Betsy Odom (b. Amory, Mississippi) received her MFA from Yale University School of Art and her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including a DCASE Grant, Illinois Arts Council Artist Grant, and West collection Acquisition Prize. Odom’s work has been reviewed in publications including in Artforum, Fabrik Magazine, and The Chicago Tribune. Recent solo and group exhibitions include Butchcraft at the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago, Freedom Culture at the Journal Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, Everlast at Corbett vs. Dempsey in Chicago, and Queer Forms at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
EDUCATION
Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
M.F.A. in Sculpture, 2007
San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
B.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Art, 2002
United World College USA, Montezuma, NM
International Baccalaureate, 1999
FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS and AWARDS
2022 Professional Development Grant, Loyola University Chicago
2019 Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship, finalist, Chicago, IL
2018 DCASE Grant, Chicago, IL
2018 Professional Development Grant, Loyola University Chicago
2014 Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Artist Grant, Chicago, IL
2013 Critical Fierceness Grant, Chances Dances, Chicago, IL
2012 West Collection Acquisition Prize, Philadelphia, PA
Community Supported Art Program, Selected Artist, ThreeWalls Chicago, Chicago, IL
2011 Community Artist Assistance Program Grant, City of Chicago Cultural Affairs, Chicago, IL
2010 Illinois Arts Council Independent Artist Grant, Chicago, IL
2009 Part-Time Faculty Development Grant, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
2008 All Staff Arts and Media Award, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
2007 Alice Kimball English Traveling Grant, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
2006 Anderson Ranch Merit Scholarship, Snowmass Village, CO
2005 Cultural Arts Council of Houston / Harris County Artist Fellowship Grant, Houston, TX
SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2019 Butchcraft, DePaul Museum of Art, Chicago, IL
2019 Object Relations, Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, IL
2018 Color Guard, Ledge Gallery, Broad Museum, Michigan State University
2018 Everlast (With Celeste Rapone), Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago, IL
2017 Boyish Charms (with Rafael Vera), Demo Projects, Springfield, IL
2015 Let's Be Honest, 4th Ward Project Space, Chicago, IL
2014 OH NO, Terrain Projects, Oak Park, IL
2013 Betsy Odom: Bulldog, Demo Projects, Springfield, IL
2012 Gentlewoman, Woman-Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
2011 Betsy Odom: Registry, ThreeWalls Gallery, Chicago, IL
Betsy Odom: Sis Boom Bah; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2010 Betsy Odom: Almost, Sonnenschein Gallery, Chicago, IL
Betsy Odom: Bulldog, North Branch Gallery, Skokie, IL
2005 New Terrain, Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX
Fainting Goats, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
2004 Betsy Odom, ArtScan Gallery/ Rudolph Projects, Houston, TX
Betsy Odom: Barnyard, Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 The Chaperone, LVL3, Chicago, IL
Reckless Rolodex, Gallery 400, Chicago, IL
MASCS: Masculinity Reimagined, Morlan Gallery, Transylvania University, Lexington, KY
2022 Soft Noise, The Plan, Chicago, IL
Abstract Acres, Fenville, MI
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Design Museum of Chicago, IL
Immersive Frida Kahlo, Germania Place, Chicago, IL
2021 Frida Kahlo: Timeless, Cleve Carney Museum of Art, Glen Ellyn, IL
LTDWEAR5, LVL3 Gallery, Chicago, IL
2020 Relic, Ritual, Remedy, Heaven Gallery, Chicago, IL
Artist Run Chicago 2.0, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2019 Terrain Biennial, Chicago, IL
Not Just Another Pretty Face, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Artist Run Chicago 2.0, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
On Guard, Storefront Gallery, New York, NY
D6 Design + Art #12, Dock 6, Chicago, IL
Queer Forms, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
