BIOGRAPHY

Shawn Feeney works at the intersection between visual art, music, and contemplative practices. He earned his BA in Music from Harvard College and his MFA in Intermedia from the University of Auckland. Feeney also holds Certificates in Deep Listening® (based on the work of Pauline Oliveros), Sound, Voice, and Music in the Healing Arts from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and Forensic Facial Imaging from the FBI Academy. He studied with Mario Davidovsky, Ivan Tcherepnin, Philip Dadson, Timothy Hill, and Silvia Nakkach. Feeney worked as a forensic artist in New York, and in the Art Department of Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco. His debut solo album, Thin Places, was released in 2020. His work has been presented at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Audiofoundation HQ in Auckland, and CounterPULSE in San Francisco. Feeney has been artist-in-residence at the Swall Institute in Yosemite, CA, and the de Young Museum in San Francisco. His clients and collaborators include Teatro alla Scala, the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Barnes Foundation, and the Exploratorium. Feeney has led workshops and retreats at venues such as Lifebridge Sanctuary and the Barnes Foundation. He is currently based in Highland, New York.

RESUME

Solo Exhibitions
2015
10
Body of Sound, Brain Vessel Gallery, Mechanicsburg, PA.
2011
8
Faces, Idle Hands Dry Goods, Santa Cruz, CA.
2009
4
Musical Anatomy, CounterPULSE, San Francisco, CA.
Group Exhibitions & Performances
2020
4
Quartz Bowls, 24-HOUR DRONE – THE DRONE WIDE WEB
2015
7
Music Mystery Journeys, The Voice Loft, Emeryville, CA (with Silvia Nakkach & Alba Lirio).
 
7
Rest in the Music, The Voice Loft, Emeryville, CA (with Loriel Starr).
 
6
Raw Shack, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA.
 
6
Music Inspired by Art, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA.
 
6
Ambient Soundscape, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA.
2014
5
Friday Nights at the de Young, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA.
 
5
Metascent, Medical Museion, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
 
4
Hacked Organic(^2), Langton Labs, San Francisco, CA.
2013
10
Monster Mash-up, TELUS Spark Science Centre, Calgary, AB (video screening).
2011
8
Music in the Eye, Audiofoundation HQ, Auckland, New Zealand.
2010
2
Raw Shack, Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY, curated by Jon Natchez.
2009
10
POW! POW! Action Art Festival, Climate Theater, San Francisco, CA.
 
6
Raw Shack, Museum of Modern Art, NYC. Performed by Stars Like Fleas.
 
4
Alchemy, California Modern Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2008
9
Raw Shack, New Music Co-op’s Game Show, Ballet Austin, Austin, TX.
 
3
Friendly Fire, Starkwhite Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand (sound art collaboration organized by Ian-John Hutchinson).
2007
7
LoVid’s “Patch”, The Stone, NYC (laptop).
2004
9
Raw Shack, Odeon Lounge, Auckland, New Zealand. Performed by Trudy Lile, Drew McMillan, Nigel Gavin, Samilton, Bruce Morley, Dave Allen, and Derek Tearne. Prompted by Matt Brennan.
 
7
Ooblek, Austin Museum of Digital Art, Austin, TX (duo performance with officerfishdumplings).
 
3-7
Austin Cobra Players, Raw Shack, monthly performances at Church of the Friendly Ghost, Austin, TX.
 
2
supplemen+ presents “Retreat!”, Church of the Friendly Ghost, Austin, TX (interactive installation).
2003
9
supplemen+ presents “Universal Coverage”, The Vortex, Austin, TX (Ooblek performance).
Curatorial
2015
7
Visionary Music Series, The Voice Loft, Emeryville, CA.
 
6
Sonic Fridays, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA.
2004
2
supplemen+ presents “Retreat!”, Church of the Friendly Ghost, Austin, TX.
2003
9
supplemen+ presents “Universal Coverage”, The Vortex, Austin, TX.
Presentations & Workshops
2019
1, 3
Restorative Sound Bath, Firefly Yoga, Fishkill, NY.
2018
9
Restorative Sound Bath, Firefly Yoga, Fishkill, NY.
 
9
Sound & Silence Retreat, Lifebridge Sanctuary, Rosendale, NY.
2016
4
Sound Somatics: Listening With the Body, Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM), Wappinger, NY.
 
1
Overtone Crown Demonstration, Northeast Music Cognition Group (NEMCOG), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
2015
10
Pumpkin Sculpture Workshop, Brain Vessel Gallery, Mechanicsburg, PA.
 
8
Couples Massage & Somatic Sound Workshop, Yoga Society, San Francisco, CA (with Sya Warfield).
 
7
Sound & Image in the Art of Shawn Feeney, The Voice Loft, Emeryville, CA.
 
7
Sound & Rhythm Meditation, Priceless, Belden, CA.
 
3-8
Morning Tune-up (Sound & Rhythm Meditation), Terra’s Temple, Berkeley, CA.
2014
10
Pumpkin Sculpture Workshop, Terra’s Temple, Berkeley, CA.
Selected Bibliography
2020
A Closer Listen – July 16, 2020, “Shawn Feeney ~ Thin Places”
2018
Pause (UK) – No. 3, Feb 2018, “Life is a Musical Thing”
2017
Business Insider – 7 Nov 2017, “Rising Stars with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Yancey Stricker”
2016
The Work of Art – 3 April 2016, Interview with Ted Weinstein
2015
SF Weekly – 19 June 2015, “Listen to Dinosaur Toothaches at Raw Shack at the de Young”
 
Contra Costa Times – 10 June 2015, “El Cerrito artist making creations at de Young this month”
2014
Esquire – 31 Oct 2014, “Behold: Jack O’ Lanterns in the Shape of Dead Musicians”
 
Hi-Fructose – 3 April 2014, “Shawn Feeney’s “Musical Anatomy” Drawing Series”
 
Juxtapoz – 3 March 2014, “Shawn Feeney’s Musical Anatomy”
2012
New York Magazine – 30 July 2012, Approval Matrix (Brilliant)
2010
The Paris Review – 29 June 2010, “Q&A: Shawn Feeney and The BFF Project”
2009
Boing Boing – 31 March 2009, “Musicians drawn with instruments as body parts”
2008
FHM Germany – No. 96, Oct 2008, “Kopfmensch”
 
Mass Appeal – No. 50, April 2008, “Shawn Feeney”
Publications & Discography
2020
Thin Places
2013
Odds of Survival, You Will Be Rescued
2009
Sketchbook 2006-2008, self-published
Grants & Residencies
2019
The Pink House artist residency, Eyeries, Ireland
2015
de Young Museum Artist In Residence, San Francisco, CA
2012
Swall Institute Artist In Residence, Yosemite, CA
2012
Priceless Art Grantee, False Profit, Belden, CA
2001
John Knowles Paine Fellow, Harvard University
2000
Henry Russell Shaw Fellow, Harvard University
Education
2017
Certificate in Deep Listening, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
2015
Certificate in Sound, Voice, and Music in the Healing Arts, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA
2007
Certificate in Forensic Facial Imaging, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA
2003
MFA, Intermedia, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland
2000
BA, Music, Harvard College