Visiting Artist Oren Pinhassi

Nov 30 - Dec 11, 2026

Community Engagement and Dialogue

Join us for a conversation in Schermer Meeting Hall at Anderson Ranch Arts Center with Visiting Artist Oren Pinhassi.

Visiting Artist lectures are free, open to the public, and available in person or via livestream.

New York-based artist Oren Pinhassi (b. 1985, Tel Aviv, Israel; lives and works in New York, NY) creates sensuous sculptures and large-scale installations that explore the politics of architectural spaces as they relate to the human body. His anthropomorphic sculptures, often standing up to eight feet in height, examine individual vulnerability and fluidity within the built environment, probing new possibilities for coexistence. Pinhassi’s haptic and immersive spaces redefine the relationship between viewer and environment, provoking a visceral interaction with the art object that yields a heightened awareness of humankind’s place within larger socio-political ecosystems.

Pinhassi has developed a distinct visual language that combines the superfluous and ergonomic with the utopian. Mimicking familiar images—such as a palm tree, a shower, or a chaise lounge—Pinhassi’s sculptures break down binary categories between people and objects. This implied borderless polyamory carries a pattern of erotic transmutation that guides the formation of new understandings in which object, architecture, and the body flow seamlessly into one another in free association. Pinhassi is drawn to organic materials for their shape-shifting potential and works primarily with sand and plaster. Akin to the work of Arte Povera artists, this use of non-traditional materials is an integral part of Pinhassi’s practice. Part of his sculpting process consists of the repetitive layering of burlap, plaster, and sand over welded steel skeletons, revealing the touch of the artist’s hand across every piece. The results are totemic-like figures that collapse preconceived notions of private and public space and our agency within them, heralding a futuristic hybridity.

Pinhassi received his B.Ed.F.A. in 2011 from Beit-Berl College, Hamidrasha School of Art and his MFA in 2014 from Yale University. Selected solo exhibitions include After Pleasure, Edel Assanti, London, UK (2024); False Alarm, Mostyn, Wales (2023); Should We Stay or Should We Go, RIBOT, Milan, Italy (2022); Thirst Trap, Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles, USA (2021); Lone and Level, Helena Anrather, New York, USA (2021); The Crowd, Edel Assanti, London, UK (2020); Oren Pinhassi, Castello di San Basilio, Basilicata, Italy (2019); and Springs, Petach-Tikva Museum of Art, Israel (2017). Recent group exhibitions include This is a Rehearsal, The Chicago Architecture Biennial, Chicago, USA (2023); Moveables, ICA Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA (2023); SSSSSSSSSCULPTURESQUE, Kiang Malingue, Hong Kong (2022); Guilty Curtain, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany (2021); O Sole Mio, Parasol Unit, London, UK (2020); For Mario, Tina Kim Gallery, New York, USA (2019); and This Is Not a Prop, David Zwirner, New York, USA (2018). Pinhassi’s work is featured in notable collections around the world, including: Castello San Basilio, Basilicata, Italy; GAMeC Museum of Modern Art, Bergamo, Italy; KADIST, Paris, France; Palazzo Monti, Brescia, Italy; and Petah Tikva Museum of Art, Petah Tikva, Israel.

The Visiting Artists program is a core part of the Anderson Ranch Arts Center experience, welcoming contemporary artists across disciplines to work on campus through residencies and special projects. Artists receive dedicated time, space, and technical support to develop new work and advance their practice. Visiting artists engage with students and residents through studio visits, critiques, and public lectures, creating a meaningful exchange that enriches the Ranch community and the broader public. Learn more.