| 1956 | born in Los Angeles |
| 1979 | California Institute of Arts, Valencia, B.F.A. |
| 1981 | California Institute of Arts, Valencia, M.F.A. |
| 2009 | Kunstverein Bonn with Mathias Poledna |
| 2008 | Christopher Williams: For Example: Dix Huits Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle (Revision 7),David Zwirner Gallery, New York |
| 2007 | For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle (Revision 6), Kunsthalle Zürich |
| For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle (Revision 5), Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Bologna | |
| Christopher Williams, Haubrokshows, Collection Axel Haubrok, Berlin | |
| 2006 | For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle |
| (Revision 4), Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal | |
| For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle | |
| (Revision 3), Galerie David Zwirner, New York | |
| 2005 | Christopher Williams. De Rijke/De Rooij, Wiener Secession, Wien |
| For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle (Revision 2), Galerie Gisela Capitain, Köln | |
| Program. For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle (Revision I) Kunstverein Braunschweig | |
| For Example: Dix-Huit Leçons Sur La Société Industrielle | |
| Archéologie, Beaux-Arts, Ethnographie, Théatre-Vérité, | |
| Couleur Europeénne, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise Variétés | |
| Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada | |
| Christopher Williams Supplement 04 332´17“, DVD (2004), Paula Cooper Gallery, New York | |
| 2004 | 332 Min 17 Sec, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Köln |
| Wako Works of Art, Tokyo | |
| 2003 | Wako Works of Art, Tokyo |
| 2002 | Christopher Williams Théâtre-Vérité, Galerie David Zwirner, New York |
| Galerie Gisela Capitain, Köln | |
| 2001 | For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 24) |
| Couleur Européenne, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise | |
| Govett-Brewater Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand | |
| 2000 | For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 23) |
| Couleur Européenne, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 22) | |
| Couleur Européenne, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise | |
| Museum Haus Lange - Haus Esthers, Krefeld | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 21) | |
| Couleur Européenne, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise | |
| Galerie Gisela Capitain, Köln | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 20) | |
| Christopher Williams, Magasin, Centre National d’art contemporain, Grenoble | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 19) | |
| Couleur Européenne, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise Galerie Kienzle & Gmeiner, Berlin | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 18) | |
| Couleur Européenne, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise Galerie Ester Freund, Wien | |
| Wako Works of Art, Tokyo | |
| Couleur Européenne, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise | |
| David Zwirner Gallery, New York | |
| 1999 | For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 16) |
| Archéologie, Beaux-Arts, Ethnographie, Théatre-Vérité, Variétés | |
| Couleur Européene, Couleur Soviétique, Couleur Chinoise | |
| Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris | |
| 1998 | For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 15) |
| Transform the world! Poetry must be made by all | |
| Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 14) | |
| Transform the world! Poetry must be made by all | |
| Galerie Gisela Capitain, Köln | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 13) | |
| Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York | |
| 1997 | For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 12) |
| A retrospective from first draft to final draft | |
| Kunstverein Hamburg | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 11), Galleria Lia Rumma, Neapel | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 10) | |
| A retrospective from first draft to final draft | |
| Kunsthalle Basel, Basel | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 9) | |
| A retrospective from first draft to final draft | |
| Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam | |
| 1996 | For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 8), Galerie Gisela Capitain, Köln |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 7), Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 6), Painter Editions, Vancouver | |
| 1995 | Oehlen Williams 95 / For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 5), Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio, Columbus (mit Albert Oehlen) |
| Film Screening by Christopher Williams, The Museum of Modern Art Syros, Greece | |
| 1994 | For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 3), Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 4), Galerie Borgmann Capitain, Köln | |
| 1993 | For Example: Die Welt ist schön (Revision 2), Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York |
| For Example: Die Welt ist schön (First Draft), Kunstverein München | |
| Person's Weekend Museum, Tokyo | |
