O’Brien’s photographic and installation-based practice draws from a combination of intensive research and lived experience to examine the organization and perception of physical space — especially as it relates to landscape and the built environment. His work is informed by the history and symbolic potential of materials, as well as the shifting incarnations of the photographic image. He has exhibited widely, including at the Houston Center for Photography, The Center for Fine Art Photography, California State University Northridge, the Northern Illinois University Art Museum, and Zeitgeist Gallery among others. In 2022, his first book, Drift Alignment, was published by Skylark Editions.
EDUCATION
2009
Master of Fine Arts, Photography Concentration, Suma Cum Laude
University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
2003
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography, Suma Cum Laude
Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
EXHIBITIONS & CURATORIAL RESEARCH PRACTICE (* indicates solo or two-person exhibition)
2025
(forthcoming) *Exhibition title TBD, solo exhibition, Institute for Art and Olfaction, Los Angeles, California
2023-24
*Drift Alignment/Down Pressed Sunshine, two-person exhibition with Patrick DeGuira, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
2022
Art of the South 2022, juror: Katie Delmez, Senior Curator at the Frist Art Museum, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
Approximate Press, collaborative artist book press with Matt Greenwell; designed and published artist books with Benjy Russell, I reached for your hand and we swam through stars, and Stephanie Loggans, Stephanie Loggans
2021
Locus, two-person exhibition with Ivan Fortushniak, Birke Art Gallery, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, curated by Jamie Platt
Home/, Institute of Contemporary Art at UTC, curated by Rachel Reese, Chattanooga, TN
2020
Overwhelming (Im)Possibilities, West Loop Gallery, Houston, Texas, Juried by Haley Berkman Karren
2019
Contemporary Landscape, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA), Gimpo-si, South Korea (11/19)
Social Justice in the Mis-Information Age, Juror: Susan Crile, Albright College, Reading, PA
27th Emerald Coast National Juried Fine Arts Exhibition, Juror: Katie Pfohl, Curator NOMA, Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries at Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, FL
Art of the South 2019, Juror: Bethany Springer, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
*Drift Alignment, West Gallery, California State University, Northridge, CA
DATA: BIG, -driven, Visualized, Juror: Richard Siegesmund, Northern Illinois Univ. Art Museum, Dekalb, IL
*Drift Alignment, White Box Gallery, California State University, Bakersfield, CA
Fluctuating Meridians, Stoveworks Gallery, Chattanooga, TN
2018
TN Contemporary, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, Georgia. Collaborative curatorial project with Phillip Lewis and Daniel Fuller, featuring work by regional artists Eric Cagley, Patrick DeGuira and Natalie Petrovsky
2017
*Curtain Wall, Workspace Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska
*Curtain Wall, Kresge Library and Gallery, Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Mellow Mountain Coalition and Michael Robinson, Terminal Station, Chattanooga. Co-curated installation of Memphis-based collaborative and LA video artist in a caboose and train car
Don’t Worry, You’ll Get There, 401 MLK, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Co-curated site-specific video installation in former fast food restaurant featuring work by Nevada-based artist, Peter Whittenberger
iSurrender, 540 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Co-curated site-specific video projection of work by UK artist, Samantha Harvey, on the former State Office Building in downtown Chattanooga
SPE South Central Regional Conference Juried Exhibition, Juror: Deborah Lillie, Waco, Texas
New England Art Book Fair, Presented in Conjunction with Grammar Center Press, Portland, Maine
5th Annual Juried Exhibition, Ground Floor Gallery, Nashville, TN, Curated by Austin Thomas
Contemporary South 2017, Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh, NC, Curated by Sheetal Prajatapati
2016
Photographs About Nothing, Atlanta Photography Group, Curated by Beth Lilly
Faux, Center for Fine Art Photography, Boulder, Colorado, Juried by Louise Clements
Edgehill Muses, Curb Center for Art and Enterprise, Vanderbilt University, Curated by Rachel Bubis
Still Life, Don't Take Pictures (online exhibition), Juried by Kat Kiernan
2015
33rd Annual Member Exhibition, Houston Center for Photography, Juried by Russell Lord (NOMA)
