Brian Frink has received numerous grants, awards, and fellowships. These include: 1995 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship (NEA); 1990 Wisconsin Arts Board Individual Artist Fellowship; two McKnight Individual Artist Fellowship,s 1992, 2001; three Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant,s 2014, 2016, 2018; four Minnesota State Arts Board Individual Artist Fellowships, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2022
In 2012, he was designated "Artist of the Year" in the Twin Cities Arts and Culture weekly City Pages. This award was related to his work with the Rural American Contemporary Artists (RACA) organization.
He is an emeritus faculty member at Minnesota State University, Mankato, in Mankato, Minnesota. In 2010, he was designated a Distinguished Faculty Scholar and was the 2019 Douglas R. Moore faculty lecturer.
Brian grew up in Illinois, attending school at Illinois State University in Normal. In 1979, he moved to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY, where he lived for five years. He and Wilbur were true “urban pioneers” of that now-famous artist neighborhood. In 1985, he began graduate school in Madison, Wisconsin, where he earned his MFA in 1989. Brian and Wilbur have two children and six grandchildren.
Brian maintains an active exhibition schedule. His work has been collected extensively and is in public and private collections.
Selected solo exhibitions include:
- University of Minnesota, Moorhead, MN
- The Goodness Gallery, Rochester, MN
- Coe College, Ceder Rapids, IA
- The Carnegie Art Center, Mankato, MN
- The Spirit Room, Fargo, ND
- The Kaddatz Gallery, Fergus Falls, MN
- Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
- Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane, WA
- Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
- Blanden Art Museum, Fort Dodge, IA
- Mclean County Art Center, Bloomington IL
- University of Minnesota, Morris, Morris, MN
- Plains Museum of Art, Fargo, ND
- Carnegie Art Center, Mankato, MN
- Arts Center of Saint Peter, MN
- University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC
- Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN
- University of Dallas-Texas, Richardson, TX
- Northfield Art Center, Northfield, MN
Selected group exhibitions include:
- Minnesota State University, Moorhead, MN
- Art of Water, James May Gallery, Algoma, WI
- Minnesota Museum of American Art, St Paul, It's Complicated
- South Arkansas Art Center, AR
- James May Gallery, WI
- Coe College, IA
- McKnight Foundation, MN
- Illinois State University, Il
- University of Wisconsin, WI
- Groveland Gallery, MN
- Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN
- Sioux City Art Center, IA
- Madison Art Center, WI
- Rockford Museum of Art, IL