Temple of Flowers/Tempio di Fiori, Austin Young, 2025–ongoing. Commissioned by Chiostro del Bramante for the exhibition Flowers in Rome.
”I create immersive environments as contemporary sacred spaces - places of presence, beauty, and lived experience - often within historic architecture - I use aesthetics as an act of resistance and spiritual connection.” — Austin Young
Austin Young is a contemporary artist working across multiple disciplines. Through site-specific interventions, he transforms architecture into immersive artworks that respond to the history, culture, and communities of each place. His work has been commissioned for museums, churches, and public spaces internationally, where photography, printed textiles, light, and color become tools for contemplation, the sublime, and shared experience.
Originally recognized for his influential portrait photography and participatory practice, Young expanded his work into architectural installations that merge photography, historical research, and spatial intervention. His visual language draws on beauty, popular culture, art history, spirituality, and folk traditions to create immersive environments that invite viewers to experience familiar places in new ways.
Each project begins with research into the history, architecture, ecology, and cultural traditions of a place. Working in collaboration with museums, religious institutions, and local communities, Young develops site-responsive installations that reveal new relationships between architecture, photography, and lived experience. Originally from Reno, Nevada, he studied at Parsons Paris and now lives and works between Los Angeles, Rome, and Puerto Vallarta.
Young is co-founder of David Allen Burns and Austin Young / Fallen Fruit, the internationally recognized collaborative practice creating site-specific installations, public artworks, and participatory projects that explore public space, ecology, and collective memory through photography, public fruit parks, architectural interventions, mapping, and social practice.
Recent commissions and exhibitions include Temple of Flowers / Tempio di Fiori at Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, BEAUTY! at Mucciaccia Gallery, Marriage of the Sea(il Rato di Venezia)presented during the 60th Venice Biennale, and the permanent commission La Visione di Pietro at Chiesa Sant’Aniello in Cosenza, Italy. Together these works reflect Young’s ongoing exploration of architecture as a medium for photography, history, and shared experience.
Young has created commissions and exhibitions for museums, churches, and cultural institutions throughout Europe, Australia, Mexico, and the United States, including Chiostro del Bramante, Accademia Carrara, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Nevada Museum of Art.
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“La bellezza come forma di attivismo. Un’immersione nello stupore. Creo ambienti immersivi come spazi sacri contemporanei—luoghi di presenza, bellezza ed esperienza vissuta, spesso all’interno di architetture storiche. Utilizzo l’estetica come atto di resistenza e connessione spirituale.”
— Austin YoungAustin Young è un artista contemporaneo la cui pratica si sviluppa attraverso molteplici discipline, tra cui fotografia, installazione e arte pubblica. Attraverso interventi site-specific, trasforma l’architettura in opere immersive che dialogano con la storia, la cultura e le comunità di ciascun luogo. Il suo lavoro è stato commissionato a livello internazionale da musei, chiese e spazi pubblici, utilizzando fotografia, tessuti stampati, luce e colore per esplorare la bellezza, il sublime e i modi in cui le persone vivono e abitano lo spazio condiviso.
Riconosciuto inizialmente per la sua influente pratica nella fotografia di ritratto e nei progetti partecipativi, Young ha ampliato la propria ricerca verso installazioni architettoniche che uniscono fotografia, ricerca storica e intervento spaziale. Il suo linguaggio visivo intreccia bellezza, cultura popolare, storia dell’arte, spiritualità e tradizioni popolari per creare ambienti immersivi che invitano il pubblico a riscoprire luoghi familiari con uno sguardo nuovo.
Ogni progetto nasce da una ricerca sulla storia, l’architettura, l’ecologia e le tradizioni culturali di un luogo. Collaborando con musei, istituzioni religiose e comunità locali, Young sviluppa installazioni site-specific che rivelano nuove relazioni tra architettura, fotografia ed esperienza vissuta. Nato a Reno, Nevada, ha studiato alla Parsons Paris e oggi vive e lavora tra Los Angeles, Roma e Puerto Vallarta.
Young è cofondatore di David Allen Burns e Austin Young / Fallen Fruit, la pratica artistica collaborativa di rilievo internazionale che realizza installazioni site-specific, opere d’arte pubblica e progetti partecipativi dedicati allo spazio pubblico, all’ecologia e alla memoria collettiva attraverso fotografia, parchi pubblici di alberi da frutto, interventi architettonici, cartografia e pratiche di coinvolgimento sociale.
Tra le commissioni e le mostre più recenti figurano Temple of Flowers / Tempio di Fiori al Chiostro del Bramante di Roma, BEAUTY! presso Mucciaccia Gallery, Marriage of the Sea (Il Ratto di Venezia) presentato durante la 60ª Biennale di Venezia, e la commissione permanente La Visione di Pietro nella Chiesa di Sant’Aniello a Cosenza. Insieme, questi progetti riflettono la continua esplorazione di Young dell’architettura come medium per la fotografia, la ricerca storica e l’esperienza condivisa.
Young ha realizzato commissioni e mostre per musei, chiese e istituzioni culturali in Europa, Australia, Messico e Stati Uniti, tra cui il Chiostro del Bramante, l’Accademia Carrara, la National Gallery of Victoria, il Victoria and Albert Museum e il Nevada Museum of Art.
Austin Young, Self Portrait at Tempio di Fiori at Chiostro del Bramante.
“Beauty has the power to transform us—to open emotional and spiritual space for reflection and connection. My work begins with aesthetics as an entry point, and deeper layers unfold through contemplation.” - Austin Young
Selected Publications & Scholarships
Austin Young’s work has been the subject of academic research, published in museum catalogues, and reproduced in books on contemporary art, performance, photography, gender studies, and queer culture.
Academic Scholarship
Independent books, essays, dissertations, and theses examining Austin Young’s artistic practice.
Cherryman, Nick. “The Tranimal: Throwing Gender out of Drag?” In Contemporary Drag Practices and Performers: Drag in a Changing Scene. Methuen Drama / Bloomsbury, 2021. Examines the Tranimal movement as a distinct form of drag and performance theory, tracing its origins, aesthetics, and challenge to conventional understandings of gender.
Bresser, Nina. Tranimal Trajectories: Re-Configuring Trans-Embodiment Through a Companion Species Figuration. Utrecht University, 2015. Master’s thesis examining the Tranimal Workshop through feminist theory, transgender studies, and Donna Haraway’s theory of companion species.
Martínez Castañeda, Benjamín José Manuel. “Drag/Tecnologías de la esponja.” Accesos. Revista de Investigación Artística, no. 6, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2023. Discusses the Tranimal Workshop as an example of contemporary queer and performative artistic practice.
Schottmiller, Carl Douglas. Reading RuPaul’s Drag Race: Queer Memory, Camp Capitalism, and RuPaul’s Drag Empire. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 2017. Discusses Austin Young’s photography within the visual history of drag culture and its appearance in RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Museum & Institutional Publications
Books and exhibition catalogues published by museums and cultural institutions.
Austin Young: BEAUTY!Silvana Editoriale, 2025.
Flowers: From the Renaissance to Artificial Intelligence. Chiostro del Bramante, Rome. Silvana Editoriale, 2025.
Crazy: La follia nell’arte contemporanea. Edited by Danilo Eccher. Skira, 2022. Exhibition catalogue for Crazy: Madness in Contemporary Art, Chiostro del Bramante, Rome. Includes Sacred Conversations by David Allen Burns and Austin Young / Fallen Fruit.
NGV Triennial. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2021. Exhibition catalogue including Natural History by David Allen Burns and Austin Young / Fallen Fruit.
FOOD: Bigger Than the Plate. Edited by Catherine Flood and Vaishnavi Shukla. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2019. Exhibition catalogue featuring work by David Allen Burns and Austin Young / Fallen Fruit.
Manifesta 12: The Planetary Garden. Official biennial catalogue. Palermo, 2018. Includes David Allen Burns and Austin Young / Fallen Fruit.
Selected Books Featuring Austin Young’s Work
Publications containing substantial reproductions of Austin Young’s photography or artwork.
Dis…Miss Gender? Edited by Anne Bray. MIT Press, 2023. Interdisciplinary anthology featuring photographs by Austin Young and documenting his performances Ain’t I a Womxn? and Love &/or Fear as part of the Freewaves initiative.