*Talking Talking House, Seed Space, Nashville, Tennessee
2014
Group Show, Shane Darwent Art and Framing, Chattanooga, Tennessee
2011
Range, Archer Gallery, Clark College, Vancouver, Washington
2010
*Fickett, Apothecary Projects, Chattanooga, Tennessee
SQFT, Blackfish Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon
SQFT, Egyptian Theater, Boise, Idaho
2009
Recent Grads, Blackfish Contemporary Art, Portland Oregon
MFA 2009, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon
NWx4: New Northwest Photography, Quality Pictures Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon
2008
*Threshold, Eric Washburn Gallery, Eugene, Oregon Lightfoot, Ditch Projects, Springfield, Oregon
The Space Between, Laverne Krauss Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
Sundown, 18k Gold Tone Gallery, Portland, Oregon
2008 Juried Exhibition, NewSpace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon
Terra Infirma, Laverne Krause Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
2007
Habitat, Laverne Krause Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
Our Terrain, Greenleaf Gallery, Whittier, California
*Middle Ground, Shane House Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
2006
H2O, Dinnerware Contemporary Arts, Tucson, Arizona
*Dis/Appearance Project, Site Specific Billboard Installation, Tucson, Arizona
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2022
Appalachian Forest Stewardship Residency (ASFR), jurors: Lexie Stoia and Leticia Wiggins, Hillsboro, OH
2018
Lowe House Project Artist Residency for Drift Alignment Research and Artwork Production, Tubac, Arizona
2017
Lowe House Project Artist Residency for Drift Alignment Research and Artwork Production, Tubac, Arizona
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2023
Photography and 21st Century Migration, Art History Association International Conference, London, UK. Panel chaired by Sarah Bassnett and Blessy Augustine.
2022
Boundaries and Borders, 3rd International Conference of photographies journal, San Antonio, Texas. Conference review committee: Liz Wells, David Bate, Erina Duganne
2019
Drift Alignment, SECAC National Conference session, Chattanooga, Tennessee (10/19)
2018
Landscape in Pieces, session chair, SECAC National Conference, Birmingham, Alabama
Drift Alignment, Society for Photographic Education South Central Conference, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Drift Alignment, Society for Photographic Education South East Conference, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
2009
Field Office, Society for Photographic Education National Conference, Dallas, Texas
ARTIST LECTURES
2019
Fluctuating Meridians Panel Discussion, Stoveworks Gallery, Chattanooga, Tennessee
2018
Visiting Artist, University of Central Florida, School of Visual Art and Design, Orlando, Florida
Drift Alignment, College of Arts and Sciences Convocation, University of Tennessee Chattanooga
Drift Alignment, Lowe House Project, Tubac, Arizona
2017
Artist Talk for Curtain Wall Solo Exhibition, Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Georgia
2010
Visiting Artist, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota
2009
MFA Lecture Series, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon
2008
Middle Ground, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
2005
Western Photographic Historical Society, Tucson, Arizona
GRANTS & AWARDS
2023
Wheeler Odor Research Grant, University of Tennesee at Chattanooga
2022
Faculty Development Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Exceeds Expectations Rating for Annual EDO Performance Review
2021
Current Art Fund Grant (in collaboration with Matt Greenwell), Tri Star Arts, Juried by Derek Fordjour, Alexis Johnson, and Marin Sullivan
Fall Faculty Research Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Individual Artist Fellowship, Tennessee Arts Commission
2020
Exceeds Expectations Rating for Annual EDO Performance Review
Summer Faculty Research Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
2019
Summer Faculty Research Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Pitch Competition: Drift Alignment Book Proposal, Arts and Humanities Category Winner
2018
Faculty Achievement Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Fall Faculty Research Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Summer Faculty Research Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
2017
CAS Research and Creative Activity Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Faculty Research Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
High Impact Practices Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
2016
UTC Engaged Grant, TN Contemporary, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