| Room Tomoyo Kawai, Room 401, Casa de Verde, Tokyo | |
| 1992 | Archäologie, Beaux Arts, Ethnographie, Varietes, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Köln |
| Luhring Augustine (mit Sophie Calle), New York | |
| Two Evenings of Film, Film Festival Köln (mit Albert Oehlen), Köln | |
| Felix Gonzales-Torres and Albert Oehlen, (kuratiert von Christopher Williams), Margo Leavin Gallery, New York | |
| Luhring Augustine (Viewing Room), New York | |
| 1991 | Galerie Max Hetzler, Köln |
| Galerie Crousel-Robelin/BAMA, Paris | |
| Galerie Nelson, Lyon | |
| 1990 | Luhring Augustine Hetzler, Santa Monica |
| 1989 | Christopher Williams, Shedhalle Zürich, Zürich |
| Galerie Crousel-Robelin/BAMA, Paris | |
| Luhring Augustine, New York | |
| 1985 | Selections from ADWEEK: Western Advertising News, |
| Vol XXXIV, No. 20, April 30, 1984, Programmed | |
| with Herbert Gold, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, Venice, CA | |
| 1982 | Source, The Photographic Archive, John F. Kennedy Library, |
| Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| 1981 | M.F.A. Exhibition, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia |
| 1980 | Mezzanine Gallery, California Institue of the Arts, Valencia |
| 1979 | One Film (Approximately 3,5 minutes in length) will be shown, rewound, and shown again, Bijou Theatre, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia |
| 3 Films, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia | |
| 2008 | The Gallery, Davis Zwirner, New York Index: Conceptualism in California from the Permanent Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Not So Subtle Subtitle, Casey Caplan, New York Re-Designed, Galleria Lia Rumma, Milan Color Chart, The Museum of Modern Art, New York Kavalierstart, 1978 – 1982 Aufbruch in die Kunst der 80er, Museum Morsbroich Leverkusen Photography on Photography: Reflections on the Medium since 1960, Metropolitain Museum of Art, New York 15 Years, Part III, Wako Works of Art, Tokyo |
| 2007 | Been Up So Long it Looks Like Down to Me, Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver |
| Yäg, La Planta, Arte Contemporáneo Omnilife, Guadalajara | |
| Brasil: desFocos [o olho de fora], Centro Cultural Banco Do Brasil Artes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Paço des Artes, Sao Paolo, Brazil | |
| Ten Years, Emily Tsingou Gallery, London | |
| 15 Years, Early and New Works Part XX, Wako Works of Art, Tokyo | |
| Angelegenheiten, die sich daraus ergeben, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Bremen | |
| L.A. Desire, Galerie Dennis Kimmerich, Düsseldorf (curated by Wilhelm Schürmann) | |
| Conditions of Display, The Moore Space, Miami | |
| Cross-border. Fotografie und Videokunst aus dem MUMOK Wien, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Stuttgart | |
| What does the jellyfish want? Museum Ludwig Köln | |
| Die Wörter, Die Dinge, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf | |
| Les Temps moderne – Collection du Frac Bretagne, Centre d´Art Contemporain, Bignan | |
| Tomorrowland: CalArts in Moving Pictures, Centre Pompidou, Paris | |
| 2006 | Motore Immobile, Greene Naftali Gallery, New York |
| Los Angeles – Paris, The Los Angeles Art Scene, 1955-1985, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (kuratiert von Catherine Grenier) | |
| Whitney Biennial 2006: Day for Night, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York | |
| staged/unstaged, Emily Tsingou Gallery, London | |
| Make your own life: Artists in & out of Cologne, Institute of Contemporary Art University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania | |
| Why Pictures Now, MUMOK Stiftung Ludwig, Wien. | |
| The Swan is very peaceful..., Richard Telles Fine Art, Los Angeles | |
| Surprise, Surprise, ICA London. | |
| 1,82 – Haubrokshows, Berlin | |
| Make Your Own Life: Artists In & Out of Cologne, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada. | |
| Strange Drugs, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brüssel | |
| Into a Journey, Meyer-Riegger Galerie, Karlsruhe | |
| Kunst aus Los Angeles der 60er bis 90er Jahre, Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig | |
| 2005 | bildwechsel/01, Sammlung F.C. Gundlach, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg |
| L`estasi delle cose / The Ecstasy of Things / Im Rausch der Dinge, Spazio Oberdan, Mailand; travelled to: Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea, Cinisello Balsamo | |
| It takes some time to open an oyster, Centro Cultural Andraxt, Mallorca (kuratiert von Yilmaz Dziewior) | |
| I really should..., Lisson Gallery, London (kuratiert von Stefan Kalmár) | |
| Roe Etheridge, Zoe Leonard, Christopher Williams, Mai 36 Galerie, Zürich | |
| 2004 | Before the End, Le Consortium, Dijon |
| Playing with Nature: Flowers Observed, Flowers Transformed, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburg | |
| Quodlibet (Teil 1), Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Köln | |
| Documentary Evidence, Galerie Chez Valentin, Paris (kuratiert von Sophie Berrebi) | |
| Artists` Favourites Act I, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London | |
| Das Kreuz der Venus- Feuer, Tod und Schönheit, Maximilianmuseum, Augsburg, (kuratiert vom Doris Kettner) | |
