Karen Kilimnik

Infobox Artist
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name = Karen Kilimnik


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birthdate = 1955
location = Philadelphia, Pensylvania
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field = Painting, Installation Art
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Karen Kilimnik (born Philadelphia, 1955) is an American painter and installation artist.

Life and work

Karen Kilimnik trained at Temple University, Philadelphia.

Her installations reflected a young viewpoint of pop culture. An example of this work is her 1989 breakout "The Hellfire Club Episode of the Avengers", which is comprised of photocopied images, clothing, drawings, and other objects that reverentially embody the glamour, risk, and mod kitsch of the 1960s television show. The work exemplified the “scatter” style of her installations. [citation | title= Philadelphia: Kilimnik Installations, Homage to the Blues| author=William Hanley | publisher=ARTINFO | year=2007 | date= May 8, 2007 | url=http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/25025/philadelphia-kilimnik-installations-homage-to-the-blues/ | accessdate=2008-04-22 ]

Her paintings, characterised by loose brushwork, bold colors and "thrift shop paint-by-numbers awkwardness",Smith, Roberta. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE5DF173AF931A25751C0A96F958260 "Art in Review: Karen Kilimnik"] , "The New York Times", February 12, 1999.] are pastiches of the Old Masters and often incorporate portraits of celebrities. In contrast to the celebrity portraits of Elizabeth Peyton, Kilimnik, "blends together Conceptual and performance art and 1980's appropriation with the current interest in female psychology and identity." Jonathan Jones described her portrait of [http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/people/barone/Images/barone6-19-23.jpgHugh Grant] (1997) as, "a nice example of a relatively new genre of painting, which we might call the iconic portrait, not commissioned by its sitter but based on photographs, magazine cuttings, film clips." [ [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/portrait/story/0,,739711,00.html Jonathan Jones, "The Guardian", July 1, 2000.] ]

Her work is variously described as "sharp and witty...an interesting exercise in conceptual control" [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E5DD1130F930A25753C1A9609C8B63&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FC%2FCotter%2C%20Holland Holland Cotter, "Art in Review: Karen Kilimnik", "The New York Times", October 13, 2006.] ] and as "wan and whimsical...Why does anyone want to make them? Why does any self-respecting painter ever set out to be feeble?" [ [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/visualart/story/0,,2025986,00.html Laura Cummings, "The Kitsch is Back", "The Observer", March 4, 2007.] ]

Collections

She has work in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. [ [http://nyc.moma.museum/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A8034&page_number=1&template_id=1&sort_order=1 nyc.moma.museum] ]

Exhibitions

Kilimnik has had solo shows at:
303 Gallery, New York (1991,1993,1995,1997,1999,2001,2002)
The White Cube, London (1994)
The South London Gallery (2000)
The Irish Museum of Modern Art, with publication by Caoimhin MacGiolla Leith, Dublin
The Serpentine Gallery, London (2007)
The Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2007), curated by Ingrid Schaffner
The Powel House/Landmarks Contemporary Projects, Philadelphia (2007), curated by Robert Wuilfe

Bibliography

"Karen Kilimnik" (ed. Lionel Bovier), Zurich: JRP/Ringier (2006).

Notes and references

=External Links =
* [http://www.303gallery.com/artists/karen_kilimnik/ Karen Kilimnik information at 303 Gallery]