Josef Strau at Greene Naftali review in Manhattan Art Review, 2022
Greene Naftali
Josef Strau
Nazis for Suburbia, 1999
Original photograph/mixed media in glass frame
11.75 x 19.75 inches (29.8 x 50.2 cm)

Installation view, Josef Strau – Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them..., Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2020

Installation view, Josef Strau – Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them..., Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2020

Installation view, Josef Strau – Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them..., Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2020
Josef Strau – Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them..., Installation view Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2020
Josef Strau, Installation view, Tears and New Tears, Greene Naftali, New York, 2018
Josef Strau
Agony, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic on canvas
24 1/4 x 18 1/4 x 1 inches (61.6 x 46.4 x 2.5 cm)
Josef Strau
Confession, Another Elephant with 4 Ears, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic on canvas
12 x 9 inches (30.5 x 22.9 cm)
Josef Strau, Installation view, Tears and New Tears, Greene Naftali, New York, 2018
Josef Strau
Dissemination, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic on canvas
16 1/4 x 12 1/4 x 1 1/4 inches (41.3 x 31.1 x 3.2 cm)
Josef Strau
Penitence, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic, ballpoint pen, felt marker on canvas
36 x 24 x 1 inches (91.4 x 61 x 2.5 cm)
Josef Strau
Transgression, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic on canvas
16 x 12 x 1 inches (40.6 x 30.5 x 2.5 cm)
Josef Strau, Installation view, Invitation Epiphany, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2017
Installation view, Josef Strau: A Turtle Dreaming (…Echoes from an Encapsulated Space Exiled Sounds of Letters Requiring Symphonic Treatment), Secession, Vienna, 2015
Installation view, Josef Strau: A Turtle Dreaming (…Echoes from an Encapsulated Space Exiled Sounds of Letters Requiring Symphonic Treatment), Secession, Vienna, 2015
Installation view, Josef Strau: A Turtle Dreaming (…Echoes from an Encapsulated Space Exiled Sounds of Letters Requiring Symphonic Treatment), Secession, Vienna, 2015
Josef Strau
The Great Gatsby Commands You, 2012
Poster, 2 lamps, sound on iPod, 2 speakers, dvd with 19 slides and wire mesh
Dimensions variable
Josef Strau, Installation view, Exercises ab initio..., Greene Naftali, New York, 2012
Josef Strau, Installation view, Exercises ab initio..., Greene Naftali, New York, 2012
Josef Strau, Installation view, Exercises ab initio..., Greene Naftali, New York, 2012
Josef Strau
Untitled, 2012
Digital projection of 19 slides
Dimensions variable
Duration: 3:10 minutes
Josef Strau, Installation view, 18INIQITIES, Greene Naftali, New York, 2008
Josef Strau
E+N: Model for a Foldable Double Performance Sukka for Artists Working Both with Group and Non-Group, 2008
Mixed media lamps, Styrofoam boards, string rope, mp3 player
60 x 51 x 210 inches (152.4 x 129.54 x 533.4 cm)
Josef Strau
E+N: Model for a Foldable Double Performance Sukka for Artists Working Both with Group and Non-Group, 2008 (detail)
Mixed media lamps, Styrofoam boards, string rope, mp3 player
60 x 51 x 210 inches (152.4 x 129.54 x 533.4 cm)
Josef Strau
J: Inside the Letter-Hole (Josef for Children), 2008 (detail)
Cardboard, tape, inkjet prints, mp3 players, mixed media lamps
Overall: 29 x 116 x 270 inches (73.66 x 294.64 x 685.8 cm)
Josef Strau, Installation view, 18INIQITIES, Greene Naftali, New York, 2008
Josef Strau
J: Inside the Letter-Hole (Josef for Children), 2008
Cardboard, tape, inkjet prints, mp3 players, mixed media lamps
29 x 116 x 270 inches (73.66 x 294 x 294.64 x 685.8 cm)
Josef Strau, Installation view, 18INIQITIES, Greene Naftali, New York, 2008
Josef Strau
The Assistant, 2008
Ink, pencil, pearls, and adhesive on canvas, mixed media lamp
Dimensions variable
Painting: 60 x 48 inches (152.4 x 121.92 cm)
Josef Strau
Untitled, 2008
Mixed media table, lamps, inkjet print poster
Dimensions variable
Josef Strau
Untitled, 2008
Collage and ink on canvas, mixed media sculpture
Dimensions variable
Josef Strau
The Assistant (5), 2008
Ink letters, pencil and acrylic on canvas
24 x 18 inches (60.96 x 45.72 cm)
Josef Strau
The Assistant (6), 2008
Inkjet print, pencil, beads, and adhesive on canvas
27 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches (69.85 x 49.53 cm)
Josef Strau
The Greatest Strategies, 2008
Pencil, inkjet print, pearls and adhesive on canvas
24 x 18 inches (60.96 x 45.72 cm)
Josef Strau
Untitled, 2008
Ink, pencil, acrylic, pearls, beads, and adhesive on canvas
15 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches (40 x 30 cm)
Josef Strau
The Nazis of Suburbia, 2008
Inkjet print, acrylic, ink, adhesive on canvas, mixed media lamp, beads, and tray
Dimensions variable
Josef Strau
The Teapot, 2006
Lamp with glassine, wire, and sound
14 x 54 x 24 inches (35.6 x 137.2 x 61 cm)
Josef Strau
Colleseum Series (close up, orange sky), 2003
C-print
9 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches (24.1 x 40 cm)
Josef Strau
Colleseum Series (Rocks #2), 2003
C-print
9 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches (24.1 x 40 cm)
Josef Strau
Nazis for Suburbia, 1999
Original photograph/mixed media in glass frame
11.75 x 19.75 inches (29.8 x 50.2 cm)
Josef Strau
Nazis for Suburbia, 1999
Original photograph/mixed media in glass frame
11.75 x 19.75 inches (29.8 x 50.2 cm)

