 + 4”, Kapok Blog, May 10, 2006
“It’s all in the Blend”, Blend, issue 13, June 2006
Helfand, Glen, “‘The Zine UnBound: Kults, Werewolves, and Sarcastic Hippies’at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts”,
Art on Paper, vol. 10, n. 3, January/February 2006, p.78-79
2004 Trebay, Guy, “Artists Stage a Be-In at Bergdorf’s,” New York Times, October 26, 2004, p. B9.
Mogutin, Slava. “New York Attack.” Tetu n. 88, p. 114-125
Cotter, Holland, “Scott Hug and Michael Magnan”, New York Times, July 29, p. E34
Cotter, Holland, “Sampling Brooklyn, Keeper of Eclectic Flames,” New York Times, January 23, 2004, p. E27, 29
2003 Cotter, Holland, “The Art and Artist of the Year,” New York Times, December 28, 2003 p. E37
Mar, Alex, “The New Dealers”, New York, December 1, 2003, p. 44 - 45
Cotter, Holland, “Jack Smith,” New York Times, December 5, 2003 p. E47
Velez, Pedro, “A Tale of Two Fairs”, Artnet, www.artnet.com.
Watson, Simon, “Post Bubble”, Issue, Issue 7, Fall 2003, p. 119-125.
Levin, Kim, “Now Playing,” Village Voice, July 16-22, p. 70
C.A. “Range ta chambre”, Mixt(e), n. 24, September 2003, p. 40
Fannell, Shelley, “What About New York?”, Dazed & Confused, vol. 2 n. 6, October 2003, p. 40
Kerr, Merrily, “Satellite Spin-off: Standouts from the Alternative Art Fair Scene,” Flash Art, n. 232, October 2003, p. 43, 52
Pruvost, Sébastien, “Nouvelle Nouvelle Vague,” Jalouse, n. 65, November 2003, p. 76-77
Mascina, Audrey, “Viens dans ma chambre…”, Blast, n. 9, p. 24-25
Yablonsky, Linda, “To Replace Paint and Page, Artists Try Pixel Power,” New York Times, August 17, 2003 p. 2.25
Cotter, Holland, “By and About Men, and They’re Running With It”, New York Times, August 8, 2003
p. E32
Bullock, Maggie, “K48”, WGSN on line, January 2003
Cotter, Holland, “Session The Bowl”, New York Times, January 10, 2003 p. E46
Eleey, Peter, “K48-3: Teenage Rebel: The Bedroom Show”, frieze, Issue 74, April 2003, p. 104
Garret, Craig, “Teenage Rebel at John Connelly Presents", Flash Art, March/April 2003, vol. XXXVI, n. 229, p. 51
Kimmelman, Michael, “Now Playing”, New York Times, July 18, 2003, p. E33
Laster, Paul, “K-48 Teenage Rebel-The Bedroom Show”, Time Out New York, January 2 – 9, 2003, n. 379, p. 59
Lee, Carol, “Art at Leisure: The Scope Art Fair at Dylan Hotel”, Paper www.papermag.com
Levin, Kim, “K48-3: Teenage Rebel: The Bedroom Show”, Village Voice, January 1 - 7, 2003, vol.XLVIII, n. 1, p. 60
Moody, Tom, “Tom Moody’s web log”, www.digitalmediatree.com, January 2003
Papararo, Jenifer, “K48-3: Teenage Rebel: The Bedroom Show”, International Contemporary Art, Issue 78, Summer 2003, p. 12–14
Rosenberg, Karen, “K48-3: Teenage Rebel: The Bedroom Show”, City Search online, February 15, 2003
“NYC CD/Mag Thing”, Sleazenation, vol.4, n.23, January/February 2003, p.14
Rosenberg, Karen, “K48-3: Teenage Rebel: The Bedroom Show/Session the Bowl”, Village Voice, vol. XLVIII, n. 3, January 15 – 21,
2003 p. 69
Simpson, Les, “Rebel Rousers”, Time Out New York, January 2–9, 2003, p.99
Smith, Roberta, “A Bread-Crumb Trail to the Spirit of the Times”, New York Times, January 17, 2003, p. E53
Smith, Roberta, “A Grand Finale of Group Show Fireworks”, New York Times, July 18, 2003, p. E31
Wartofsky, Alona, “Roomination”, The Washington Post, January 11, 2003, p. C1, C5
“Goings on About Town”, The New Yorker, January 20, 2003, p. 18
2002 Cotter, Holland, “A Document Made by Paul Thek and Edwin Klein”, New York Times, December 20, p. E44
de Koff, Derek, “The Scene: Generation W”, New York Magazine, September 30, 2002, p. 47–50
“The 25 Most Likely To...”, Next Magazine, October 2002
“Hug’s Drug”, Flyer, March 2002, issue 46 , p. 14
1999 Ivy, Angus, “WOp: ANP,” Zingmagazine, Spring/Summer 1999, p. 229–230
1998 Cotter, Holland, “Art in Review,” New York Times, June 26, 1999, p. E38
Erickson, Karl, “I am Here. I am Glad You are There,” New Art Examiner, December 1998/January 1999, p. 19–23
Johnson, Ken, “Art in Review.” New York Times, January 23, 1998, p. E35
“Goings on About Town”, The New Yorker, July 27, 1998, p. 14
Teaching
2023 Guest Lecturer, Colby College, Waterville, Maine; The Internet’s Underwear: Bern Porter, Mail Art, and the Eternal Network
with Mail Artist, Sheila Holtz
2014 Instructor: Design, Lehman College, Spring semester, Bronx, NY
2013 Guest Lecturer, Northeastern University, Boston, Department of English. Course: Queer Theory. Topic of Lecture: Artist’s Books
2012 Instructor: Introduction to Silkscreen, NYU, Winter Session 2012
2011 Instructor: Book as Art, NYU, Fall 2011
Visiting guest lecturer at Colby College, The School of Visual Arts, Parson, NYU, and the Oslo Art Academy, Norway