Logan, Christopher. d.r.a.g.Tectum Publishers, Antwerp, 2012. International anthology of contemporary drag photography featuring portraits by Austin Young.
Leigh Bowery. Edited by Robert Violette. Violette Editions, London, 1998. Monograph on Leigh Bowery featuring photographs by Austin Young, published under his former name.
Drag Diaries. Catherine Chermayeff, Jonathan David, and Nan Richardson. Chronicle Books / Umbra Editions, 1995. Early survey of drag culture featuring photographs by Austin Young, published under his former name.
Taschen’s 1000 Favorite Websites. Edited by Julius Wiedemann. Cologne: TASCHEN, 2003. International survey of one thousand outstanding websites in art, design, photography, architecture, fashion, and digital culture. Includes Austin Young’s website, published under his former name.
Selected Book References
Books tha Books that mention Fallen Fruit
Michael Pollan. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Press, 2006.
Natural History, David Allen Burns & Austin Young / Fallen Fruit, 2020. Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) for the NGV Triennial 2020 (December 19, 2020 – April 18, 2021) at NGV International, Melbourne, Australia
Selected Museum Commissions & Permanent Installations
Select Permanent Artworks
2026 — Battistero
Chiesa Sant’Aniello d’Abate, Cosenza, Italy · Upcoming
Austin Young
2024 — Marriage of the Sea (The Rape of Venice)
THE POOL NYC / Palazzo Cesari Marchesi, Venice, Italy · Permanent
Austin Young
2025 — Horror Vacui
Fondazione D’ARC, Rome, Italy · Ongoing
Austin Young
2024 — La Visione di Pietro
Chiesa Sant’Aniello d’Abate, Cosenza, Italy · Permanent
Austin Young
2024 — The Power of Pollinators (And Other Living Things)
Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit · Curated by Apsara DiQuinzio
2023 — A Portrait of Dionysus
Feudi di San Gregorio, Campania, Italy · Ongoing
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
2024 — The Way Out West
21c Museum Hotel St. Louis, Missouri · Permanent
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
2023 — Sacred Conversations
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, Italy · Permanent
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
2024 — Monument to Sharing (NMA)
Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
2022 — Trappola d’Amore (Love Trap)
Chiostro del Bramante, Rome, Italy · Permanent
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
2019 — Spectro Completo
Orto Botanico, Palermo, Italy · Permanent
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
2017 — Stoneview Nature Center
Los Angeles, California · Permanent
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
2017 — Monument to Sharing (LASHP)
Los Angeles State Historic Park, Los Angeles, California · Permanent
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
2016 — The Practices of Daily Life
21c Museum Hotel Louisville, Kentucky · Permanent
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
Select Exhibitions
2025 — FLOWERS: Temple of Flowers
Chiostro del Bramante, Rome, Italy · February 2025–September 2026
Austin Young
2025 — BEAUTY!
Mucciaccia Gallery Project, Rome, Italy · September 2025–January 2026
Austin Young · Solo exhibition
2025 — Amore Chiama Colore: Horror Vacui
Fondazione D’ARC, Rome, Italy
Austin Young · Curated by Giuliana Benassi
2025 — Paradise Lost
Fondazione AGO, Modena, Italy
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit · Curated by Francesca Fontana
2018 — Manifesta 12: Teatro del Sole
Palazzo Butera, Palermo, Italy
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit · Curated by Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Mirjam Varadinis, Andrés Jaque, and Bregtje van der Haak
2021 — NGV Triennial: Natural History
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia · 2020–2021
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit · Curated by Dr. Simon Maidment, Ewan McEoin, and Simone LeAmon
2023 — Queer-ish: Photography and the LGBTQ+ Imaginary
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, Claremont, California · October–December 2023
Austin Young · Curated by Ken Gonzales-Day
2023 — QUEER/CUIR
Oficina de Proyectos Culturales, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico · May–August 2023
Austin Young · Curated by Sayuri Sánchez and Oscar Morán
2025 — Ars in Herbis
Beatrice Burati Anderson Art Space & Gallery, Venice, Italy
Austin Young · Curated by Beatrice Burati Anderson
2022 — CRAZY: La follia nell’arte contemporanea
Chiostro del Bramante, Rome, Italy · February 2022–January 2023
Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit · Curated by Danilo Eccher
Selected Honors, Grants and Recognition
Collaborative recognitions are awarded to Fallen Fruit (David Allen Burns and Austin Young) unless otherwise noted.