2018 Hand Eye Coordination: Sports and Art, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
Mobile, Open Space, Baltimore, MD
Object Permanence, FJORD Gallery, Philidelphia, PA
2017 Small Sculpture, Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago, IL
Landline, Ads Donna, Chicago, IL
Gendered, Mint Museum Uptown, Charolette, NC
MaterialKINK, Leather Archive and Museum, Chicago, IL
The Annual, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
Landline, Adds Donna, Chicago, IL
Precariat, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Stronger Together, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, IL
Can't Lose, Metropolitan Capital, Chicago, IL
2016 Corbett vs. Dempsey at Art Expo Chicago, Chicago, IL
You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine, Lula Café, Chicago, IL
Your body is a battleground, Weinberg/ Newton Gallery, Chicago, IL
Trifecta, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago
2015 Freedom Culture, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Warm Kitty, Fuzzy Kitty, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Tertiary Dimensions, Sector 2337, Chicago, IL
2014 Entangled, Rudolph Projects, Houston, TX
Boundaries, Collapse, Critical Fierceness Show, Lula Cafe, Chicago, IL
Natology Projects at Scope Miami, Miami, FL
2013 Wild, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Mind’s I, Iceberg Projects, Chicago, IL
Rube Goldberg’s Ghost, Glass Curtain Gallery, Chicago, IL
More Than Naked, Ralph Arnold Fine Art Annex, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL
Shape Shifters, Herron School of Art and Design, Indianapolis, IN
2012 ACRE at NADA Miami, Miami, FL
West Prize Exhibition, SEI Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
In Search Of…, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN
First Contact, Field Projects, New York, NY
Industry of the Ordinary: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, Portrait Project, Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
20 Jurors, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Big Youth II, Amel Bourouina Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Re-Source, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2011 Conversations: Parallel Play, Riverside Art Center, Riverside, IL
Privacy, Please!, AIR Gallery, New York
dream, in, the, act, Kunz Vis Projects, Chicago, IL
Space Cases, Pop-Up Art Loop Gallery, Chicago, IL
Group Hug, ACRE Projects at Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, IL
Hyde Park Art Center at MDW Fair, Chicago, IL
ACRE Projects at NEXT Fair, Chicago, IL
2010 Drawing From Lives, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, IL
Girl, Please, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Art Loop Open 2010, Hotel Allegro, Chicago, IL
New Wave, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
New City’s 2010 Breakout Artists, ArtChicago, Chicago, IL
The Shape of Things to Come, Jettison, NEXT Fair, Chicago, IL
2009 (Blank)Space, Faculty Exhibition, Columbia College Chicago,
Averill and Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery, Chicago, IL
Zombie—A Mindless Affair, Antenna Gallery, Chicago, IL
Changed, Temescal Art Center, Oakland, CA
2008 Points of Convergence: Masters of Fine Art, College Art Association Exhibition,
The Gallery at UTA/ University of Texas, Arlington, TX
Drawn IV, Hokin Gallery, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
2007 White Trash Heroes, RawSpace, New York, NY
Yale Sculpture MFA Thesis Exhibition, Yale School of Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Summer Show, Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
2006 ScopeMiami, Rudolph Projects in Miami, FL
Contemporary Art Houston, Shanghai Museum of Fine Art, Shanghai, China
Traffic, Space 125, Houston, TX
2005 Drawn Four, Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
UnReal, University of Texas, Dallas, TX
Pri-Mar-Y, Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas, TX
20th Anniversary Exhibition, Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
First-Year Exhibition, Yale School of Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
2004 New American Talent: 19, Arthouse, Austin, TX
Excessive, University of Texas, Dallas, TX
A Little Insolence, A Little Soul, Redbud Projects, Houston, TX
