Austin Young
Temple of Flowers / Tempio di Fiori, Austin Young, 2025, commissioned by Chiostro del Bramante. on view through September, 2026 Video: Giovanni De Angelis
“Beauty as activism. An immersion in awe.”
— Austin Young
Austin Young
“Beauty has the power to transform us—to open emotional and spiritual space for reflection and connection. My work grows from a deep fascination with people and the cultures they create, and I approach each project in relationship with the communities who engage with it. My installations begin with aesthetics as an entry point and deeper layers of meaning unfold through contemplation.” - Austin Young
Austin Young creates large-scale, immersive, site-specific artworks that transform spaces into radical sanctuaries of beauty, queerness, and collective memory. Rooted in a history of iconic portraiture and participatory practice, his work reclaims aesthetics as a form of resistance and spiritual connection. His trademark visual language blends beauty, pop culture, art history, folk art, and transgressive underground exuberance across photography, video, performative portraiture, and public art. Through these practices, Young explores queer visibility, community engagement, and the sublime potential of collective humanity.
Originally from Reno, Nevada, Young studied at Parsons Paris and now lives and works between Los Angeles, Rome, and Puerto Vallarta. From an early age, he has forged innovative ways of integrating diverse influences into a celebrated, genre-defying practice rooted in collaboration, historical research, and site responsiveness.
Young is also the cofounder of Fallen Fruit, the internationally recognized art duo formed with David Allen Burns. Through photography, cartography, video, and participatory actions—such as public fruit parks, tree adoptions, and jam-making events—Fallen Fruit investigates urban space, collective memory, and the cultural and political histories of land use, agriculture, and colonialism. Their projects span museums, gardens, and public spaces from Los Angeles to Palermo and London.
Recent projects include Young’s solo exhibition BEAUTY! at Mucciaccia Gallery Project in Rome; Marriage of the Sea, an immersive installation presented alongside the 60th Venice Biennale; Temple of Flowers / Tempio di Fiori for the exhibition FLOWERS at Chiostro del Bramante in Rome; and an ongoing site-specific commission at Chiesa Sant’Aniello in Calabria, where contemporary art practice converges with sacred architecture and devotional space.
SELECTED ART EXHIBITIONS AND PERMANENT WORKS
SELECT PERMANENT ARTWORKS
-
Location: Chiesa Sant’Aniello de Abate, Cosenza, Italy
Dates: 2026 – upcoming
Artist: Austin Young -
Location: THE POOL NYC/Palazzo Cesari Marchesi, Venice, Italy
Dates: 2024 –permanent
Artist: Austin Young -
Location: Fondazione D’Arc, Rome
Dates: 2025 – Ongoing
Artist: Austin Young -
Location: Chiesa Sant’Aniello de Abate, Cosenza, Italy
Dates: 2024 – Ongoing
Artist: Austin Young -
Location: Nevada Museum of Art
Dates: 2024
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
Curated by Apsara DiQuinzio -
Location: Feudi di San Gregorio, Campania, Italy
Dates: 2023 – Ongoing
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit -
Location: 21C St Louis
Dates: 2024
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit -
Location: Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, Italy
Dates: 2023 – Ongoing
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit -
Location: Nevada Museum of Art
Dates: 2024
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit -
Location: Chiostro del Bramante, Rome, Italy
Dates: 2022 – Ongoing
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit -
Location: Orto Botanico, Palermo, Italy
Dates: 2019 – Ongoing
Artist: Young & Burns / Fallen Fruit -
Location: Los Angeles
Dates: 2017
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit -
Location: Los Angeles State Historic Park
Dates: 2017
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit -
Location: 21C Louisville
Dates: 2016, permanent artwork
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
SELECT EXHIBITIONS
-
Locatiron: Chiostro del Bramante, Rome
Dates: Feb 2025 - Sep 2026
Artist: Austin Young, Group Exhibition -
Location: Mucciaccia Gallery Project, Rome, Italy
Dates: 2025
Artist: Austin Young -
Location: Fondazione D’Arc, Rome, Italy
Dates: 2025
Artist: Austin Young
Curator: Giuliana Benassi -
Location: Fondazione AGO and Museo della Figurina,Palazzina dei Giardini, Modena
Artist: Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
Curator: Francesca Fontana -
Location: Manifesta 12, Palazzo Butera, Palermo
Dates: 2018
Artist: Austin Young and David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit
Curators: Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli Mirjam Varadinis, Andrés Jaque, and Bregtje van der Haak -
Location: NGV, Melbourne
Dates: 2021
Artist: Austin Young and David Allen Burns/ Fallen Fruit
Curators: Dr. Simon Maidment, Ewan McEoin, Simone LeAmon -
Location: Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, California, USA
Dates: 2023
Artist: Austin Young, group exhibition
Curator: Ken Gonzales-Day -
Location:OPC, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Dates: 2023
Artist: Austin Young, Group Exhibition -
Location: Beatrice Burati Anderson Gallery, Venice, Italy
Dates: 2025
Artist: Austin Young, Group Exhibition
Curator: Beatrice Burati Anderson -
Location: Chiostro del Bramante, Rome, Italy
Dates: 2022 – Ongoing
Artist: Austin Young & David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit, Group Exhibtion
Curator: Danilo Eccer
SELECT AWARDS
2025
BEAUTY! Exhibition catalogue accompanying the solo exhibition BEAUTY! Mucciaccia Gallery, Rome, Italy.
