Michael Ashkin is an American artist who makes sculptures, videos, photographs and installations depicting marginalized, desolate landscapes. He is best known for his use of miniature scale and modest materials.
Ashkin also authored Garden State, a book which compares the New Jersey Meadowlands to a formal garden. He is a contributing author to Experience of Place.
Ashkin was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and received an M.A. in Middle East Languages and Cultures from Columbia University. Before becoming an artist, he taught Arabic and worked as a computer programmer for investment banks. Ashkin's work was included in Documenta 11 in 2002, and in the 1997 Whitney Biennial. He is a professor at Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning as well as a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow.
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