Karla Black
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Biography
Born 1972 in Alexandria, UK
Lives and works in Glasgow, UK
Karla Black‘s abstract and immersive sculptures are created through her experimentation with unconvential materials. These monumental yet ephemeral and seemingly weightless chalked paper works continue Black’s investigation of materiality and texture, and the emotions they transmit.
Her interplay of delicate abstract forms, pastel colors and surprising materials demands a physical experience and encourages a new way of not only seeing but also perceiving. Material experiences is Black’s preferred way to understand the world and communicate within it. For her, materiality is closely tied to psychological states of being.
Karla Black‘s numerous solo exhibitions include Bechtler Stiftung, Uster (2024); New Art Gallery Walsall (2023); Modern Art Gallery, London (2022); Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (2021); Des Moines Art Centre (2020); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2019); Le Festival d’Automne, Paris (2017); Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle (2017); Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh (2016); Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2016); Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (2013); Dallas Museum of Art (2012); Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow (2012) among others. Her group shows include Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2020); Lenbachhaus, Munich (2017); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2016); Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh (2014); Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2012); Carré d’Art-Musée d’art contemporain de Nîmes (2011); Bundeskunsthalle Bonn (2010); Tate Britain, London (2009) and many more. Black represented Scotland at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017) and her work was shown at Manifesta 10 in St. Petersburg (2014).
Her work is in major public collections such as the Tate, London; Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; KiCo Collection, Munich and other.
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Karla Black‘s work has been resolutely abstract, founded in an implicit faith in the liberatory potential of a direct perception of the materiality of things: their texture, hue, quantity, relations, and so on.
– Barry Schwabsky
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Works
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Karla BlackClearly, 2024Mirror, glass paint and oil paint180 x 150 cm
70.9 x 59 inches -
Karla BlackThrown Towards Home, 2024Polythene dust sheets, plaster powder, powder paintDimensions variable
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Karla BlackForget About Where, 2024Mirror, glass paint and oil paint240 x 190 cm
94.5 x 74.8 inches -
Karla BlackMade Up 3, 2023Oil paint on copper10 x 10 cm / 4 x 4 inches
Framed dimensions:
14.5 x 14.5 cm / 5.7 x 5.7 inches -
Karla BlackStill To Centre, 2024100% silk bed sheet and watercolor inks270 x 282 cm
106.3 x 111 inches -
Karla BlackFor However Long, 2013Cotton wool pads, paint, nail varnish, chalk, thread26 x 34 x 0.2 cm
10.2 x 13.4 x .1 inches -
Karla BlackKnown Expression, 2019Mirror, LED bulbs, glass paint60 x 80 x 6 cm
23.6 x 31.5 x 2.4 inches -
Karla BlackRegister, 2013Cotton wool pads, paint, nail varnish, thread26 x 35 x 4 cm
10.2 x 13.8 x 1.6 inches -
Karla BlackStory Of A Sensible Length, 2014Polythene, plaster powder, powder paint, thread300 x 300 x 300 cm
118.1 x 118.1 x 118.1 inches -
Karla BlackCivil, 2024100% silk bed sheet, watercolor inksSigned verso284 x 271 cm
111.8 x 106.7 inches -
Karla BlackCan't Detach, 2020Cartridge paper, watercolour ink36.5 x 31 x 15 cm
14.4 x 12.2 x 5.9 inches -
Karla BlackDon't Need To Say, 2014Polystyrene, sugar paper, chalk, glue84 x 128.5 x 80 cm
33 x 50.5 x 31.5 inches -
Karla BlackLooking Glass Number 13, 2019Permanent marker pen (Sharpies) on mirror26 x 18 x 29 cm
10.2 x 7.1 x 11.4 inches -
Karla BlackNever Given, 2014Polystyrene, sugar paper, chalk, glue179.5 x 232.5 x 78.5 cm
70.7 x 91.5 x 30.9 inches -
Karla BlackThe Rest Imposed, 2018Glass, clay, gold leaf, paint, vaseline, lipstick, foundation, chains140 x 113 x 4.5 cm
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Karla BlackConsequences Continue, 2024100% silk bed sheet and watercolor inksSigned verso260 x 282 cm
102.4 x 111 inches -
Karla BlackLooking Glass Number 16, 2021Glass paint on mirror64 x 37 cm
25.2 x 14.6 inches -
Karla BlackWithhold Favour, 2018Glass, clay, silver leaf, paint, vaseline, lipstick, eyeshadow, chains35 x 44 x 2 cm
13.8 x 17.3 x 0.8 inches -
Karla BlackThe Background Against, 2018Paint, thread, green concealer stick38 x 46 x 1 cm
15 x 18 x 0.4 inches -
Karla BlackUnlike, 2018Glass, wood, clay, paint, vaseline, lipstick, foundation, moisturising gel139 x 96 x 32 cm
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Karla BlackDoesn’t Care In Words , 2011Cellophane, paint, Sellotape, sugar paper, chalk, powder paint, plaster powder, wood, polystyrene, polythene, thread, bath bombs, petroleum jelly, moisturising creamDimensions variable
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Karla BlackFor Another Purpose, 2012Cellophane, sellotape, paint, plaster, plaster powder, powder paint, nail varnishdimensions variable
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Karla BlackRush To Correct, 2018Glass, wood, clay, paint, vaseline, lipstick, eyeshadow199.5 x 76 x 4.5 cm
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News
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Exhibitions
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External ExhibitionsPressPublications