2026
Muriel Pollia Foundation Grant · Fallen Fruit
2023
Research Fellowship, Nevada Museum of Art · Fallen Fruit, 2023–2024
Jump Cut #3 (THEM) — Best Editing, Queer Screams Film Festival · Austin Young
2022
Chiostro del Bramante / DART Commission · Trappola d’Amore (Love Trap), Fallen Fruit
2021
Meta Open Arts Commission · Fallen Fruit
2020
National Gallery of Victoria Triennial · Natural History, Fallen Fruit
2019
ARTnews — “15 Los Angeles Artists to Watch” · Fallen Fruit
2018
Public Art Network Year in Review, Americans for the Arts · Stoneview Nature Center, Fallen Fruit
Manifesta 12, Palermo — Invited Artist · Teatro del Sole, Fallen Fruit
2017
National Endowment for the Arts Project Award · Fallen Fruit
Curry Stone Design Prize · Fallen Fruit
2013
Creative Capital Award · The Endless Orchard, Fallen Fruit
2010
LA Weekly — “Top 10 Events of 2010” · YOUR FACE HERE, Austin Young
LA Weekly — “Top 10 Fashion Statements of 2010” · TRANIMAL Workshop
MetLife Foundation Museum and Community Connections Grant · Project Award, Fallen Fruit
2008 & 2014
Art Matters Foundation Grants · Fallen Fruit
2006
LA Weekly — Best of Los Angeles · Fallen Fruit
Yahoo! — Best of the Web
2005
Strange Fruit — Best Experimental Short, Silver Lake Film Festival · Austin Young
2003
TASCHEN’s 1000 Favorite Websites · Austin Young’s website featured in the international survey of art, design, photography, architecture, fashion, and digital culture
Select Residencies
2025
Fondazione D’ARC · Rome, Italy · Austin Young
2024
Chiostro del Bramante · Rome, Italy · Austin Young
2023–2024
Research Fellowship, Nevada Museum of Art · Reno, Nevada · Fallen Fruit
2019
AKI AORA Residency III · Tulum, Mexico · Fallen Fruit
2016
21c Museum Hotel · Louisville, Kentucky · Fallen Fruit
2015
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts · Omaha, Nebraska · Fallen Fruit
2015
The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine · New York, New York · Fallen Fruit
2009
Headlands Center for the Arts · Sausalito, California · Fallen Fruit
2008
Ars Electronica Festival · Linz, Austria · Fallen Fruit
Select Solo & Major Exhibitions
2025
BEAUTY! — Solo exhibition, Mucciaccia Gallery Project, Rome · Austin Young
Amore Chiama Colore: Horror Vacui — Fondazione D’ARC, Rome · Austin Young
Paradise Lost — Fondazione AGO–Modena Fabbriche Culturali, Modena · Fallen Fruit
Ars in Herbis — Beatrice Burati Anderson Art Space & Gallery, Venice · Austin Young
2024
Marriage of the Sea (The Rape of Venice) — THE POOL NYC / Palazzo Cesari Marchesi, Venice · Austin Young
La Visione di Pietro — Chiesa Sant’Aniello d’Abate, Cosenza · Austin Young
2023
Queer-ish: Photography and the LGBTQ+ Imaginary — Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, Claremont, California · Austin Young
QUEER/CUIR — Oficina de Proyectos Culturales, Puerto Vallarta · Austin Young
A Portrait of Dionysus — FAO projection, Rome · Fallen Fruit
Sacred Conversations — Accademia Carrara, Bergamo · Fallen Fruit
Earlier Highlights
NGV Triennial: Natural History — National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2020–2021 · Fallen Fruit
FOOD: Bigger Than the Plate — Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2019 · Fallen Fruit
Manifesta 12: Teatro del Sole — Palazzo Butera, Palermo, 2018 · Fallen Fruit
SUPERSHOW — Pacific Design Center Gallery, Los Angeles, 2019–2020 · Fallen Fruit
Portraits — Never Apart, Montreal, 2018 · Austin Young
Tranimal Workshop — Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, 2018 · Austin Young
TBD The Musical — Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, California, 2015 · Austin Young
Paradise — Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 2015–2016 · Fallen Fruit
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Who is Austin Young?
