Elliott Linwood received his Masters degree from the Interdisciplinary Arts Department at San Francisco State University, where he developed core graduate curricula and taught performance and conceptual art. His Bachelors degree from New York University and graduate studies at the University of Chicago were focused in cultural anthropology and visual literacy.
Linwood's work has been exhibited at the Alternative Museum and Artists Space in New York City; and the Center for Photography in Woodstock, New York; Randolph Street Gallery in Chicago, Illinois; the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts; Diverse Works in Houston, Texas; Intersection for the Arts, SF Cameraworks, the de Young Museum, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco; the John Thomas Gallery, Highways Exhibition Space in Santa Monica; The La Jolla Athenaeum in San Diego; and Palm Springs Art Museum in California. His photography has been featured in F-Stop, LensCulture and other magazines. Linwood's work has also been reviewed in Art in America, Artforum, The Village Voice, Artweek and other publications. The artist has received various awards such as a California Arts Council Fellowship, the San Francisco John Caldwell Memorial Award for Excellence, The State of California Graduate Studies Empowerment Grants, awards from Artists Space, Art Matters and Visual AIDS in New York City, as well as other institutions.
EDUCATION
1993, Master of Arts, San Francisco State University Interdisciplinary Arts Department, San Francisco, CA
1983, Divisional Masters Program, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
1982, Bachelor of Arts, New York University Cultural Anthropology Department, New York, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025, Crucible, City College Arts and Humanities Building, San Diego, CA
2025, Constructs, Mission Valley Public Library, San Diego, CA
2009, Epithets and Epitaphs, Four Walls, San Diego, CA
2008, Collecting Dust and Other Things, Four Walls, San Diego, CA (book)
2007, Formalities and Casualties, Four Walls, San Diego, CA
2005, All of My Beautiful Friends, Four Walls, San Diego, CA
2005, Instead, Fading Ad Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2005, Hymn, San Francisco LGBT Center, San Francisco, CA
2004, Lessons in Survival, Fading Ad Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2004, Benefit of the Doubt, Mother Jones Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996, Love is the Devil’s Doormat, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1995, Isolated Incidents, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
1995, Endurance, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
1994, Citizen Pan, The Victoria Room, San Francisco, CA
1993, Swarm, The Lab, San Francisco, CA; traveled to Highways Exhibition Space, Santa Monica, CA; Rita Dean Gallery, San Diego, CA; and Artists Space, New York, NY
1993, Mobility, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1992, Veiled Threats, Mace Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1992, Engendered Realms, Eye Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1990, Traces of Late, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
1989, Index and Ring Fingers, Small Press Traffic, San Francisco, CA (catalogs)
1982, Danny’s Art Hustling, New York University Video Department and the City Community Cable Channel, New York, NY
GROUP SHOWS
2026, Postcards from the Edge, Berry Campbell Gallery, New York, NY
2025, Portfolios, Luxe Gallery, San Diego, CA
2025, Towards a Queer Historiography: Photographic Practices and the Archive, (curated by Caity Fares), Pride Gallery, San Diego, CA
2025, Images of Pride: Joyful Acts of Resistance (co-curated by Lanae King, Executive Director of Medium Photo, and Liliana Hueso, artist and educator), Pride Gallery, San Diego, CA
2025, Resistance in Motion: Art, Activism and Belonging, City Gallery, San Diego, CA
2025, 33rd Annual, La Jolla Athenaeum, San Diego, CA
2025, Into the Night, F-Stop Magazine, https://www.fstopmagazine.com/groupexhibition.html
2025, Embracing the Mystery, California Center for the Arts, Escondido, CA
2025, Drive-thru, City College Arts and Humanities Building, San Diego, CA
2025, Studio Arts Exhibition, City Gallery, San Diego, CA