Essay by Claudia Gioia; interview by Gaia Regola.
FLOWERS. Exhibition catalogue, Chiostro del Bramante, Rome. Tempio di Fiori by Austin Young.
2022
CRAZY. Exhibition catalogue accompanying the exhibition CRAZY, Chiostro del Bramante, Rome, Italy.
Curated by Danilo Eccher.
2021
NGV Triennial. Exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
2019
FOOD: Bigger Than the Plate. Edited by Catherine Flood and Vaishnavi Shukla, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
2018
Manifesta 12: The Planetary Garden. Official biennial catalogue, Palermo.
2015
Nina Bresser. “Tranimal Trajectories: Re-Configuring Trans-Embodiment Through a Companion Species Figuration.” Academic essay.
2006
Michael Pollan. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Press, New York.
SELECT RESIDENCIES
2024 Muriel Pollia Foundation Grant (Fallen Fruit)
2023 Nevada Museum of Art Research Fellow
2022 Chiostro del Bramante / DART
2021 Meta Open Arts
2020 NGV Triennial Artist
2019 ARTnews “15 Los Angeles Artists to Watch”
2018 Americans for the Arts – Public Art Network
2018 Manifesta Biennale, Palermo – Artist
2017 National Endowment for the Arts
2017 Curry Stone Design Prize
2013 Creative Capital – Fallen Fruit
2008 & 2014 Art Matters Awards
SELECT BIOBLIOGRAPHY
2025 Fondazione D’Arc – Rome
2024 Chiostro del Bramante – Rome
2023 Research Fellow Nevada Museum of Art, Reno
2019- Aki Aora, Tulum, Mexico
2016 21c Museum Hotel – Louisville
2015 Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts – Omaha
2015 The Cathedral of St. John the Divine – New York
2008 Ars Electronica – Linz, Austria
2009 Headlands Center for the Arts – California
SELECTED SOLO & MAJOR EXHIBITIONS
2025
• BEAUTY! – Solo exhibition, Mucciaccia Gallery Project, Rome
• AMORE CHIAMA COLORE – Fondazione D’Arc, Rome
• Paradise Lost – Fondazione AGO, Modena
• Ars in Herbis – Venice
2024
• Marriage of the Sea – THE POOL NYC, Venice
• Visione di Pietro – Cosenza
2023
• QUEERISH – Los Angeles
• QUEER/CUIR – Puerto Vallarta
• A Portrait of Dionysus – FAO Projection, Rome
• Sacred Conversations – Accademia Carrara
Earlier Highlights
• NGV Triennial – Melbourne (2020)
• FOOD – V&A Museum, London (2019)
• Manifesta 12 – Palermo (2018)
• SUPERSHOW – PDC Gallery, Los Angeles (2020)
• Portraits – Never Apart, Montreal (2018)
• Tranimal Workshop – Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (2018)
• TBD The Musical – MOAH Museum (2015)
• Paradise – Portland Art Museum (2015)
Awards
2024
Muriel Pollia Foundation Grant
2023
Nevada Museum of Art Research Fellows
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo
2022
Chiostro del Bramante, DART
2021
FACEBOOK / META OPEN ARTS
2020
NGV Triennial
2019
Artnews 15 LA Artists To Watch
2018
Americans for the Arts - Public Art Network
Manifesta Biennale - Palermo
2017
National Endowment for the Arts
The Curry Stone Design Prize
2016
Good Works Foundation
Awesome Without Borders
2015
Creative Heights
LA County Arts Commission
Oregon Community Foundation, Creative Heights, Project Award
2014
Art Matters
Center for Cultural Innovation
2013
Creative Capital Grantee
Muriel Pollia Foundation Awardee
2014
Art Matters, Project Award
Center for Cultural Innovation, Investing In Artists Grant
Atlas Award, Outstanding Achievement Award
2013
Creative Capital Grantee, Emerging Fields
Emerging Fields, Muriel Pollia Foundation Awardee
CSAC Challenge Merit Award
2011
Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Project Award
2010
Top 10 events of 2010- the opening of my solo show, YOUR FACE HERE- LA Weekly
Top 10 fashion statements of 2010- TRANIMAL Workshop- LA Weekly
MetLife Foundation Museum and Community Connections Grant, Project Award
Intermediae Residency (ARCO 2010), Madrid, Spain
2009
Andy Warhol Foundation, Project Award
Headlands Center for the Arts Artist’s Residency, Marin, California
Instant Herlev Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
Tromsø Kunstakademiet Artists’s Residency, Tromsø, Norway"
Lugar a Dudas Artist’s Residency, Cali, Colombia
2008
Art Matters, Project Commission
Good Works Foundation, Project Award
YouTube, Featured Video
2006
Best experimental video, Silverlake Film Festival
LA Weekly, Best of Los Angeles, Fallen Fruit
Rhizome.org, Project Award
Yahoo!, Best of the Web
2005
Eyeopener Award, 2ndCity Council / Found Magazine
Taschen’s top 1000 websites, “austinyoung.com
Education (selected studies)
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.