Installation view, Josef Strau – Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them..., Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2020

Installation view, Josef Strau – Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them..., Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2020

Installation view, Josef Strau – Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them..., Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2020
Josef Strau – Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them..., Installation view Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2020
Josef Strau, Installation view, Tears and New Tears, Greene Naftali, New York, 2018
Josef Strau
Agony, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic on canvas
24 1/4 x 18 1/4 x 1 inches (61.6 x 46.4 x 2.5 cm)
Josef Strau
Confession, Another Elephant with 4 Ears, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic on canvas
12 x 9 inches (30.5 x 22.9 cm)
Josef Strau, Installation view, Tears and New Tears, Greene Naftali, New York, 2018
Josef Strau
Dissemination, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic on canvas
16 1/4 x 12 1/4 x 1 1/4 inches (41.3 x 31.1 x 3.2 cm)
Josef Strau
Penitence, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic, ballpoint pen, felt marker on canvas
36 x 24 x 1 inches (91.4 x 61 x 2.5 cm)
Josef Strau
Transgression, 2018
Tin plate, tin wire, acrylic on canvas
16 x 12 x 1 inches (40.6 x 30.5 x 2.5 cm)
Josef Strau, Installation view, Invitation Epiphany, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2017
Installation view, Josef Strau: A Turtle Dreaming (…Echoes from an Encapsulated Space Exiled Sounds of Letters Requiring Symphonic Treatment), Secession, Vienna, 2015
Installation view, Josef Strau: A Turtle Dreaming (…Echoes from an Encapsulated Space Exiled Sounds of Letters Requiring Symphonic Treatment), Secession, Vienna, 2015
Installation view, Josef Strau: A Turtle Dreaming (…Echoes from an Encapsulated Space Exiled Sounds of Letters Requiring Symphonic Treatment), Secession, Vienna, 2015
Josef Strau
The Great Gatsby Commands You, 2012
Poster, 2 lamps, sound on iPod, 2 speakers, dvd with 19 slides and wire mesh
Dimensions variable
Josef Strau, Installation view, Exercises ab initio..., Greene Naftali, New York, 2012
Josef Strau, Installation view, Exercises ab initio..., Greene Naftali, New York, 2012
Josef Strau, Installation view, Exercises ab initio..., Greene Naftali, New York, 2012
Josef Strau
Untitled, 2012
Digital projection of 19 slides
Dimensions variable
Duration: 3:10 minutes
Josef Strau, Installation view, 18INIQITIES, Greene Naftali, New York, 2008
Josef Strau
E+N: Model for a Foldable Double Performance Sukka for Artists Working Both with Group and Non-Group, 2008
Mixed media lamps, Styrofoam boards, string rope, mp3 player
60 x 51 x 210 inches (152.4 x 129.54 x 533.4 cm)
Josef Strau
E+N: Model for a Foldable Double Performance Sukka for Artists Working Both with Group and Non-Group, 2008 (detail)
Mixed media lamps, Styrofoam boards, string rope, mp3 player
60 x 51 x 210 inches (152.4 x 129.54 x 533.4 cm)
Josef Strau
J: Inside the Letter-Hole (Josef for Children), 2008 (detail)
Cardboard, tape, inkjet prints, mp3 players, mixed media lamps
Overall: 29 x 116 x 270 inches (73.66 x 294.64 x 685.8 cm)
Josef Strau, Installation view, 18INIQITIES, Greene Naftali, New York, 2008
Josef Strau
J: Inside the Letter-Hole (Josef for Children), 2008
Cardboard, tape, inkjet prints, mp3 players, mixed media lamps
29 x 116 x 270 inches (73.66 x 294 x 294.64 x 685.8 cm)
Josef Strau, Installation view, 18INIQITIES, Greene Naftali, New York, 2008
Josef Strau
The Assistant, 2008
Ink, pencil, pearls, and adhesive on canvas, mixed media lamp
Dimensions variable
Painting: 60 x 48 inches (152.4 x 121.92 cm)
Josef Strau
Untitled, 2008
Mixed media table, lamps, inkjet print poster
Dimensions variable
Josef Strau
Untitled, 2008
Collage and ink on canvas, mixed media sculpture
Dimensions variable
Josef Strau
The Assistant (5), 2008
Ink letters, pencil and acrylic on canvas
24 x 18 inches (60.96 x 45.72 cm)
Josef Strau
The Assistant (6), 2008
Inkjet print, pencil, beads, and adhesive on canvas
27 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches (69.85 x 49.53 cm)
Josef Strau
The Greatest Strategies, 2008
Pencil, inkjet print, pearls and adhesive on canvas
24 x 18 inches (60.96 x 45.72 cm)
Josef Strau
Untitled, 2008
Ink, pencil, acrylic, pearls, beads, and adhesive on canvas
15 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches (40 x 30 cm)
Josef Strau
The Nazis of Suburbia, 2008
Inkjet print, acrylic, ink, adhesive on canvas, mixed media lamp, beads, and tray
Dimensions variable
Josef Strau
The Teapot, 2006
Lamp with glassine, wire, and sound
14 x 54 x 24 inches (35.6 x 137.2 x 61 cm)
Josef Strau
Colleseum Series (close up, orange sky), 2003
C-print
9 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches (24.1 x 40 cm)
Josef Strau
Colleseum Series (Rocks #2), 2003
C-print
9 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches (24.1 x 40 cm)
Josef Strau
Nazis for Suburbia, 1999
Original photograph/mixed media in glass frame
11.75 x 19.75 inches (29.8 x 50.2 cm)
Josef Strau
Nazis for Suburbia, 1999
Original photograph/mixed media in glass frame
11.75 x 19.75 inches (29.8 x 50.2 cm)
Biography
Download PDF

