Katharina Grosse (German, born )

Katharina Grosse (German, b.1961) is a painter known for her use of sprayed acrylic colors to produce large-scale installations and smaller works. Born in Freiburg, Grosse studied at the art academies of Münster and Düsseldorf under Johannes Brus, Norbert Tadeusz, and Gotthard Graubner.

Grosse uses a compressor-powered spray painter for her paintings, often combining loud colors in horizontal and vertical structures. The colors remain transparent, allowing the viewer to see the layers underneath. Drawing from a range of art historical practices, her work is inspired by fresco, en plein air painting, Abstract Expressionism, and graffiti art.

Grosse is a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in Germany. She has had solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as the Suburban in Chicago, the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati, the Arken Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, among others. Grosse’s work is held in collections internationally, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Kunstmuseum Bern in Switzerland, the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, and the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea in Santiago de Compostela.

The artist currently lives and works in Düsseldorf and Berlin.

Timeline

1961
Born in Freiburg/Breisgau, Germany
1982–1990
Painting studies, Kunstakademie Münster and Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
1992
Received the Villa Romana-Award, Florence
1993
Awarded the Schmidt-Rottluff Stipend
1995
Recieved the Kunstfonds Bonn e.V.
1997–1998
Guest professor at the Staatlichen Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe
1999
Artist in Residence, Chinati Foundation, Marfa, TX
1990–2000
Guest professor at the Hochschule Bremen
2000–2009
Professor at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee, Germany
2010–2018
Professor at the Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf, Germany
Currently lives and works in Düsseldorf and Berlin, Germany

Exhibitions

2021
König Seoul, Seoul, South Korea (solo)
2021
Repetitions without Origin, Gagosian, Beverly Hills, California (solo)
2021
Als mein Vater Sand war [When My Father Was Sand], Y8 Kunstraum + Yoga e.V., Hamburg, Germany (solo)
2021
Chill Seeping From The Walls Gets Between Us, HAM – Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland, catalogue (solo)
2021
Wolke in Form eines Schwertes [Cloud in the Form of a Sword], Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna, Austria, catalogue (solo)
2020
It Wasn’t Us, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany (solo)
2020
Is It You?, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland (solo)
2020
Katharina Grosse, Hall Art Foundation-Schloss Derneburg, Derneburg, Germany (solo)
2020
At 30 pieces she could split a playing card, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany (solo)
2020
Separatrix, Gagosian Gallery, Rome, Italy (solo)
2019
Mural: Jackson Pollock I Katharina Grosse, MFA Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts (solo)
2019
Katharina Grosse x Gotthard Graubner; MKM Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst, Duisburg, Germany (solo)
2018
Mumbling Mud, chi K11 Art Museum, Shanghai, China; Art Connexion, L3 & chi K11, Guangzhou, China (2019) (solo)
2018
Wunderbild, National Gallery / Trade Fair Palace, Prague, Czech Republic (solo)
2018
Prototypes of Imagination, Gagosian Gallery, London, United Kingdom (solo)
2018
The Horse Trotted Another Couple of Metres, Then It Stopped, Carriageworks, Sydney, Australia (solo)
2018
Villa Medici Accademia di Francia a Roma, Rome, Italy (with Tatiana Trouvé) (solo)
2017
Katharina Grosse 1997+2017, Fuhrwerkswaage, Cologne, Germany (solo)
2017
This Drove My Mother Up The Wall, South London Gallery, London, United Kingdom (solo)
2017
König Galerie, Berlin, Germany (solo)
2017
Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna, Austria (solo)
2017
Gagosian Gallery, New York City, New York (solo)
2016
Rockaway! MOMA PS1, Long Island City, New York (solo)
2016
Barbara Gross Galerie, Munich, Germany (solo)
2016
Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany (solo)
2015
Sieben Stunden, Acht Stimmen, Drei Bäume, Museum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany, catalogue (solo)
2015
Yes No Why Later, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia (solo)
2015
The Smoking Kid, König Galerie, St. Agnes, Berlin, Germany (solo)
2012–2013
MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, OH, USA (solo)
2012–2013
Inside Out and From the Ground Up, MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, USA
2012–2013
Fast Forward: Modern Moments 1913 >> 2013, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA
2012
Permanent indoor installation, Sammlung Hoffmann, Berlin, Germany
2011–2012
Berlin 2000-2011, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2011–2012
Farbe im Fluss (mit Bernard Frize, Karin Sander), Weserburg Museum für Moderne Kunst, Germany
2011–2012
The indiscipline of painting, Tate St. Ives and Mead Gallery, UK
2011
Golden Spider, Michael Schultz Gallery Seoul
2010–2011
One floor up more highly, MASS MoCa, North Adams, MA, USA
2010
Katharina Grosse: Ellipse, Quadriennale 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany
2010
Come niño come, Galeria Helga De Alvear, Madrid, Spain (solo)
2010
Mr. Caplan, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (solo)
2010
One Floor Up More Highly, MASS MoCA, MA USA (solo)
2010
If not in this period of time – Contemporary German Painting, Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo, Brazil
2010
Barbara & Katharina Grosse, Museum fur Neue Kunst, Freiburg, Germany
2010
Negotiations - The 2nd Today’s Documents 2010, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
2010
Rudolf Steiner und die Kunst der Gegenwart, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
2010
Michelle Grabner, Katharina Grosse, Brad Killam, Philip Vanderhyden and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, Leo Koenig Inc. Projekte, New York, NY
2010
Spray!, D’Amelio Terras, New York, NY
2009
Embrace!, Denver Art Museum, with Jessica Stockholder, Lawrence Weiner, El Anatsui and more, Denver, Colorado
2009
Space as Medium, Miami Art Museum, Miami, Florida
2009
Cave Paintings, PSM Galerie, Berlin
2009
Boden und Wand Wand und Fenster Zeit, Helmhaus Zurich, Switzerland
2009
Shadowbox, Temporäre Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany
2009
Hello Little Butterfly I Love You What’s Your Name, Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst, Netherlands (solo)
2009
stuntweed, Neues Museum, Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany
2009
La Pintura y sus Alrededores, Galerie naechst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria
2006–2009
Grosse’s redesign of the Alexej von Jawlensky Room at the Lenbachhaus, Munich
2008
Galleria Civica di Modena, Modena, Italy
2008
Prospect One, Biennial, New Orleans, Louisiana
2008
No Room, curated by Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2008
There is Desire Left (knock, Knock), 40 Jahre Bildende Kunst aus der Sammlung Mondstudio, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern Switzerland
2008
Distancia Critica, Centro Galego de Arte Contempranea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
2008
Agitar antesde usar, ARTIUM Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporaneo, Viktori-Gasteiz, Spain
2008
Propect. 1.New Orleans, Prospect New Orleans, LA
2007
Atoms Inside Balloons, The Renaissance Society, Chicago
2007
The Suburban, Oak Park, IL
2007
Skrow No and The Flowershow, FRAC, Auvergne (solo)
2007
Serralves, Museu de Arte Contemporanea, Porto (solo)
2007
Renaissance Society, Chicago, IL (solo)
2007
Queensland Art Gallery South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland (solo)
2007
Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland (solo)
2007
Emotional Systems, Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina, Florence
2007
Franchise Foundation, Leeuwarden
2007
Agitar antes de usar, Artium, Arte Garaikideko Euskal Zentro-Museoa
2007
Picture Park, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
2007
room 3: Accrochage - Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich
2007
To be Continued... - Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Stockholm
2007
die präsenzproduzenten - Columbus Art Foundation, Ravensburg
2006
Katharina Grosse - Picture Park - Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, QLD
2006
Katharina Grosse I This Is Not My Cat - Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
2006
Katharina Grosse - atoms outside eggs - Museu Serralves - Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto
2006
Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich (solo)
2006
Galería Helga de Alvear, Madrid (solo)
2006
Contemporary Art Center, Zaha Hadid Building, Cincinnati (solo)
2006
Tokyo-Berlin / Berlin-Tokyo, Mori Art Museum, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 53F, Tokyo
2006
Auf eigene Art…, Rekonstruktion des Thomas Mann Hauses, Munich
2006
Deutsche Wandstücke – Sette scene di nuova pittura germanica, Museion Museum of modern and contemporary art Bolzano, Bolzano
2006
Berlin-Tokyo / Tokyo-Berlin. Die Kunst zweier Städte, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin
2006
Anstoß Berlin, Kunst macht Welt, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin
2006
Holy Residue, De Appel Centre for Contemporary Art, Amsterdam (solo)
2006
Town and County, Factory of Art and Design, Copenhagen, Denmark (solo)
2006
INCAMERA, Barbara Gross Galerie, Munich
2006
Galerie Mark Müller, Zürich
2006
Faux Rock, Galeria Helga de Alvear, Madrid
2006
Dirty Yoga, Taipei Biennial
2006
Town and Country, Factory of Arts and Design, Copenhagen (solo)
2006
Der Blaue Reiter im 21. Jahrhundert, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich
2006
Barbara Gross Galerie, Munich (solo)
2005
Alumen Chromicum Comp, Solvent Space, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2005
Extreme Abstraction, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo
2005
Constructions a cru, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
2005
Drawing, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2005
The Devil’s Punchbowl, Curator, Christopher Grimes Gallery,
2005
Something Leadlight, Kunsthalle Bergen, Norway
2005
Constructions à cru, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
2005
Entdecken und Besitzen - Einblicke in österreichische Privatsammlungen, MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna
2005
Polly Apfelbaum, Katharina Grosse, Karin Sander, Jessica Stockholder, Galerie nächst St. Stephan, Vienna
2005
Aufgedeckt, Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich
2005
Bee Troot, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Los Angeles (solo)
2005
Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen (solo)
2005
Galerie Conrads, Düsseldorf (solo)
2004
Kunsthallen Brandts Klaedefabrik, Odense, Denmark (solo)
2004
Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston
2004
Infinite Logic Conference, Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Stockholm (solo)
2004
25th Anniversary, The LA Years, Part II, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2004
Final Cuts, Curated by Milvan Farronato, Union Gallery, London, England
2004
raumfürraum, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and Kunstverein für die Rheinlande and Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany
2004
Galerie Nächst St. Stephan, Vienna (solo)
2004
SAFN Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland (solo)
2004
Galeria Filomena Soares, Lisbon, Portugal (solo)
2004
Viafarini, Milan, Italy (solo)
2004
raumfürraum, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf und Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Dusseldorf
2003
Christopher Grimes Gallery, Los Angeles (solo)
2003
Galerie Conrads, Düsseldorf (solo)
2003
Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich (solo)
2003
deutschemalereizweitausenddrei, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main
2003
There’s no land but the land, Meyer Riegger Galerie, Karlsruhe
2003
3D, Friedrich Petzel Gallery, New York
2003
German Contemporary Art, Busan Metropolitan Art Museum, Busan, South Korea
2003
New abstract painting – painting abstract now. Abstraktion in der neuen Malerei, Museum Morsbroich Leverkusen
2003
Soziale Fassaden u.a., Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich
2003
Grazie, Stiftung Schloß Dyck, Jüchen
2003
“PAINTING4“, The Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham
2003
Process, Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki
2003
Final Cuts, Union, London
2003
First Glance, Sammlung Regina und Erich Krian at Museum am
2003
Breaking the Charmed Circle, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Santa Monica, California
2003
Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
2003
Fred Thieler Award, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (solo)
2002
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (solo)
2002
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich (solo)
2002
Barbara Gross Galerie, Munich (solo)
2002
Kunstmusum St. Gallen, Switzerland (solo)
2002
Inside the White Cube, White Cube, London (solo)
2002
Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Germany (solo)
2002
Minibienal do Chile, Santiago de Chile
2002
Urgent Painting, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris
2002
25a Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo
2001
Casino 2001, SMAK, Gent
2001
Ex(o)DUS, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa
2001
milano europa 2000, PAC, Milan
2001
Kunstverein Ruhr, Essen (solo)
2001
Galerie Nächst St. Stephan, Vienna (solo)
2001
Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney (solo)
2001
Georg Fraser Gallery/Billboard, Auckland (solo)
2001
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gall, Switzerland
2001
Artsonje Museum, Gyeongju, South Korea
2001
UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2000
Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
2000
Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin
2000
Zeitwenden, Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna
2000
Galerie Sfeir-Semler, Hamburg (solo)
2000
Pictures at an Exhibition, Galerie Nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria
2000
Dr. Paint, Galerie Monika Reitz, Frankfurt
2000
Das Gedächtnis der Malerei, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau
2000
Bleibe, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
1999
Zeitwenden, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany
1999
Selections Fall '99, The Drawing Center, New York
1999
Square and Cosmos, Amden und Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland
1999
Chroma, Malerei der neunziger Jahre, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany
1999
Chinati Foundation Marfa, Texas (solo)
1999
Thomas Erben Gallery, New York
1999
Ausloten, Kunstverein Göttingen, Germany
1999
Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, Germany (solo)
1999
Galerie Barbara Gross, Munich (solo)
1999
Galerie Conrads, Düsseldorf
1998
Sensation Farbe, Galerie Mark Müller, Zurich
1998
Every Day, 11th Biennial of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
1998
Kunstverein Heilbronn, Germany (solo)
1998
Projektraum, Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland (solo)
1998
Sightspacific, Kunstverein Bremerhaven, Germany (solo)
1998
Todd Gallery, London (solo)
1997
Topping Out, Städtische Galerie Nordhorn, Nordhorn, Germany
1997
Abstraction/Abstractions – Geómétries Provisoires, Musée d´Art Moderne Saint-Etienne
1997
Petra Bungert Gallery, New York
1997
Galerie Conrads, Düsseldorf
1996
Farbe – Malerei der 90er Jahre, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
1996
Overbeck-Gesellschaft, Lübeck (solo)
1995
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Stipendiaten, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany
1995
Karo Dame, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland
1995
Galerie Conrads, Düsseldorf
1994
Altes Kunstmuseum Bonn
1993
Junger Westen - Kunsthalle Recklinghausen
1992
Galerie Maria Wilkens, Cologne
1992
Modedeparis, Château de Servières Marseille, France
1991
Villa Romana - Preisträger, Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel

Public Collections

Centre Pompidou, Paris
Centro Galogo Arte Contemporanea, Santiago de Compostela
Centro Galogo Arte Contemporanea, Santiago de Compostela
IVAM Valencia Arte Contemporaneo
Kunsthalle Kiel, Germany
Kunsthaus Zurich
Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
Kunstmuseum Bonn
Lenbachhaus Munich

Literature

2006
Katharina Grosse. holey residue, De Appel, Amsterdam, 2006, with a text by Janneke Wesseling.
2005
Volk, Gregory: Uninhibited Thinking in Public Space / Ungehemmtes Denken im öffentlichen Raum, in: Parkett, No. 74, 2005, p. 112-125.
2005
Obrist, Hans Ulrich, im Gespräch mit / in conversation with Katharina Grosse / Orly, in: Parkett, No. 74, 2005, p. 126-139
2005
Kurzmeyer, Roman: Reflexiv / Reflexive, in: Parkett, No. 74, 2005, p. 140-147
2004
Köhnen, Ralph: Vom System zum Rhizom, in: Künstler, Kritisches Lexikon der Gegenwartskunst, Ausgabe 66, Munich 2004.
2004
Katharina Grosse. Infinite Logic Conference, Stockholm 2004, with a text by Lars Mikael Raattamaa.
2003
Katharina Grosse. Fred Thieler Preis für Malerei 2003, Festschrift Berlinische Galerie, Berlin 2003.
2002
Katharina Grosse, Ausstellungskatalog Kunstverein Ruhr, Essen 2002, with a text by Peter Friese
2001
Fuchs, Rainer: Malerei als Beziehungsspiel - Anmerkungen zu Katharina Grosse, in: Parkett, No. 63, 2001, p. 154-162.
1998
Katharina Grosse, Nuremberg 1998, with texts by Roman Kurzmeyer, Ellen Seifermann and Armin Zweite.