CAS Supplemental Travel Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
2015
Faculty Research Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Ruth S. Holmberg Grant for Faculty Excellence, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
2014
Think Achieve Grant, Lead Author, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
UNFoundation of Chattanooga, NeighborFloat, Lead Author, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Library Enhancement Grant, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
2008-2009
Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
2007
Architecture and Allied Arts Travel Research Grant, University of Oregon, Eugene Oregon
Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of Oregon, Eugene Oregon
Segal Americorps Education Award, Americorps, Washington, D.C./ Tucson, Arizona
2006
Individual Artist Grant, Tucson Pima Arts Council, Tucson, Arizona
PUBLICATIONS
2024
Drift Alignment: Astronomy, Celestial Navigation, and the US-Mexico Border, article in photographies journal special issue: “Boundaries and Borders.” DOI 10.1080/17540763.2023.2269393
2023
A Portfolio from Drift Alignment, in Photography and Culture special issue: “Photography and 21st Century Migration.” DOI 10.1080/17514517.2023.2256171
2022
Drift Alignment, published by SKYLARK Editions, Chicago Illinois, 68 pages with gatefolds, 4-color offset printing, commissioned essay by Katie Flynn
2019
Curtain Wall, published in collaboration with Grammar Center Press, Orlando, Florida, 62 pages with gatefolds, digital offset printing
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2020
Jessica Auchter, Augmented Reality: Memorializing Deaths of Migrants Along the US-Mexico Border, in Migrants and Monuments: Public Memory in the Context of Transnational Migration and Displacement edited by Sabine Marschall. Palgrave Macmillan press, Memory Studies series. 2020
2019
Jeff Rich, “Eyes on the South: Shades of Gray.” Oxford American online. August 14, 2019
Richard Siegesmund and Jo Anne Burke, Data: Big/-driven/Visualized. Exhibition catalogue. Published by the Northern Illinois University Art Musuem. May 2019.
Brooks Dierdorff and Andrew O’Brien, “Interview: Andrew O’Brien & Brooks Dierdorff,” No. 97: Relics, Spring 2019
2017
Ann Marie Deer Owens, “Community Viewed as Microcosm for Nashville” Vanderbilt News online, January 5th, 2017
2015
Adrienne Outlaw, “Talking Talking House,” Seedspace Lab, February, 2015
2010
Laurel Ptak, “Andrew O’Brien,” www.iheartphotograph.com, 27 December, 2010
2007
Irene Messina, “Paradoxical Landscapes,” Tucson Weekly, 4 January, 200
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
2018 - Present
Member, SECAC (formerly Southeast Conference of Art Colleges)
2007 - Present
Member, Society for Photographic Education
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2024
Consultant to Creative Discovery Museum for public art digital projection project
UTC Budget, and Economic Status Committee
College of Arts and Sciences Rank Tenure and Promotion Committee
Department of Art Rank Tenure and Promotion Committee
Trip Coordinator and Chaperone for ART2840 Field Trip to High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
2023
Visiting Critic, Stove Works Artist Residency, Chattanooga, TN
Chair, PMA Lecturer Search Committee
UTC Budget and Economic Status Committee
Trip Coordinator and Chaperone for ART2840 Field Trip to High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
Author of NASAD Self-Study section on Photography and Media Art BFA program area
2022
Chair, PMA Lecturer Search Committee
UTC Budget and Economic Status Committee
2021
Chair, Department of Art Strategic Planning and Advisory Committee
Department of Art Rank, Tenure, and Promotion Committee
2020
External Reviewer, LSU School of Art, tenure and promotion committee
2019
Chair, Department of Art Strategic Planning and Advisory Commitee
National Conference Portfolio Reviewer, Society for Photographic Education, Cleveland, Ohio
Mentorship and oversight for Lecturer and Adjunct Instructor in ART 2810 and ART 2820
Established new temporary Photo Media labs and instructional spaces during FAC renovation
2018
Chair, Department of Art Strategic Planning and Advisory Committee
Co-Chair, search committee for tenure-track Professor of Art History
Co-Chair, search committee for Lecturer in Art History (subsequently converted to tenure-track)
Training and mentorship of new Photography and Media Art Lecturer and new Adjunct
Search committee for Lecturer in Graphic Design
Search committee for Head, Department of Art
Chair, search committee for Lecturer in Photography and Media Art
National Conference Portfolio Reviewer, Society for Photographic Education, Philadelphia
