Katherine Bernhardt

(American, born 1975)

Katherine Bernhardt is a contemporary American artist whose brightly colored paintings meld the abstract repetition of African textiles with specific motifs, such as tropical animals, cigarettes, tacos, and basketballs. Quickly made with spray paint and washes of acrylic, Bernhardt’s works vibrate with formal juxtapositions and varied content. “They’re just good colors and shapes. Look at a sock: it’s got really good colors, white with red and blue stripes. Toilet paper is a squarish oval,” she has explained of her subjects. “A cigarette is a line. A dorsal fin is a triangle, and so is a Dorito.” Born in 1975 in Clayton, MO, she received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to New York where she earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2000. At the beginning of her career, Bernhardt established herself with thickly-painted portraits of models and celebrities she culled from magazines and advertisements. Since then, the artist has experimented with various materials including handwoven Moroccan rugs and installation. Her works have been the subject of exhibitions at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum. Bernhardt currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.