2025, Silver and Pixels, Luxe Gallery, San Diego, CA
2025, Present Tense 4 (juried by Guusje Sanders, Mingei Museum Curator), Medium Photo, San Diego, CA (artist talk and catalog)
2024, Portfolios, Luxe Gallery, San Diego, CA (catalog)
2024, Silver and Pixels, Luxe Gallery, San Diego, CA
2024, From the Archive: Celebrating 50 Years, International Center of Photography, New York, NY
2023, Studio Arts Exhibition, Mesa College Art Gallery, San Diego, CA
2023, Summer Show (curated by Orestes Gonzalez), The Curated Fridge, Somerville, MA; and Culture Lab, New York, NY
2022, Studio Arts Exhibition, Mesa College Art Gallery, San Diego, CA
2020, Ampler Than Loneliness: Documenting Collective Resilience Through HIV and Covid-19, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2018, Home, Augusta Savage Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
2013, What's in Your Closet?, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2012, Borders/Crossings, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2010, The Infidel's Hallelujah, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2009, Mythologies, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2008, Militancy and Mourning, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2005, Unexpected Encounter, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2005, Bay Area Voices, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
2005, National Exhibition, Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA
2004, Making the Private Public, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2004, Miniature Show, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA
2003, Share Your Vision, Artists Space, New York, NY (catalog)
2003, Spice, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2002, Per Ora: Consuming Desire, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
2000, Inescapable Hope, Visual AIDS, New York, NY
1999, Digging the Future, San Jose Arts Center, San Jose, CA
1998, Martyr Nature, San Francisco State University Fine Arts Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1997, New Work, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA
1996, Living Testament of the Blood Fairies, Artists Space, New York, NY
1996, Heightened Awareness, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
1996, The Archive Project, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA (catalog)
1995, Better Living Through Chemistry (organized by Hamza Walker), Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL (catalog)
1995, Wary Still, Highways Exhibition Space, Santa Monica, CA
1994, Amendments, Hallwalls, Buffalo, NY
1994, National Showcase, The Alternative Museum, New York, NY
1994, Creating in Crisis, Spaces, Cleveland, OH (catalog)
1994, Random Video, ABC No Rio, New York, NY
1994, Damned: Life, Death and Surface, John Thomas Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1993, The Body Politic, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1992, Without, The Lab, San Francisco, CA; traveled to Diverse Works, Houston, TX
1992, The American Dream (juried by Sandra Phillips, SFMOMA Photography Curator), Center for Photography, Woodstock, NY
1992, Travel Documents, SF Cameraworks, San Francisco, CA
1991, Annual (juried by Andy Grunberg, Friends of Photography Director and New York Times art critic), Photo Metro, San Francisco, CA
CURATION
2008, Collecting Dust and Other Things: Town Hall as Hair Salon, Four Walls, San Diego, CA (month-long performance with interviews of museum directors, curators and arts professionals) (book)
2007, Pretty Soon: Time-based Work, Four Walls, San Diego, CA
1995, Wary Still, Highways Exhibition Space, Santa Monica, CA1994, Forms of Address, San Francisco Art Institute Walter McBean Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993, Dress Code, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1992, Feminism: What Kind?, The Women's Building, San Francisco, CA
AWARDS
2024, Jeff Berry Languages Scholarship, Mesa College, San Diego, CA
2023, Kevin Branson LGBTQ+ Scholarship, Mesa College, San Diego, CA
2003, Roche Award and Visual AID Matching Grant, New York, New York, providing funding for Staff Attorney position at the Marin AIDS Project, San Rafael, CA
