ABOUT
Adrienne Adar is a Los Angeles–based artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans sound, photography, sculpture, and interactive installation. Her work transforms living plants and natural phenomena into collaborators, creating environments where audiences can listen, touch, and experience the hidden vitality of the natural world.
Adar studied at the Slade School of Art in London (2002), earned her BA from Brandeis University (2003), and received her MFA in Photography and New Media from New York University / International Center of Photography (2006). Over the past two decades, her practice has expanded from photography into sound and participatory installation, often incorporating custom-built technologies to amplify the vibrational life of plants.
Her projects explore the politics of perception, rethinking the history of Earth Works while responding to the ecological urgency of our time. In 2019, she presented Sonic Succulents: Plant Sounds and Vibrations, a multi-season exhibition at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that invited thousands of visitors to hear and interact with plants in unexpected ways.
Adar’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, NPR, and Another Magazine, among others. She is the recipient of awards and fellowships from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation (2010), the Andy Warhol Foundation (2015), the National Endowment for the Arts (2018), and the Brooklyn Arts Council (2018). Her work is included in private collections as well as the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Nevada Museum of Art.
CV
Adrienne Adar
b. 1981, Los Angeles, CA
Education
2006 MFA, Photography and New Media, New York University / International Center of Photography, New York, NY
2003 BA, International History and Literature, minor in Art History, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
2002 International Visiting Student, Slade School of Art, London, UK
2002 International Visiting Student, University College London, London, UK
Solo and Two Person Exhibitions / Projects
2025
Fall Showcase, Youngeun Museum of Contemporary Art, with Starya Hee Seung, Seoul, South Korea
2019
Sonic Succulents: Plant Sounds and Vibrations, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY
2018
Someone to Watch Over Me, with Semra Sevrin, Wende Museum, Culver City, CA
2016
Sonic Forma: Sound Art, Video, Photography by Adrienne Adar, Collective Arts Incubator, Los Angeles, CA
Listening Trees of Taos, The Paseo Arts Festival, Taos, NM
Plant Sound Listening Stations, The Paseo Arts Festival, Taos, NM
Adrienne Adar: Sonic Succulents, Google Headquarters, Mountain View, CA and Google, San Francisco, CA
2015
Wildflower Sound Cannon: Panspermia, with Bob Dornberger, High Desert Test Sites HQ, Joshua Tree, CA
Sonic Succulents, Second Home, London, UK
Adrienne Adar: Sonic Succulent Sound Sculptures, High Desert Test Sites HQ, Sky Village Swap Meet, Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley, CA
2014
Optical Illusion Ping Pong, Machine Project, Los Angeles, CA
Sonic Succulents, Danny First Residence, presented with Art Los Angeles Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
2013
Fall Featured Artist, The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Santa Monica, CA
Group Exhibitions / Installations / Projects
2025
The Bells and Whistles Show, Goat Gallery Landers, CA
Ganna Atelier, Seoul, South Korea
2022
Material World, Goat Gallery, Landers, CA
Inglewood Open Studios, Inglewood, CA
Plant-Based, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Los Angeles, CA
2021
DIG: A Hole to Put Your Grief In, American Jewish University, Brandeis-Bardine Campus, Los Angeles, CA
2020
INCOGNITO, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Going Home, TZ Projects, Los Angeles, CA
The People’s Lawn, organized by Bettina Hubby (print, VR, video contribution)
Visions of Light: Windows on the Wallis, The Wallis, Beverly Hills, CA
Waterpuller’s Light, online sound piece, directed by David Israel Katz, foreignfire.com (virtual collaboration)
2019
Every Woman Biennial, Bendix Building, Los Angeles, CA
MAIDEN LA, TIDAL: A Public Art Build, with Cara Levine, Malibu, CA (2019)
DreamHouse/PunkHouse, Culver City, CA
2018
War of Nerves: Psychological Landscapes of the Cold War, with Semra Sevrin, Wende Museum, Culver City, CA
INCOGNITO, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Passengers of a Kaleidoscopic Journey, Ehemalige Tabakfabrik, Berlin, Germany
MAIDEN LA, TIDAL: A Public Art Build, with Cara Levine, Malibu, CA (2018)
Found, Outpost Projects, Joshua Tree, CA
2017
Elemental Exigency, Small Green Door, Commerce, CA
Panacea Project, Werkartz, Los Angeles
2016
Siren (10 Sound Artists), Five Car Garage, Santa Monica, CA
Garden Party, Collective Arts Incubator, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Indigo Mind: Celebrating the Work of Neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, StoreFrontLab, San Francisco, CA
Physico/Electro: An Exhibition of DIY Art and Technology, Art Association of Jackson Hole, Jackson Hole, WY
High Desert Test Sites Gem and Mineral Expo, Riverside Studios, Los Angeles, CA
INCOGNITO, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA
The Gallery Tally Poster Project, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Beyond Boundaries, TEDA Contemporary Art Museum, Tianjin, China
2014
LACMA Art + Film Lab, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Inglewood Library, Inglewood, CA
Unnamed Landscapes, Association of Women in Architecture Foundation, Helms Bakery, Venice, CA
Venice House and Garden Tour, Sonic Succulents, 800 Main St., Venice, CA
Re-Think Environment, curated by RECAPS Magazine, Human Resources LA, Los Angeles, CA
Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Machine Project, Los Angeles, CA
Season of Spring, Flower Pepper Gallery, Pasadena, CA
2013
Exchange, Amanda Harris Gallery of Contemporary Art, Las Vegas, NV
From the Desert, Hudson/Linc Gallery, part of Design Lab Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, CA
2012
Made In Venice, The GALLERY at 74 Market St, Venice, CA
A Shifted Memory, The Co-Op Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Mindshare 50, Los Angeles, CA
Lightning in a Bottle Festival, S.M.A.R.T. Gallery, Silverado, CA
2011
Malaysian New Media Festival, Museum of New Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Pingyao International Photography Festival, Pingyao, China
2010
Basel Castle / Overthrow Art Carnival, Miami Beach, FL
2009
Gen Art: Vanguard, Aqua Art Fair, Miami Beach, FL
2008
Jewish Emerging Artists in Los Angeles, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, CA
2006
NYU/ICP 20 Years: In, Education Gallery at International Center Of Photography, New York, NY
Pingyao International Photography Festival, Pingyao, China
Photography and New Media Thesis Exhibition, 80WSE Gallery at New York University, New York, NY
2005
Seven Artists in China/Again, NYU China House, New York, NY
Seven Artists in Beijing, 798 Avant Gallery, Beijing, China
Wellrounded, Spring Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
A Little Light in Beijing, Lumiere Gallery, Beijing, China
Six Pack, Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, China
Storefront/Forefront, 940 Lafayette Street, New York, NYSalon Nights, Fischerspooner Studio, Brooklyn, NY
Awards / Fellowships
2018
National Endowment for the Arts Grant, in support of Sonic Succulents at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Arts Council Grant, in support of Sonic Succulents at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY
2015
High Desert Test Sites Artist Project Award, supported by the James Irvine Foundation Arts Regranting Program / The Community Foundation, Joshua Tree, CA
2010-11
Ralph M. Parsons Curatorial Fellowship, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Residencies / Lectures / Workshops
2020
Art World Conference, Los Angeles, CA
2018
What is Sound? A Workshop for Everyone with Adrienne Adar, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Co-Host, New Volume Radio Show, dublab Radio, Los Angeles, CA
2017
Co-Host, Art and the City Radio, dublab Radio, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Visiting Artist Talk, MFA Program, Harvard Graduate School of Design & MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology, Cambridge, MA
Artist Participant, STEIM Musical Organics Symposium, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Guest Speaker, Teen Leadership Program, EXPO Center, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Sonic Succulents with LA-based artist Adrienne Adar, talk, Second Home, London, UK
Inaugural Artist Residency, Second Home, London, UK
Sonic Succulents: A Listening Workshop, Serpentine Pavilion, London, UK
2014–2015
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, 37 Art Studio, Sung Hee Seung Art Institute, Seoul, Korea
2011
Guest Lecturer, Pingyao Photography Festival, Pingyao, China
2009
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
2008
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
2005
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Beijing Film Academy, Beijing, China
Curation
Made In Venice: Larry Bell, Ed Moses, Edith Baumann, Andy Moses, Ollie Bell, Cesario “Block” Montano, Adrienne Adar, Isabelle Alford-Lago, Lisa Bartleson, The Gallery at 74 Market St, Venice, CA 2012
Public Collections
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA
Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV
Professional Experience
Larry Bell Studio, Studio Manager, Venice, CA, 2011-13
Selected Online Presence
Paseo Projects – Artist Profile: Adrienne Adar
Mutual Art – Artist Overview: Adrienne Adar
Tidal – Adrienne Adar
Vimeo – adrienneadar
SoundCloud – Adrienne Adar
Selected Photo Credits
Turan, Kenneth. “Kenneth Turan’s film pick of the week: ‘100 Voices: A Journey Home’,” Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2010.
Saltz, Rachel. “Cantors Try to Heal Rift Through Song,” The New York Times, September 21, 2010.
Fox, Michael. “Cantorial tour treats Poles to poignant 100 Voices,” The Jewish News of Northern California, September 20, 2010.
Lanthier, Joseph Jon. “Review: 100 Voices: A Journey Home,” Slant, September 19, 2010.
Bibliography
Kneile, Madlen, Judith Dörrenbächer, Marc Hassenzahl, and Matthias Laschke. “Mediating Human-Nature Relations Through Technology: A Scoping Review of Post-Anthropocentric Artifacts and Their Design Strategies,” Association for Computing Machinery, June 12, 2025.
