Photo Credit: Ken Morton

Kurt Lightner was born in Troy, Ohio.

He received his BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design, OH, and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, NYC.

Lightner's works have been included in many significant group and solo exhibitions;  Driving Forces: Art from the collection of Ann and Ron Pizzuti, Columbus Museum of Art, Nature Reborn, WOAW Gallery Taipei Dangdai, Greater New York, PS1 MOMA, Kurt Lightner: Five Acres, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Queens International, Queens Museum, Other Worlds, Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, . Most recent gallery shows with Harper's NY & LA, WOAW Gallery Hong Kong & Taipei, Mark Moore Fine Art LA, Contemporary Art Matters Ohio, Clementine Gallery NY.  Lightner's works have been critically reviewed in Artforum, Art in America, Artnews, Freize, New York Times, The New Yorker, Sculpture, among others.

He has been a recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and The Headlands Center for the Arts Project Studio Residency in San Fransisco.

Lightner's works are included in many private and public collections both nationally and internationally.  Most notably; Deji Art Musuem China, JP Morgan Chase Art Collection, Columbus Museum of Art Ohio, Ron & Ann Pizzuti Collection, Pete Scantland Collection, Julia Stoschek Collection Germany. 

He currently lives and works in New York City.