Brian Ulrich

Brian Ulrich (born 1971) is an American photographer known for his photographic exploration of consumer culture.

Born in Northport, New York, Ulrich lives in Chicago, Illinois. In 2001 in response to a national call for citizens to bolster the American economy through shopping, Ulrich began a project to document consumer culture. This project, "Copia", is a series of large scale photographs of shoppers, retail spaces, and displays of goods. Initially focused on big-box retail establishments, the series expanded to include thrift stores and back rooms of retail businesses. Ulrich's work is held in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Art Institute of Chicago; and Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago. Photo District News named Ulrich as one of 30 Emerging Photographers of 2007.

Selected exhibitions

Solo:
* "Wright", Project 4 Gallery, Washington, DC (2008)
* "Thrift", Quality Pictures, Portland, OR (2008)
* "Copia", Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY (2007)
* "Thrift", Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, IL (December 1, 2006-2007)
* "Copia", Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2006-2007)
* "Copia", Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco (2006)
* "12 x 12: New Artists/New Work: Shoppers", Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2005)

Group:
* "World's Away: New Suburban Landscapes", Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN (2008)
* "Variable Capital", Bliecoats Arts Centre, Liverpool, UK (2008)
* "Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children", DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, (2008)
* "Chicagraphy", Galerie f5,6, Munich, Germany (2007)
* Art Basel Miami Beach, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, (2006)
* "MP3", Kelli Connell, Justin Newhall, and Brian Ulrich, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, (2006)
* "Photocentric", Minnesota Center for Photography, Minneapolis, MN (2005)
* "On the Scene", Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (2005)
* "The New Chicagoans", Select Media Festival, Chicago, IL (2005)
* "Contemporary American Photography/Internationalen Fototage Mannheim", Cologne (2005)
* "Manufactured Self", Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL (2005)
* Center for Photographic Arts, Carmel California (2003)

Publications

* "Brian Ulrich: The Tough Go Shopping", ARTnews, Richard B. Woodward, November, 2007
* "They Walk (Silently) Among You: The Suburban Photographers", The New York Times, Benjamin Genocchio, September 30, 2007
* [http://www.lensculture.com/ulrich.html "Where do you shop?", Lens Culture, 2007]
* "You Are What You Grow", The New York Times Magazine, April 22, 2007
* "Light and Lens: Photography in the Digital Age", Robert Hirsch, Focal Press, 2007
* "Mother Jones" magazine, ‘Happiness’, March/April 2007
* MP3: Midwest Photographers Project, “Copia”, Aperture Foundation, 2006
* ArtForum, ‘Brian Ulrich, Robert Koch Gallery’, Glen Helfand,October 2006
* "Seeing & Writing 2", textbook, Donald McQuade, Christine McQuade, 2006
* Photography Quarterly, “Photography Now”, 2006
* Adbusters, #70 2007, #67 September/October 2006, #66 July/August 2006
* "Chicago Tribune" Magazine, February 5, 2006
* "The New York Times Magazine", September 2004

Sources

* [http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/ulrich_brian.php Brian Ulrich] at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago)
* [http://www.notifbutwhen.com/NIBW/ Not if but when] (Ulrich's site)