Brent Birnbaum was born in Dallas, Texas in the year of the snake, 1977. After receiving a BFA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas, he lived in London, Greece, and Boston before settling in NYC. Continuing to study his obsession with the aesthetics of space, Birnbaum completed an MFA in Fine Art from the School of Visual Arts in 2006. He has participated in numerous group shows and is preparing for his New York debut solo show. donthaveacowboypowwow drops in May at BUIA gallery.

I make work to reengage the viewer with popular culture from a critical and unexpected perspective. This could be an installation, performance, sculpture, or iPhone App. It is a weaving process of materials with current and past events to create complex visual allegories containing a critical dialogue as well as elements of the absurd. My background in interior design and being an obsessive fan and collector of pop culture ephemera informs my art practice. I collect lowbrow toys and trinkets from Canal Street to eBay to transform on a micro scale into mini-narratives, culminating in macro size environments. My use of kitsch materials and inspired color palette exemplifies the zeitgeist of consumer fetishization in a historical context. I am interested in the commodification of culture and creating seductively beautiful and garish art based upon this ongoing investigation.