Jim Shaw was born in 1952 in Midland, Michigan, and lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He received a BFA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1974 and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 1978. Shaw has had major solo exhibitions at the Chalet Society, Paris (2014); BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, England (2012); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2012); CAPC, musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, France (2010); P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City (2007); and Casino-Luxembourg—Forum d’Art contemporain, Luxembourg (1999). His work has been featured in a number of important international group exhibitions, including “The Encyclopedic Palace: 55th International Art Exhibition,” Venice Biennale (2013); “Sunshine & Noir: Art in L.A., 1990–1997,” Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark (1997); “Helter Skelter: L.A. Art in the 1990s,” LA MOCA (1992); and the 1991 and 2002 Whitney Biennials; among others.