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New York-based artist Kara Walker is best known for her candid investigation of race, gender, sexuality, and violence through silhouetted figures that have appeared in numerous exhibitions worldwide. Born in Stockton, California in 1969, Walker was raised in Atlanta, Georgia from the age of 13.
Kara Elizabeth Walker (born November 26, 1969) is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, printmaker, installation artist, filmmaker, and professor who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity in her work. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes.
Kara Elizabeth Walker (born November 26, 1969) is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, printmaker, installation artist, filmmaker, and professor who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity in her work. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes.
- 10 min
- Childhood
- Early Training and Career
- Mature Period
- The Legacy of Kara Walker
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A painter's daughter, Walker was born into a family of academics in Stockton, California in 1969, and grew interested in becoming an artist as early as age three. When her father accepted a position at Georgia State University, she moved with her parents to Stone Mountain, Georgia, at the age of 13. In sharp contrast with the widespread multi-cultu...
Walker attended the Atlanta College of Art with an interest in painting and printmaking, and in response to pressure and expectation from her instructors (a double standard often leveled at minority art students), Walker focused on race-specific issues. She then attended graduate school at the Rhode Island School of Design, where her work expanded ...
Walker, still in mid-career, continues to work steadily. Despite ongoing star status since her twenties, she has kept a low profile. In 1996 she married (and subsequently divorced) German-born jewelry designer and RISD professor Klaus Burgel, with whom she had a daughter, Octavia. Interviews with Walker over the years reveal the care and exacting p...
Fierce initial resistance to Walker's work stimulated greater awareness of the artist, and pushed conversations about racism in visual culture forward. In 1998 (the same year that Walker was the youngest recipient ever of the MacArthur "genius" award) a two-day symposium was held at Harvard, addressing racist stereotypes in art and visual culture, ...
Learn about Kara Walker, a contemporary artist who uses silhouettes, history, and stereotypes to explore racism and identity in America. See her biography, accomplishments, and important artworks.
- Janet Oh
- Stockton, California
- American
- November 26, 1969
Explore the provocative and powerful art of Kara Walker, who challenges the legacy of slavery and racism with silhouetted figures.
Apr 2, 2014 · Kara Walker is an African American artist who rose to fame for her use of large paper silhouettes to explore social issues surrounding gender, race and Black history.
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Kara Walker is a contemporary African-American artist who explores race, stereotypes, gender, and identity in American history. Learn about her life, style, awards, and collections on Artnet, a platform for buying and selling art.