Austin Young is an American contemporary artist whose work transforms architecture into immersive environments through photography, printed surfaces, light, and color. Working across museums, churches, galleries, and public spaces, his site-specific installations explore beauty, collective memory, spirituality, and the relationship between people and place.
What is Austin Young known for?
Austin Young is known for large-scale immersive installations, architectural interventions, portrait photography, and public artworks. His recent commissions include Temple of Flowers at Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, Marriage of the Sea in Venice, BEAUTY! at Mucciaccia Gallery, and La Visione di Pietro, a permanent installation in Chiesa Sant’Aniello in Cosenza. He is also co-founder of the collaborative art practice Fallen Fruit.
What kind of art does Austin Young make?
Austin Young works across photography, installation, public art, and architectural interventions. Each project begins with research into the history, architecture, ecology, and cultural traditions of a place before transforming it into an immersive environment through photography, printed surfaces, light, and color.
What is Fallen Fruit?
Fallen Fruit is an art collaboration founded in 2004 by David Allen Burns, Matias Viegener, and Austin Young. Since 2013, David Allen Burns and Austin Young have continued the collaborative practice. Through public art, photography, mapping, participatory projects, and site-specific installations, Fallen Fruit explores public space, ecology, collective memory, and shared experience.
Is Austin Young still part of Fallen Fruit?
Yes. Austin Young continues to collaborate with David Allen Burns as Fallen Fruit while maintaining an independent solo practice focused on immersive architectural installations, photography, and museum commissions.
Where can I see Austin Young’s work?
Austin Young’s work has been exhibited internationally in museums, churches, galleries, and public spaces. Permanent and long-term installations include Temple of Flowers at Chiostro del Bramante in Rome, La Visione di Pietro in Cosenza, Sacred Conversations at Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, and The Power of Pollinators at the Nevada Museum of Art. His work has also been presented through projects at institutions including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Manifesta.
What is Temple of Flowers
Temple of Flowers (Tempio di Fiori) is a site-specific immersive installation commissioned by Chiostro del Bramante in Rome for the exhibition FLOWERS. Transforming the Renaissance cloister through photography, printed fabric, vinyl, color, and light, the work reimagines the historic courtyard as a contemporary sanctuary inspired by the site’s history, architecture, and dedication to the Virgin Mary.
How does Austin Young develop site-specific installations?
Every project begins with research into the history, architecture, ecology, and cultural traditions of a place. Photography, historical archives, color, and architectural intervention become tools for creating immersive environments that respond to the identity, history, and symbolism of each site.
Has Austin Young’s work been published?
Yes. Austin Young’s work has appeared in museum catalogues, academic publications, and books published by institutions and publishers including Silvana Editoriale, Skira, MIT Press, Bloomsbury, Chronicle Books, and TASCHEN. His work has also been featured in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, ARTnews, The Los Angeles Times, La Repubblica, Corriere della Sera, and Il Messaggero.
Can I commission Austin Young?
Yes. Austin Young accepts commissions for museums, galleries, cultural institutions, religious organizations, universities, and public spaces. Commission inquiries can be made through the Contact page.
Where can I purchase artwork?
Original artworks, limited editions, books, and selected products are available through the Store. For commissions, exhibitions, and collector inquiries, please use the Contact page.
Why does architecture play such an important role in your work?
Rather than treating architecture as a backdrop, Austin Young approaches buildings as collaborators. Each installation responds to the history, symbolism, and lived experience of a place, transforming existing architecture into immersive environments that invite contemplation, shared experience, and new ways of seeing.
Where is Austin Young based?
Austin Young is based in Los Angeles and works internationally. His recent projects include museum, public art, and architectural commissions throughout Italy, Europe, and the United States.
Education
Parsons Paris, Paris, France, Coursework in painting and art history
San Francisco Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California, USA, Coursework in fine art
Self-taught artist with a practice developed through independent study, long-term collaboration, and site-based research.