Forrest Wasko is a non-binary artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their approach to photographing is usually instinctual and improvisational, happening upon moments and creating narratives from the world around them. Presence, patience, and chance are central to their process. Their subjects examine familiar surroundings and the everyday, approached in a way that is often playfully anthropological. Using reality as metaphor, the photographs invite interpretation—embracing mystery, sincere beauty, and reflecting the ambiguity of human experience. Through their archive of images, Forrest creates photo series, installations, and photo books. They have exhibited their work locally and nationally, and were a recipient of the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council's Next Step Fund in 2023.
Thank you!
Education
BFA in Photography, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 2017
New York Studio Residency Program, Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, 2016
Exhibitions
Memory Against Forgetting, group exhibition, Form and Content Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, 2026
Untitled 19, juried group exhibition, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2025
The Star of Riches is Shining Upon You, solo show, White Bear Center for the Arts, White Bear, MN, 2024
Back Burner, group show, MirrorLab Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 2023
Untitled 17, juried group exhibition, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2023
Future Perfect, joint exhibition with Justin D. Allen, MirrorLab Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 2022
Practice Night, group exhibition, MirrorLab Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, 2021
The Space In Between, juried group exhibition, The Space In Between Gallery, Online, 2021
A Little While Longer, solo exhibition, Backroom Gallery (Waiting Room), Saint Paul, MN, 2020
Get Lucky, group exhibition, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2019
New Editions, juried group exhibition, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN 2019
Lost in Light, joint show at Knock curated by Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2019
Untitled 14, juried group exhibition, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN 2018
Recent Work, group exhibition, Barnes and Thornburg Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 2018
Made at MCAD, juried group exhibition, Minneapolis College of Art and Design Main Gallery, 2017
It's a Small World (After All), juried group exhibition, Concourse Gallery at MCAD, Minneapolis, MN 2017
Happy Camera, group exhibition, A-Mill Artist Lofts, Minneapolis, MN 2016
Coverage, group exhibition, OST Tractor Works, Minneapolis, MN 2016
The Drawing Project: Sketching Climate, featured artist, Northern Spark, Minneapolis, MN 2016
Anti-Pro, group exhibition, NYSRP Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2016
Made at MCAD, juried group exhibition, Minneapolis College of Art and Design Main Gallery, 2016
Hallways, juried group exhibition, Casket Arts, Minneapolis, MN, 2015
Semblance, juried group exhibition, Darkroom Gallery, Essex, VT, 2015
Grants and Awards
Next Step Fund, Metro Regional Arts Council, 2023
Press and Publications
Aint-Bad, Issue: 15, showcase of "till then," Online, 2021
The Waterstone Review, literary annual, Volume 24: Ghost(s) Still Living, Print, 2021
Make MN Magazine, periodical, Volume 4, No. 3: Perspective Issue, Print, 2019
The Waterstone Review, literary annual, Volume 18: We Cannot Alter, Print, 2016