Glenn O’Brien’s career in publishing is widely recognized as a pioneering force in the synthesis of art, music and fashion in American culture. As a writer, editor and creative director, O’Brien shaped the publishing world through his work across innovative publications and award-winning projects spanning nearly fifty years until his death in 2017.

After landing a job at Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine while he was a graduate film student at Columbia University, O’Brien went on to work at a variety of magazines, including Rolling Stone as the New York and, later, San Francisco Bureau Chief. O’Brien eventually returned to Interview, where he wrote the column “Glenn O’Brien’s BEAT” for twelve years. During this time, he also produced the notorious and seminal cable T.V. show “Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party.”

In the mid 1980s O’Brien was named creative director of the in-house ad agency at Barneys New York, producing award-winning campaigns for the store as well as clients including the Morgan’s Hotel Group and Glacier Water. He added names to the client roster such as Calvin Klein, Swatch, Revlon, Nike, Armani, Fila and MTV’s Rock the Vote.

In 1992 O’Brien edited Madonna’s Sex book. He contributed to many artist monographs, writing catalog essays about artists including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Prince and Christopher Wool. He published several books including The Style Guy, Soapbox, and the poetry collection, Human Nature. From 2002 to 2007, he was editor and publisher of the literary magazine, Bald Ego. His writing appeared in a number of influential publications including Artforum, Details and GQ, and he was a founding editor of Spin magazine.

In 2008 and 2009 O’Brien served as CEO and Editorial Director of Brant Publications, publishers of Interview, Art in America and The Magazine Antiques.

Between 2015 to 2017, O’Brien hosted Tea At The Beatrice with Glenn O’Brien for the digital network M2M, featuring one-on-one interviews with cultural influencers including Nan Goldin, Baz Luhrmann, Gisele Bündchen, Shepard Fairey and Proenza Schouler.

Art + Commerce continues to work with the Estate of Glenn O’Brien, licensing his writing, film and television work for new projects across all media.

Glenn O’Brien personal website:
www.glennobrien.com