Kelli Connell, Thomas Feulmer, Betsy Odom, Southside Gallery, Dallas, TX
In Situ, Buffalo Bayou Art Park, Houston, TX
The Big Show, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
Contemporary Issues Program, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Project Marfa, Barry Whistler Gallery at Highland Bus Depot, Marfa, TX
Art LA, ArtScan Gallery/ Rudolph Projects in Los Angeles, CA
2003 Red, ArtScan Gallery/ Rudolph Projects, Houston, TX
The Big Show, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
Dallas vs. Houston, Plush Gallery, Dallas, TX
Space, Commerce Street Artists’ Warehouse, Houston, TX
Scope Miami, ArtScan Gallery/ Rudolph Projects in Miami, FL
Iron Tribe ’03, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM
2002 US/ UK Cast Iron Exhibition, New Orleans Sculpture Lab, New Orleans, LA
35th Anniversary Show, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
Senior Show, Walter McBean Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SFAI Spring Show, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
CURATING
2022. Question Mark, NIAD Art Center, Richmond, CA
2021. Present Artifacts, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago
Get It Together, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago
2020. Pivot, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago
2019 Past Tense, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago
2018 Good News, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago
Bad News, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago
2017 Body Work, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago, IL
Unapologetic Drawing, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago, IL
2016 Near at Hand, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University Chicago, IL
2011 Twenty in Their Twenties (juror), Woman-Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
2010 Tomboy, Glass Curtain Gallery, Chicago, IL
Noted in the Top 5 group exhibitions of 2010 in Chicago by NewCity
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chicago Tribune, Frida Kahlo exhibition at College of DuPage, June 3, 2021.
Hawbaker, KT. “Critics’ Picks,” Artforum, March 2019.
Hofer, Kristin Leigh. “High Fiber Diet,” fnewsmagazine, March 27, 2019.
Grabner, Michelle. “Celeste Rapone and Betsy Odom: Everlast,” Fabrik Magazine, February 18, 2019.
Behm, Carly. “Art Exhibit ‘Butchcraft Examines Stereotypes Through Craft, Loyola Phoenix, Februaty 5, 2019
Cheng, Ada. “Betsy Odom, butchcraft, LGBTQ identity and art,” Windy City Times, January 8, 2019.
NA. “Conversations With the Inspiring Betsy Odom,” Voyage Chicago, January 2019.
Foumburg, Jason. “Fall’s 10 Most Anticipated Art Exhibitions,” Chicago Magazine, September 2015.
Nardi, Sarah. “Is that a hole in your saddle, or are you just happy to see me?,” Chicago Reader Bleader Blog, July 2013.
Farrell Roulo, Robyn. “Crafted Implication,” ArtSlant, June 2011.
Viera, Lauren. “Betsy Odom at Threewalls Gallery.” Chicago Tribune, May 12, 2011.
Corr, Elizabeth. “Go Bitches! (To Betsy Odom’s Sis Boom Bah at Hyde Park Art Center),” Bad At Sports, April 5, 2011.
Fomberg, Jason. “Breakout Artists 2010: Chicago’s next generation of image-makers,” Newcity, April 2010.
NA. “Critics’ picks,” Time Out Chicago, March 10- 16, 2011, P 51.
NA. “Artist Profile: Betsy Odom,” Jettison Quarterly, Issue 5, Spring 2010.
Fomberg, Jason. “Review: Tomboy/ Glass Curtain Gallery,” Newcity, November 2010.
NA. “Top Five of Everything, Top Five Curated Exhibitions,” New City, December 2010.
Viera, Lauren. “View of artist should not alter our perception.” Chicago Tribune, December 17, 2010.
Weber, Candice. “Gender Benders: Two exhibitions question our notions of masculine and feminine behavior. Time Out Chicago. December 2010.
Nielsen, Katy. “Workshop, interactive art show.” Columbia Chronicle. November 2010.
Meksin, Leeza. “Which Craft?” Culturehall: A Curated Online Resource for Contemporary Art, July 2010.
Fixen, Anna. “Games for Girls,” Chicago Weekly, April 2010.
Viera, Lauren. “Gallery hopping, from Albano to Zg,” Chicago Tribune, January 2010.
Weinburg, Lauren, All Tomorrow’s Art Parties,” TOC Blog, Time Out Chicago, January 2010.
Weinburg, Lauren, “(blank)Space,” Time Out Chicago, August 2009, p. 61