1998, State of California Graduate School Empowerment Grant, New College School of Law, San Francisco, CA
1996, Artists Space Grant, New York, NY
1995, Art Matters Grant, New York, NY
1994, John Caldwell Memorial Award for Excellence, Visual AIDS, San Francisco, CA
1994, California Arts Council Fellowship, Sacramento, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2025, Picturing Community: Vernacular of Public Commons, AnonPhenom Press, San Diego, CA (book)
2025, City Zine, San Diego City College Photo Club, San Diego, CA (reproduction)
2025, Present Tense 6, Medium Photo, San Diego, CA (reproduction)
2025, "Critic's Choice," Lens Culture Magazine (reproduction)
2025, "Into the Night," F-Stop Magazine, Issue 132 (reproduction)
2025, Present Tense 5, Medium Photo, San Diego, CA (reproduction)
2025, City Works, San Diego City College Arts Journal Spring Issue, San Diego, CA (reproduction)
2025, Honorable Mention, San Diego Community College Honors Program, San Diego, CA (reproduction)
2025, Present Tense 4, Medium Photo, San Diego, CA (catalog and reproduction)
2024, Catalog 249, San Diego City College Photography Department, San Diego, CA (reproduction)
2008, Collecting Dust and Other Things, Four Walls, San Diego, California (book)
2006, “Best Up and Coming Artist of San Diego,” 944 Magazine, January, p. 97
2005, Jules Newmark, “Picture Perfect,” 944 Magazine, December, pp. 60-61 (reproduction)
2005, Jennifer Mullen, “Around Town,” San Francisco Bay Times, April 21, p.11
2004, Paul Sendziuk, "The Art of AIDS Prevention," http://www.aidsart.org/#!vstc1=linwood (interview with reproductions)
2003, Lester Strong, “Sharing a Vision,” Art and Understanding, December, p. 21 (reproduction)
2003, Rhomylly Forbes, “Living Testament,” Art and Understanding, November, pp. 20-21
1998, Claudia Gould and Valerie Smith, 5000 Artists Return to Artists Space: 25 Years, Artists Space, New York, New York, p. 293 (reproduction)
1997, Holland Cotter, “The Stuff Life is Made of,” Art in America, April, pp. 50-51 (reproduction)
1996, Bill Arning, “Days with Art,” Village Voice, December 10, p. 95
1996, “Previews,” Art in America, August, p. 25
1996, Joe Vojtko, “Blood Fairies Versus the Monsters of Chaos,” Review, December 1, pp. 11, 14
1996, Harry Roche, “Critic’s Choice,” San Francisco Bay Guardian, November 20, p. 56 (reproduction)
1995, Chiori Santiago, “Harmony and Abstracts,” San Jose Mercury News, December 17, p. 4
1995, Hamza Walker, Better Living through Chemistry, Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, Illinois (catalog)
1994, Julie Hormel, "Review," Visions Art Quarterly, Winter, pp. 336-37 (reproduction)
1994, David M. Roth, “Marked Man,” Artweek, November 3, p. 12 (reproduction)
1994, Sara Wolf, “Corpus Memorandum,” Visions Art Quarterly, Summer, p. 22
1994, Creating in Crises, Spaces, Cleveland, Ohio (catalog)
1994, Michael Milligan, “The Real Thing,” Northern Ohio Live, June, pp. 24-25 (reproduction)
1994, Wickie Stamps, “Art on the Verge,” San Francisco Bay Times, March 10, p. 35 (reproduction)
1994, Michael Darling, “Skin Deep,” Artweek, February 3, back cover
1993, David Levi Strauss, “Review,” Artforum, Summer, pp. 114-115
1993, Christine Tamblyn, “Boys Club, Crafthut, Carnival or Cyberspace?,” High Performance Magazine, Summer, pp. 60, 62 (reproduction)
1993, Harry Roche, “Tongue in Cheek,” San Francisco Sentinel, August 25, p. 28 (reproduction)
1993, Glen Helfand, “Like a Den of Inequity,” San Francisco Weekly, August 4, p. 13 (reproduction)
1993, Charlene Roth, “Sting Like a Bee,” Artweek, March 18, p. 16 (reproduction)
1992, Bruno Fazzolari, “Rites of Suffering,” Artweek, December 17 (reproduction)
1992, Harry Roche, “Critic’s Choice,” San Francisco Bay Guardian, December 2, p. 77 (reproduction)
1992, Roberto Friedman, “The Art of Rememberance,” Bay Area Reporter, November 26
1991, Henry Brimmer, Photo Metro, November (reproduction)
COLLECTIONS
James C. Hormel Center, Historical Collections, San Francisco Central Public Library, San Francisco, CA
Marilyn and Gene Marx Special Collections Center, California Collection, San Diego Central Public Library, San Diego, CA
San Francisco Arts Commission, Civic Art Collection, San Francisco, CA
Visual AIDS, Artists Archives, New York, NY