| Garten Eden, Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Frankfurt | |
| Quodlibet (Teil 2), Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Köln | |
| Biennial Lodz, Lodz, Polen | |
| Last One On is a Soft Jimmy, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York | |
| 100 Artists See God, The Jewish Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, travelled to: Contemporary Arts Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach; ICA Institute of Contemporary Art, London | |
| Im Rausch der Dinge, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur | |
| 2003 | Re-Production 2, Georg Kargl, Wien |
| 100 Artists See God, Independent Curators International, New York | |
| Unreal Estate Opportunities, PKM Gallery, Seoul, Korea | |
| Raid the Icebox, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| Society for Contemporary Art Acquisition Sellections, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago II | |
| Adorno. Die Möglichkeit des Unmöglichen, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt | |
| fast forward – Media Art. Sammlung Goetz, ZKM, Karlsruhe | |
| 2002 | Prophets of boom, Werke aus der Sammlung Schürmann, Staatliche |
| Kunsthalle Baden-Baden | |
| Transform the World 2002, Wako Works of Art, Tokyo, Japan | |
| Solitudes, Galerie Michel Rein, Paris | |
| Rethinking Photography, Forum Stadtpark, Graz | |
| Portrait Photography, Mai 36 Galerie, Zürich | |
| La Chinoise, Baumgartner Gallery, New York | |
| ReProduktion, Galerie Bernhard Knaus, Mannheim | |
| 2001 | Vom Eindruck zum Ausdruck, Sammlung Grässlin, Deichtorhallen Hamburg |
| "W" Musée des Beaux Arts, Dole, Frankreich (kuratiert von Robert Nickas) | |
| mezzanin, Wien | |
| Detourism, The Renaissance Society, University of Chicago, Chicago | |
| Take Two/Reprise, The Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottowa | |
| In Between: Art and Architecture, MAK Center, West Hollywood | |
| Alterning Current (Teil 2), Sammlung Hauser und Wirth, St. Gallen | |
| Mobile Wall Systems, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam | |
| I LOVE NY, David Zwirner, New York | |
| 1999 | The work shown in this space is a response to the existing |
| conditions and/or work previously shown within the space III, | |
| neugerriemschneider, Berlin | |
| Gallery Artists Summer Show, David Zwirner, New York | |
| Summer Group Show, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| The Museum as Muse, Museum of Modern Art, New York | |
| Rotterdam Foto – Biennale, Rotterdam | |
| 1998 | Places that are elsewhere, David Zwirner Gallery, New York |
| TransFiction I: Point Blank, Charim Klocker, Wien | |
| Travel & Leisure, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York | |
| At the End of the Century: One Hundred Years of Contemporary Architecture, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan; Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles | |
| 90069, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| 1997 | Someone else with my fingerprints, Galerie David Zwirner, New York; travelled to: Die Photographische Sammlung, SK Stiftung Kultur Köln, Köln; Kunstverein München; Kunsthaus Hamburg (kuratiert von Wilhelm Schürmann) |
| Das Ende der Avantgarde: Kunst als Dienstleistung, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, München | |
| Sunshine & Noir, Kunst in L.A. 1960-1997, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, travelled to: Louisiana Museum, Humblebaek (Kopenhagen); Castello di Rivoli, Turin; UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum and Cultural Center, Los Angeles | |
| Wechselstrom, Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Köln | |
| At One Remove, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds | |
| Nature Redux: Photographs by Ten Artists, Harris Art Gallery, University of La Verne | |
| 1996 | Roy Arden, Dan Graham, Edward Ruscha, Christopher Williams, Galerie Blum & Poe, Santa Monica |
| Nobuyoshi Araki, Larry Clark, Thomas Struth, Christopher Williams, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel | |
| Nature Redux: Photographs by Ten Artists, Santa Barbara Country Arts Commission at Channing Peake Gallery, Santa Barbara | |
| 1995 | Dark Memories Hovering Below the Transparent Screen of the Present will |
| Project Images of Reality in Sharp Silhouette to Create the Pleasurable | |
| Effect of a Double World, Marc Foxx Gallery, Santa Monica | |
| 25 Years: An exhibition of selcted works, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| People, Stephan Balkenhol, Marlene Dumas, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, Christopher Williams, Monica de Cardenas Gallery, Milano | |
| Untitled (Reading Room), Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| Das Ende der Avantgarde, Kunst als Dienstleistung, Hypo-Kulturstiftung, München | |
| 1994 | Radical Scavenger(s): The Conceptual Vernacular in Recent American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago |
| Die Orte der Kunst, Sprengel Museum, Hannover | |
| In the Field. Landscape in Recent Photographie, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| notational photographs, Metro Pictures + Petzel Borgmann Gallery, New York | |
| Temporary Translation(s), Sammlung Schürmann, Kunst der Gegenwart und Fotografie, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Hamburg | |
