Glenn Kaino, the celebrated visual artist and filmmaker behind “In & Of Itself” and co-director of the documentary “With Drawn Arms,” has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA).
A longtime creative partner of Derek DelGaudio, the two co-produced the genre-bending “In & Of Itself,” “which mixes art, magic, storytelling and breaking the fourth wall to upend notions of identity and self.” The theatrical production at the Daryl Roth Theater enjoyed a 72-week box-office record-breaking run, before it was adapted into a film. Directed by Frank Oz and executive produced by Stephen Colbert, “Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself” debuted at the 2020 SXSW Festival, where it won the Adam Yauch award for pioneering filmmaking.
“With Drawn Arms,” tells the story of Olympian Tommie Smith, whose iconic head-down, fist-in-the-air silent protest from atop the medal stand at the 1968 Summer Olympics helped define the civil rights movement. Kaino co-directed the film with Afshin Shahidi, which chronicled and continued a years-long partnership between the artist and the athlete, which has produced sculptures, installations and drawings that have been exhibited and acquired by the High Museum in Atlanta, the San Jose Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
“Glenn’s contribution to the success of ‘In & Of Itself’ and his outstanding directorial work on ‘With Drawn Arms’ highlight his talents as a masterful storyteller,” said UTA partner Andrew Cannava, who leads Kaino’s representation team. “This is just the tip of the iceberg for Glenn’s next chapter. We look forward to creating platforms that help make it possible for him to continue translating his conceptual work into longer-form ventures widely available for people to experience.”
Popular on Variety
Kaino’s work currently can be experienced at his new solo exhibition in “Glenn Kaino: In the Light of Shadow.” On display at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the football field-sized immersive installation weaves together large-scale sculpture, music, video, and interactive elements to “explore the enduring struggle for equality, from the Black Lives Matter movement to the Troubles of Northern Ireland.”
Alongside the actor and activist Jesse Williams, Kaino also is the co-founder of Visibility, which creates mobile apps, shows, films and other anti-colonial interventions in the larger technology and media landscape for communities of color. Products include BleBRiTY, an award-winning Afrocentric gaming app that riffs on charades, and the just released Ya Tú Sabes, a trivia-inspired game that explores popular Latinx culture.
Kaino is also represented by the world-renowned Pace Gallery, which represents some of the most significant artists and estates of the 20th and 21st centuries.