Kara Walker

Kara Walker's instantly recognizable cut-paper silhouettes are visually striking and charged with racial, sexual, and historical tension, commenting on slavery, the Black American experience, and women's place in society. The characters that populate her work are almost cartoonish, the reduction of human beings to pure physiognomy and exaggerated characteristics indicative of persisting racial and gender stereotypes. "Most pieces have to do with exchanges of power, attempts to steal power away from others," she notes of her art.

Walker's work challenges viewers with scenes and characters that are puzzling, bizarre, shocking, and graphic. While at times controversial, her work encourages the type of engagement, interpretation, and dialogue that makes works of art truly socially and politically relevant. In 1997, Walker was the recipient of the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship becoming the youngest person at that time to receive the award, and her career has continued to flourish since.

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Articles

Behind Some of the World's Largest Artist Grants
Behind Some of the World's Largest Artist Grants
Year in Review: Here Are the Most Talked About Artists of 2017
Year in Review: Here Are the Most Talked About Artists of 2017
Q&A: Meriem Bennani's Video Installation at The Kitchen
Q&A: Meriem Bennani's Video Installation at The Kitchen
6 Black Radical Female Artists To Know
6 Black Radical Female Artists To Know
Creative Time’s Nato Thompson’s Favorite Works From NADA New York
Creative Time’s Nato Thompson’s Favorite Works From NADA New York
How Do Today's Art Stars Make Prints?
How Do Today's Art Stars Make Prints?
Alex Gartenfeld on the Politics of Abstraction
Alex Gartenfeld on the Politics of Abstraction
10 Searing Political Artworks You Should Know
10 Searing Political Artworks You Should Know
"Visual Impact" Author Liz McQuiston's Art Picks
"Visual Impact" Author Liz McQuiston's Art Picks
A Few Questions for Guy Richards Smit
A Few Questions for Guy Richards Smit
Sarah Sze on Inventing a New Mode for Sculpture
Sarah Sze on Inventing a New Mode for Sculpture
Karen Rosenberg's Picks From NADA New York 2016
Karen Rosenberg's Picks From NADA New York 2016
An Interview With Night Gallery's Davida Nemeroff
An Interview With Night Gallery's Davida Nemeroff
Bob Nickas on How the Market Co-Opted Criticism
Bob Nickas on How the Market Co-Opted Criticism
7 Installation Artworks You Should Know
7 Installation Artworks You Should Know
Mural Paintings in Chelsea Flex Real Wall Power
Mural Paintings in Chelsea Flex Real Wall Power
Stonefox on Making Home a Site for Arresting Art
Stonefox on Making Home a Site for Arresting Art
Going Through Rauschenberg's Stuff & More
Going Through Rauschenberg's Stuff & More
Piotr Uklański on Finding Sex & Death at the Met
Piotr Uklański on Finding Sex & Death at the Met
Artists to Watch This May
Artists to Watch This May
10 of the Most Influential MFA Programs
10 of the Most Influential MFA Programs
Highlights From the SP-Arte Fair 2014
Highlights From the SP-Arte Fair 2014
John Miller’s "Bad Conscience" at Metro Pictures
John Miller’s "Bad Conscience" at Metro Pictures
Larry Clark & Other Artists in the News
Larry Clark & Other Artists in the News