| 25 years: An exhibition of Selected Works, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| The Archive, Forum Stadtpark, Graz | |
| Labor and Leisure, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan | |
| Installations: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Part One, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles | |
| 1993 | A Complete Hand of One Suit, Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery, University of Nevada, Las Vegas |
| Fragments and Form: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles | |
| Other Places, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| Konstruktion Zitat: Kollektive Bilder in der Fotografie, Sprengel Museum, Hannover | |
| Utopian Art - Artificial Utopia, Friedrichshof, Austria | |
| Kontextualismus, Neue Galerie, Graz | |
| L.A. Stories, Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Los Angeles | |
| 1992 | American Fine Arts, New York |
| Margo Leavin Gallery (with Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Albert Oehlen) curated by Williams, Los Angeles | |
| Knowledge: Aspects of Conceptual Art, University Art Museum, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica Art Museum | |
| Dirty Data: The Collection of Wilhelm Schürmann, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen | |
| Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco | |
| Hollywood, Hollywood, Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena | |
| Mehr Licht, Galerie Crousel-Robelin, Paris | |
| Autoren von Texte zur Kunst halten Reden u. a. auf der documenta 9, Hörsaal der Gesamthochschule Kassel, Kassel | |
| 1991 | Vanitas, Galerie Crousel-Robelin, Paris |
| Enclosure, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery | |
| Gulliver's Travels, Galerie Sophia Ungers, Köln | |
| Rodney Graham, Stephen Prina, Christopher Williams, S.L. Simpson Gallery, Toronto | |
| Fassbinder-Oehlen-Prina, Slide presentation, Castello di Riviera, Torino | |
| Facing the Finish: Some Recent California Art, San Francisco MOMA, San Francisco | |
| The Legacy of Karl Blossfeldt, Jan Turner Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| Carnegie International 1991, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh | |
| Lynn Cohen, Thomas Struth, Christopher Williams, Galerie Samia Samouma, Paris | |
| The Museum Of Natural History, Galerie Barbara Farber, Amsterdam | |
| 1990 | Prints and Multiples, Luhring Augustine Hetzler, Santa Monica |
| Galerie Ursula Schurr, Stuttgart | |
| Drawings, Luhring Augustine Hetzler, Santa Monica | |
| Arte domani: 1990/Point of View, Musei di Spoleto, Rom | |
| De Afstand (Distance), Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam | |
| 1989 | Robin Lockett Gallery, Chicago |
| Materiality, CEPA, Buffalo, NY | |
| A Forest of SIGNS, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles | |
| Schmidt/Markow Gallery 1709, St.Louis, MO | |
| Wittgenstein and the Art of the 20th Century, Wiener Secession, Wien; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brüssel | |
| Galerie Ursula Schurr, Stuttgart | |
| Une Autre Affaire, Espace Frac, Dijon | |
| Constructing a History: A Focus on MOCA's Permanent Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles | |
| 1988 | Material Ethics, Milford Gallery, New York |
| Galerie Crousel-Robelin Bama, Paris | |
| 1987 | TV Generations, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles |
| Tim Ebner, John L. Grahm, Stephen Prina, Christopher Williams, Kuhlenschmidt/Simon, Los Angeles | |
| Nothing Sacred, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| The Castle, Documenta 8, Kassel (Curated by Group Material) | |
| CalArts: Skeptical Belief(s), The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Chicago | |
| L.A.: Hot & Cool: The Eighties, List Visual Arts Center, MIT, Cambridge | |
| 1986 | Foundation De Appel, Amsterdam |
| Mandelzomm, Castello di Vulci, Rom | |
| Rooted Rhetoric, Una Tradizione nell' Arte Americana Castel dell Ovo, Naples | |
| 1985 | Prina, Stahl, Williams, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York |
| The Art of Memory, The Loss of History, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York | |
| 1984 | Jenny Holzer, Stephen Prina, Mark Stahl, Christopher Williams |
| Galerie Crousel-Hussenot, Paris; Gewad, Gent; Foundation De Appel, Amsterdam | |
| 1983 | Unclaimed: 1 Pkg. Photos, 88 lbs., Identification Number 085-65950006 (in association with Mark Stahl), U.S. Customs, Terminal Island, CA |
| 1982 | 74th American Exhibition, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago |
| Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery, Los Angeles | |
| 1981 | 5. International Biennale, Erweiterte Fotografie, Wiener Secession, Wien |
| Public Speaking Work (in association with Mark Stahl), California Institute of the Arts, Valencia | |
| 1979 | Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover; University of Hartford, Hartford, CT |
| Group Exhibition of Some CalArts Works and Other People Who Have Passed Through, Vancouver School of Art, Vancouver, B.C. | |
| 1978 | Approximately One-Half Hour of Dance Activity (An Unrehearsed Situation) |
| California Institute of the Arts, Valencia | |