Tony Labat


Tony Labat is a Cuban-born American multimedia artist, installation artist, and professor. He has exhibited internationally, developing a body of work in performance, video, sculpture and installation. Labat's work has dealt with investigations of the body, popular culture, identity, urban relations, politics, and the media.

Early life and education

Labat was born in Havana, Cuba in 1951. He emigrated from Cuba to Miami, Florida in 1965, when he was fifteen years old. He received his BFA degree and his MFA degree from the San Francisco Art Institute.

Career

Since the early 1980s, Labat has been a participant in the California performance and video scene and has spend most of his career in San Francisco. Labat taught in the New Genres department at SFAI from 1985 until its closure in 2022, he also served as the MFA director.
His artwork is included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; and Oakland Museum of California.

Exhibitions

In 2005, Labat had a survey exhibition of his work in conjunction with the publication of "Trust Me" at New Langton Arts. Other exhibitions include: