Troy Abbott
Works & Biography

Troy Abbott, American, b. 1967 is a multidisciplinary artist currently working in digital media. He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Fine Art focusing on drawing, but he gravitated towards the field of digital art. In 2002, Abbott made his first birdcage, inspired by the idea from the classic film Blade Runner in which humans and robots co-exist and are almost interchangeable.

His ideas developed and in 2006 he began to make more and more cages. Abbott gave up his job running a nightclub in Fort Lauderdale and dove completely into his exploration of the real and the digital with his cages. He explores the idea of freedom in his pieces, that the birds sit in cage with the doors open, yet they never leave.

Abbott's work is wonderfully subtle yet intriguing. The birds are sometimes color coordinated to the cages, but they always feel as though they are the natural inhabitants of the cages, perhaps they have been there for years. Abbott films real birds, often reusing his subjects, who sit on their perches with the occasional jerk of movement. This draws the attention of the viewer to the cages, which are art unto themselves. Abbott scours thrift stores and vintage shops to find cages he feels have personality. As his work has progressed Abbott has also taken to showing the exposed circuitry that gives the birds life, bringing the digital element up to the vintage and stylistic element of the cages. The result are beautiful pieces that sit quaint and quiet at first glance, but ring of a subtle commentary on the nature of reality. 

EDUCATION 
1990
Bachelor's of Fine Arts – Drawing, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2006
Equilibrium, Art Futures Gallery, Miami FL, 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS & FAIRS
2023
TBA
2022
The Baggage We Bring, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami FL
Art Miami, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami FL
2021
Summer Days, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami FL
2020
- - - C O V I D - 1 9 - - -
2019
Animalia, Averitt Center for The Arts, Statesboro GA
Bird Watcher, Visions West Contemporary, Denver CO
Re-Evolution, Univ. Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie WY
2018
Fair 2018, Spinello Projects, Miami FL
What's Hot MIami, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery Miami FL
The Neo-Victorians, Hudson River Museum, New York NY
2017
Fragile Ecologies Part Two, Art Miami, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery
Art Aspen, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Aspen CO
Fragile Ecologies Part One, Art New York, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery
Zoo-Per-Duper, Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, Bernice Steinbaum  Gallery, West Palm Beach FL 
2016
Give Them the Bird, Art Miami, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami FL 
Walk like the lions, and perform like the pigeons., Art New York Fair, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York NY 
Bird in the Hand, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto CA
Curator’s Choice, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson WY 
Beauty and the Beast: The Animal in Photography Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego CA 
Lit, Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square, Delray Beach FL 
Art Miami, Miami FL 
2015
The Peaceable Kingdom, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Art Miami FL 
Art in the Natural World and Cultured Settings, Art Wynwood, FL
2014
Art Miami, Miami, FL
Art South Hampton Fair, New York, NY, Pan American Art Projects
2013
Scope Basel Switzerland 
Reclaimed Miami, Zadok Gallery, Miami FL 
Scope Art Fair, New York NY
Wynwood Art Fair, February Miami FL 
International Art Fair, Miami FL 
Palm Beach International Art Fair, Palm Beach FL 
2012
Scope Basel Switzerland 
Warhol is Over, Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami FL 
Scope New York, New York FL 
Art Naples, Naples FL 
Scope Miami, Miami FL 
Miami International Art Fair, Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami FL 
Palm Beach International Art Fair, West Palm Beach FL 
2011
Scope Art Fair Miami FL 
Sex Drugs and Profanity, Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami FL 
Home Dream Home, Praxis Gallery, Miami FL 
Art Pad SF, San Francisco CA 
Spinello Gallery, Miami FL 
Abracadabara, Hollywood Center for Arts and Culture
Palm Beach International Art Fair, Palm Beach FL 
Miami International Art Fair, Miami Beach FL 
Stencil and Candy, Art Modern Gallery, Wynwood, Miami FL 
2010
Verge Art Fair, Miami Beach FL 
E.G. Cody, Miami FL 
Nature Revisions and Dreams, Florida Gulf Coast University, Naples FL 
Things I Found / Things I Found and Made, Salon Contemporary, UK 
2009
Littlest Sister, Spinello Gallery 
Tent Digital, Truman Brewery London, UK 
Island Contemporary Exhibition, Captiva Civic Center, FL 
Pop Masters, Art Modern Gallery, Naples FL 
Art Object, Art Modern Gallery, Naples FL 
2008
Seasonal Opening, Art Modern Gallery 
Pool Art Fair Miami Beach, Miami FL 
Opera Gallery, Paris FR 
Sacred Art, Art Futures Gallery Miami FL 
Where the Wild Things (still) Are, Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers FL 
Everyday, H W Gallery, Naples FL 
Art Modern Gallery, Naples FL 
2007
Splendid Illusions, Art Futures Gallery,u Miami FL 
Environmental Awakenings, Art Futures Gallery ,Miami FL
V07 Video Art Fair Venice, IT
Diva Fair, New York NY  
Communion Saves Art, Miami FL 

BOOKS 1+1>2, Artist book (unique), University of Miami, Miami FL
COMMISSIONS PUBLIC OR PRIVATE
Resorts World Genting 
Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD.