Karen Knorr

(German, born 1954)

Karen Knorr is a contemporary German-born American photographer. Often working in digital collage, Knorr’s work is characterized by its visually intricate and mysterious imagery, including symmetrical compositions framed by elaborate architecture. Her early work focused on capturing wealthy socialites in their private clubs and posh homes, allowing the artist to indirectly tackle issues of class and the distribution of wealth in society. Her more recent project has consisted of composing images of exotic animals—peacocks, tigers, elephants, monkeys—set in temples and palaces, inspired in part by stories from Indian folklore as well as contemporary popular Disney narratives. “My ongoing concerns include feminist interpretations of aesthetics, the study of beauty and taste, animal studies, postcolonial theory, and critical theory informed by continental philosophy,” Knorr has explained. “Photography is for me an honest method of critical enquiry.” Born in 1954 in Frankfurt, Germany, she was raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, moving to London in the 1970s where she studied at both the Polytechnic of Central London and the University of Derby. Her works can now be found in the collections of the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, among others. Knorr lives and works in London, United Kingdom.

Karen Knorr Artworks

Karen Knorr (41 results)