EYES ON: KARLA BLACK

  • Karla Black (*1972) is considered one of the most significant contemporary British artists working with the medium of sculpture. Her...

    Karla Black (*1972) is considered one of the most significant contemporary British artists working with the medium of sculpture. Her abstract and immersive works are created through her experimentation with unconventional 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 colours and surprising materials demands a physical experience and encourages a new way of not only seeing but also perceiving.
  • Karla Black Never Given, 2014 Polystyrene, sugar paper, chalk, glue 179.5 x 232.5 x 78.5 cm 70.7 x 91.5 x...

    Karla Black

    Never Given, 2014
    Polystyrene, sugar paper, chalk, glue
    179.5 x 232.5 x 78.5 cm
    70.7 x 91.5 x 30.9 inches
    Enquire

  • I use impermanent and raw materials like paper, polythene, plaster powder, and cosmetic products in my sculptures not because they easily change and decay but because I want the energy, life, and movement that they give. I would much rather have the sculptures stay exactly as they are the moment I finish making them.

    - Karla Black
    • Karla Black Don't Need To Say, 2014 Polystyrene, sugar paper, chalk, glue 84 x 128.5 x 80 cm 33 x 50.5 x 31.5 inches
      Karla Black
      Don't Need To Say, 2014
      Polystyrene, sugar paper, chalk, glue
      84 x 128.5 x 80 cm
      33 x 50.5 x 31.5 inches
      Enquire
    • Karla Black Don't Need To Stay, 2014 Polystyrene, sugar paper, chalk, glue 103 x 128.5 x 56 cm 40.5 x 50.5 x 22 inches
      Karla Black
      Don't Need To Stay, 2014
      Polystyrene, sugar paper, chalk, glue
      103 x 128.5 x 56 cm
      40.5 x 50.5 x 22 inches
      Enquire

  •  I think that, although my works, in the end, are always sculptures, the process is painterly. It's very formal and aesthetic, the main concern is the relation of material to form to colour to composition. I'm conscious of a lot of painterly gestures when making my work - expressionism, abstract expressionism, modernist abstract aesthetics, marks made by Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Clifford Still etc. Mostly the aesthetics of painting is a gauge for me in terms of how to make a 'good' work. I say to myself, as I get close to finishing each artwork,‘If this was a painting would it be a good painting?’ If I can say yes, then the work is complete. 

    - Karla Black
    • Karla Black Mistaken For, 2018 Glass, clay, paint, vaseline, lipstick, chains 35 x 44 x 2 cm
      Karla Black
      Mistaken For, 2018
      Glass, clay, paint, vaseline, lipstick, chains
      35 x 44 x 2 cm
      Enquire
    • Karla Black Looking Glass Number 13, 2019 Permanent marker pen (Sharpies) on mirror 26 x 18 x 29 cm 10.2 x 7.1 x 11.4 inches
      Karla Black
      Looking Glass Number 13, 2019
      Permanent marker pen (Sharpies) on mirror
      26 x 18 x 29 cm
      10.2 x 7.1 x 11.4 inches
      Enquire
    • Karla Black The Background Against, 2018 Paint, thread, green concealer stick 38 x 46 x 1 cm 15 x 18 x 0.4 inches
      Karla Black
      The Background Against, 2018
      Paint, thread, green concealer stick
      38 x 46 x 1 cm
      15 x 18 x 0.4 inches
      Enquire

  • Selected institutional exhibitions
    Installation view Karla Black: 20 Years, Des Moines Art Center, 2020 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view Karla Black, sculptures (2001–2021): details for a retrospective, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 2021 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view Karla Black, Festival d’Automne, Musée des Archives Nationales and École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 2017 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view Karla Black, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium, 2017 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view Karla Black, Scottish Pavillion, 54. Venice Bienniale, 2011 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

    Installation view

    Karla Black: 20 Years, Des Moines Art Center, 2020

  • Karla Black's numerous solo exhibitions include 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.
  • KARLA BLACK AT STUART SHAVE / MODERN ART, LONDON, Opening January 28, 2022

    KARLA BLACK AT STUART SHAVE / MODERN ART, LONDON

    Opening January 28, 2022

    Please visit Stuart Shave / Modern Art for more information. 

     

    Image: Karla Black, Though Warm, 2022 © the artist. Courtesy Stuart Shave / Modern Art, London