TJ Norris is an award-winning multidisciplinary conceptual artist and curator whose practice navigates the abstract psychology, social complexities, and the evolving friction between the natural and the manufactured. With a career spanning over forty years, his work is defined by a "wabi-sabi" sensibility and Surrealist influences, focusing on the beauty found within the fractured, the ephemeral, and the urban environment. Norris’s rigorous conceptual foundation was built at the Massachusetts College of Art and the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design.
His cinematic practice has seen a prolific return since 2022, building upon early highlights like the micro-short 'auto-porto-matic' (1993)—curated by Cheryl Dunye for DCTV—and the two-channel installation 'Infinitus' (2008), which was a recipient of the New American Art Union’s Couture Grant. This recent body of work has earned international recognition, with screenings and honors at the Absurd Film Festival (Best Arthouse Film), the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Best Short Film), the East Village Film Festival (Honorable Mention), the I, Immigrant International Film Festival, and the Faba Film Festival. Additionally, his 4-Channel AV installation 'Elemental Studies' is scheduled for an Asian premiere at the A4 Art Museum in Chengdu, China.
Norris’s exhibition record spans global institutions and biennials, including the Tacoma Art Museum’s 10th Northwest Biennial, Gallery X (Dublin), Millepiani (Rome), CoCA Seattle, and the South Bend Museum of Art. His photographic vision was codified in the 2018 monograph 'Shooting Blanks,' and his contributions to the field have been documented in esteemed publications such as Leonardo (MIT Press), Art Ltd, The Boston Globe, and PhotoBook Journal. As a freelance curator and founder of the gallery Soundvision, Norris has curated over thirty exhibitions for venues including Tufts University, Boise State, and the Linnfield College Art Center. His work is held in prominent international collections, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Vanhaerents Art Collection (Brussels), Harvard University, the Fuller Museum of Art, Nike, and the Museo de la Ciudad.