Henning, Dave. “The outcome of all study,” Crown of Compassion, March 8, 2025.
Palma, Paula. “New Ways To Hear Secret Plant Sounds,” Planter’s Place, Plant Babies, June 30, 2022.
“DIG: A Hole to Put Your Grief In,” Newsroom, American Jewish University, July 26, 2021.
Carmel, Julia. “Music to My Elephant Ears,” The New York Times, March 18, 2021.
Pearse, Yewande. “Kinship with Plants,” Dr. Yewande Pearsee—Sound Science, January 11, 2021.
Lansdowne, Emma. “The Question of Plant Consciousness in Contemporary Art,” esse arts + opinions, no. 99, Spring–Summer 2020.
Marinkovic, Pavle. “Plants making music…what’s that all about?,” Predict, Medium, May 12, 2020
White, Sara. “National Houseplant Appreciation Day,” Eco18,January 10, 2020.Yuan, LinYee. “2019: The Year According to MOLD Magazine's LinYee Yuan,” Walker Magazine, December 19, 2019.
Palau, Neus. “¿Cómo suena una planta?,” La Vangurdia, December 6, 2019.
“Sonic Succulents—Live with Adrienne Adar,” Radio Ravioli with Olivia, WFMU 91.1FM, September 23, 2019.
“Le piante “parlanti” di Adrienne Adar, a New York,” Sky Arte, September 17, 2019.
Bury, Louis. “Listening to Plants,” Hyperallergic, September 14, 2019.
“Brooklyn Botanic Garden exhibit allows patrons to interact, listen to plants,” News12 Long Island, September 12, 2019.
Maida, Desirée. “Sonic Succulents, al Brooklyn Botanic Garden di New York in mostra i suoni che emettono le piante,” Artribune, September 1, 2019.
Solly, Meilan. “Listen to the Sounds of Succulents at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden,” Smithsonian Magazine (Smart News: Ideas & Innovations), August 28, 2019.
Cascone, Sarah. “It Turns Out Plants Make Noise as They Grow—and a New Sound Art Show at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gives You a Chance to Listen,”artnet, August 27, 2019.
Fadel, Leila. “< Shhhhh. Listen Closely. Your Plants Might Be Talking,” NPR, August 25, 2019
Panetta, Francesca. “Sonic Succulents,” AudioAR.org, August 11, 2019.
Klein, Joanna. “Science news in brief: From talking to plants to a beluga-narwhal hybrid,” Independent, June 26, 2019.
“18 Questions with Adrienne Adar,” Eco18, June 18, 2019.
“Plant Sounds,” Poetry Prompt, Poets & Writers, June 18, 2019.
“Food Design Friday: Sonic Succulents, Coffee-Stained Lamps, and Making Textiles from Bread,” Mold, June 12, 2019.
Klein, JoAnna. “You Can Talk to Plants. Maybe You Should Listen,” The New York Times, June 11, 2019.
Schmidt, Sarah. “Talking with Artist Adrienne Adar,” Garden Stories, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, June 3, 2019.
“Plantasia at Brooklyn Botanic Garden,” ThoughtGallery.org, June 2019.
De Vries, Susan. “The Succulents Are Sounding Off at Brooklyn Botanic Garden,” Brownstoner, May 21, 2019.
Enman, Scott. “Make music by poking plants at Brooklyn Botanic Garden,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 21, 2019.
Patrão, Carlo. “Botanical Rhythms: A Field Guide to Plant Music,” Sounding Out!, February 26, 2018.
Walters, Sydney. “The Panacea Project” Nudges Funny Bones at Werkartz,” art and cake, September 28, 2017.
“‘The Season of Spring’ at Flower Pepper Gallery,” DanielRolnik.com, November 11, 2016.
Novakov, Anna. “Taos, New Mexico,” art press, October 9, 2016.
Gargone, Gina. “Adrienne Adar Makes Trees Speak,” Live Taos, September, 2016.
Schafer, David. “A Conversation with 5 Car Garage’s Emma Gray,” CurateLA, May 2016.
Siddall, Liv. “Adrienne Adar: Making Music With Plants,” Another Magazine, September 3, 2015.
“Indigo Mind // Opening September 26, 2015,” StoreFrontLab, August 20, 2015.
022美术网 (Tianjin Art Network). “高清图：‘超越边界’艺术展在泰达当代艺术博物馆开幕” [“HD Images: ‘Beyond Boundaries’ Exhibition Opens at TEDA Contemporary Art Museum”], 022美术网, June 11, 2015.
Beyond Boundaries, exhibition catalog, TEDA Contemporary Art Museum, Tianjin, China, May 2015.
Peterson, Kristen. “Amanda Harris gallery brings in Septerhed, XVALA and others to its group show ‘exchange’,” Las Vegas Weekly, July 17, 2013
The Forrest, organized by Christy McCaffrey and Sara Newey, published by Machine Project, Los Angeles, 2009.