Josef Strau lives and works in New York. Institutional solo exhibitions include Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2020); Greene Naftali, New York (2018, 2012); Künstlerhaus Bremen (2017); Secession, Vienna (2015); The Renaissance Society, University of Chicago (2014); and Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (2008). His recent solo presentation at Greene Naftali, titled Ulysses, was his sixth with the gallery since 2002. Significant group exhibitions include Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn (2022); the Busan Biennale, Busan, South Korea (2020); Neues Museum Nürnberg (2020); Kunsthalle Bern (2017); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2016); mumok, Vienna (2015); Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (2014); the Liverpool Biennial (2014); Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2013); Generali Foundation, Vienna (2012); and SculptureCenter, Long Island City, New York (2011).
His work is in the collections of the Bundeskunstsammlung – The Federal Collection of Contemporary Art, Germany; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Recent Press
Exhibitions
JOSEF STRAU
Ulysses
8th Floor

Josef Strau
Spirits and Objects… and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them…
Kunstverein Düsseldorf

Josef Strau
Tears and New Tears
8th Floor

Josef Strau
Invitation Epiphany
Künstlerhaus Bremen

Infected Foot
Ground Floor

Josef Strau
A Turtle Dreaming (… Echoes from an Encapsulated Space Exiled Sounds of Letters Requiring Symphonic Treatment)
Secession, Vienna

Josef Strau
The New World, Application for Turtle Island
The Renaissance Society, Chicago

Josef Strau
Exercises ab initio…
Greene Naftali, New York

THE PURSUER
Greene Naftali, New York

Josef Strau
18INIQITIES
Greene Naftali, New York
WORKS ON PAPER AND RICCI ALBENDA
Greene Naftali, New York

Josef Strau
A Dissidence Coincidence But WHCTLJS
Malmö Konsthall
Josef Strau
Don't Climb the Pyramids
Greene Naftali, New York

IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
Greene Naftali, New York

PICTURES
Greene Naftali, New York

SNOWFLAKE OFFICE
Greene Naftali, New York

Publications
Josef Strau
Spirits and Objects ...and How Non-Productive Love Is Sometimes Contained in Them...
Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf.

Josef Strau
Josef Strau: Tears and New Tears
Greene Naftali, New York.

Josef Strau
Dreaming Turtle
Secession, Vienna.

Josef Strau
The New World 2, Travels in Turtle Island
Renaissance Society, Chicago.

Josef Strau
Josef Strau: The New World 1, The Application
Renaissance Society, Chicago.

Josef Strau
The Atlantis Search Engine

Josef Strau
A Dissidence Coincidence, But W.H.C.T.L.J.S.
Malmo Konsthall.

Josef Strau
The Nazis of Suburbia
Einleitung.

Josef Strau
My Light / The-Cologne-in-Review-Lamp
Galerie Buchholz, Cologne.

Josef Strau
White Nights
Pork Salad Press, Copenhagen.