Co-Chair, Sessions Committee for 2019 SECAC National Conference
Trip Coordinator and Chaperone for ART2840 Field Trip to High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
Trip Coordinator and Chaperone for ART4815 Field Trip to SCAD, Atlanta, Georgia
2017
Chair, Photography and Media Art Lecturer Search Committee
UTC Faculty Grants Committee
Art Department Strategic Planning Advisory Committee
Art Department Search Committee for Tenure-Track Position in Sculpture
National Conference Portfolio Reviewer, Society for Photographic Education, Orlando, Florida
Facilities Improvements – Redesign of Photo Media studios layout, setup of new inkjet printer
Mentorship and Oversight for Lecturer and Adjunct Instructor in ART 2810 and ART 2820
Trip Coordinator and Chaperone for ART2840 Field Trip to High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
Trip Coordinator and Chaperone for ART4815 Field Trip to SCAD and Fall Line Press, Atlanta, Georgia
IT Liaison – Coordination of software package and updates for Art Department computer Labs
2016
Art Department Search Committees - Lecturer in Sculpture; Lecturer in Painting and Drawing
Chair, Art Department Strategic Planning and Advisory Committee
University Sustainability Committee
Facilities Improvements - renovation and construction of new photo-media studios; new 44” printer setup
Development of new open lighting studio hours, and training for documentation of artwork by non-majors
2015
National Conference Portfolio Reviewer, Society for Photographic Education, New Orleans, Louisiana
Art Department Search Committees - Positions in Sculpture, Painting & Drawing, Art History
Faculty Exhibition, Cress Gallery, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee
2014
Art Department Strategic Planning Advisory Committee
Facilities Improvements and Maintenance in Lighting Studio and Darkroom
2011
National Conference Portfolio Reviewer, Society for Photographic Education, Atlanta, Georgia
ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS
2020 - 2021
Interim Head, Department of Art, Universsity of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Full oversight of departmental academic programs
• Departmental budget planning and oversight
• Faculty and staff hiring, reappointment, and promotion recommendations
• Strategic initiatives driven by department- and college-level goals
• NASAD reaccreditation planning
2018-20, 21-22
Associate Head, Department of Art, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Manage department’s schedule of classes and course overrides
• Recruitment and retention
• Strategic planning
• Internship coordinator
• Scholarship coordinator
• Transfer and new student advising
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
2020 - 2024
Associate Professor of Art (tenured July 2020), University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Studio instruction in analog and digital photographic practices, video, web design, and bookmaking
• Lecture instruction in photographic theory and the history of time-based art
• Advising and mentorship for B.F.A Photography and Media Art students
• Curriculum development and revision to reflect contemporary photo-media practice
• Facilities Oversight: Photo Media studios, darkroom, inkjet printers, computer lab, lighting studio
2014-2020
Assistant Professor of Photography and Media Art, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
•Studio instruction in analog and digital photographic practices, video, web design, and book making
•Lecture instruction in photographic theory and the history of time-based art
•Advising and mentorship for B.F.A Photography and Media Art students
• Facilities oversight: photo-media studios, darkroom, digital lab, and lighting studio
2010-11
Lecturer, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee
•Art 2810 Photography I, Art 2820 Photography II
•Art 2800 Survey of Time Based Art
•Art 4815 Web & Book for Artists
•Art 2600 Visual Literacy for Graphic Design
•Art 2710 Typography I
2009
Instructor of Record, ArtO 251 Black and White Photography, University of Oregon
•Traditional darkroom printing instruction using fiber based paper
•Basic use of 35mm film cameras and principles of photographic seeing
2008
Instructor of Record, ArtO 354 Digital Photography, University of Oregon
•Designed and implemented all course materials with co-instructor
•Use of camera RAW, color management, digital concepts and history
Graduate Teaching Assistant, The Artist Experience, University of Oregon
•Set up visiting faculty lectures and graded student writing assignments
Graduate Teaching Assistant, ArtO 251 Black and White Photography, University of Oregon
•Provided general assistance and in-class printing and mounting demonstrations