Khalilah Birdsong (b. 1977, Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, USA) is a visual artist who creates large-scale abstract paintings and installations.  Birdsong has exhibited with galleries in Atlanta, Georgia, Cincinnati, Ohio, New York, New York and Hamburg, Germany.  She has had solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Japan and Italy.  Birdsong’s paintings are in private and corporate collections around the world, including commissioned works. Her installation work has been commissioned by corporations in Atlanta, Georgia and Tokyo, Japan.  Four of Khalilah’s paintings appeared on Tyler Perry’s “If Loving You Is Wrong” TV series from 2014-2017.  Birdsong’s work can be found in 44^th United States President Barack Obama’s private collection, which is being considered to hang in his Presidential Library. 

The scale and evidence of physicality of Khalilah’s paintings echoes Alfred Leslie, Joan Mitchell, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Jack Whitten and the late abstract paintings of Gerhard Richter. Birdsong differs from many of these early abstract painters in that while many of those artists were tied to references to nature, and a looser freer gesture, she combines physicality with a precision and a finely calibrated balance in her work.

In 2019, Khalilah was named by Contemporary Art Curator Magazine (London, England) as “100 Future Contemporary Artists in the World”.  Birdsong was invited to participate in the XIIth Florence Biennale in Florence, Italy where she exhibited four large-scale paintings and installation work in the fall of 2019.  In 2020, Birdsong was awarded a Hambidge Fellowship for the Creative Arts & Sciences.  Khalilah lived in the rainforest of Maui, Hawaii from 2017-2019, where she painted fervently in nature and discovered a new meaning of life that translates throughout her artwork.  Birdsong currently resides in the mountains of North Georgia, USA. In the fall of 2021, Khalilah will be moving to England to begin her matriculation at Goldsmiths, University of London to pursue her Masters of Fine Art.

Education

2021-2023
Masters of Fine Art, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, England 

2014-2016
Apprentice to painter, Michael David, Brooklyn, New York and Atlanta, Georgia

2001
Bachelor of Business Administration, International Business, Minor French, Howard University, Washington D.C.

1999
French Civilization, Business and Culture, Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), Paris, France

Solo Exhibitions

2022
“The Pilgrimage”, The Solarium at The Colony Hotel and Voltz Clarke Gallery, Palm Beach, FL 

2018
“Paper Light, Paintings by Khalilah Birdsong”, Cincinnati Art Underground,
Cincinnati, Ohio

2017
“Siren’s Call”, Hathaway Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

2016
“Amalgamation”, Cincinnati Art Underground, Cincinnati, Ohio

Group Exhibitions

2021
Moon Art Fair, Elbphilharmonie, AHC Projects, Hamburg, Germany (October 29)
Intersect Aspen, Voltz Clarke Gallery, Aspen Ice Garden, Aspen, Colorado (August 1)
“Love Always Wins,” Maune Contemporary, Atlanta, Georgia 
“Resurgence”, two-person exhibition, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York (April 8)
Intersect Aspen Art Fair x Voltz Clarke Gallery, two-person exhibition,  Aspen Ice Garden, CO (August 1-5th)

2019
Spectrum Art Fair, “Rising Artist” section, Art Basel Miami Week, AHC Projects, Hamburg, Germany, Miami, Florida
XIIth Florence Biennale, Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Italy
“MOCA GA LIVE”, The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Hathaway Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
“High Rise Show”, Showerhaus Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
“Deep Water”, Cincinnati Art Underground, Cincinnati, Ohio
“Little Treasures”, Galleria de Marchi, Trevisan International Art, Bologna, Italy
“Shibuya Station”, Installation, Tokyo Metro Station, Contemporary Art Station, Tokyo, Japan
“Fulton County Fine Art Acquisition Program Exhibition,” Atlanta, Georgia

2018
Miami River Art Fair, Art Basel Miami Week, AHC Projects, Hamburg, Germany, Miami, Florida
“Little Things”, Swan Coach House Gallery, Forward Arts Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia
Tokyo International Art Fair, Bellesalle Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
“Golden Hour”, Dashboard, Installation Commission, Historic Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia
“Abstract Tendencies: Works by Contemporary Abstract Painters”, Hathaway
Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

2017
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, International Terminal, Loupe Art Installation, Atlanta, Georgia
“Off the Wall Pin Up Show”, The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia. Jury selection.
“Lighter Than Air”, Cincinnati Art Underground, Cincinnati, Ohio

2016
“Community: A Group Exhibition in Memory of Ellen DeLoach”, Hathaway Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
“From the Earth to the Sky”, Group Exhibition, Cincinnati Art Underground, Cincinnati, Ohio
Constella Festival, “Old World, Modern Expressions”, Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
“Carnaval: A New Exuberance”, Bill Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

2015
“Ancestors: Origin & Return”, Bill Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

2014
“Selections from the South’s Art Incubator” with the Fine Arts Atelier, Bill Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

Selected Public & Private Collections

44th United States President Barack Obama, Washington, District of
Columbia/Chicago Illinois (Presidential Library consideration)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Natatorium Center, Atlanta, Georgia (4)
8 West, Mixed-use development, Atlanta, Georgia (4)
Fulton County Arts & Culture, Permanent Collection, Atlanta, Georgia (2)
Boston Consulting Group, Atlanta, Georgia
Ae’o Tower, Honolulu, Hawaii
Tyler Perry Studios, Atlanta, Georgia (2)
Tyler Perry, Atlanta, Georgia
Legendary Events, Flourish Event Venue Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia (3)
Larry and Brenda Thompson, Atlanta, Georgia

Public Commissions

2020
8 West, Mixed-use development, Atlanta, Georgia (4)

2018
Dashboard, “Golden Hour“, Installation, Historic Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia (voted best art exhibition, Creative Loafing)

2017
Martin Luther King, Jr. Natatorium Center, Atlanta, Georgia (4)

2015
Legendary Events, Flourish Event Venue, Atlanta, Georgia, (3) 108 x 144in (274 x 366cm) paintings

Residencies & Awards

2021
Artist of the Future Award, Contemporary Arts Curator Magazine, London, England

2020
Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Sciences, Rabun Gap, Georgia, Awarded Fulton County Arts Fellowship (four weeks)

2017
Independent study summer artist residency, Pontlevoy, Loire Valley, France (two weeks)

Honors

2019
“100 Future Contemporary Artists”, Contemporary Art Curator Magazine, London, England, United Kingdom

2017
Art Over Dinner, Featured Dinner Speaker, The Art Farm at Serenbe, Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia

Affiliations

2021
Gallery Red, Mallorca, Spain

2020-2021
Ann Kendall Richards, New York, New York

2018-2021
AHC Projects, Hamburg, Germany

2016-2021
Cincinnati Art Underground, Cincinnati, Ohio

2019
GOTTLING Gallery, Wailea, Maui, Hawaii
Four Seasons Resort, Maui at Wailea, Hawaii

2018
Velvenoir, Salzburg, Austria

2016
RH Contemporary Art (Restoration Hardware), Corte Madera, California

2015 -2021
Loupe Art, Atlanta, Georgia

2014 -2017
Tyler Perry’s “If Loving You Is Wrong”, TV show on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network; set decoration, Atlanta, GA