Karla Black
*1972 Alexandria, lives and works in Glasgow, UK
Karla Black’s abstract and immersive sculptures are created through her experimentation with unconvential materials. These monumental works investigate the link between materiality and texture, as well as the emotions they transmit. Her interplay of delicate abstract forms, pastel colors and surprising materials demands a physical experience, material experiences being 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 shows include exhibitions with Bechtler Stiftung, Uster (2024); New Art Gallery Walsall, 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, Dallas (2012); Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow (2012) among others. Her group shows include exhibitions with 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 works feature in major public collections such as the Tate Britain, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; RISD Museum, Rhode Island; Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens; Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; KiCo Collection, Munich, among others.
Solo Exhibitions
2024
Karla Black
Bechtler Stiftung, Uster, Switzerland
Karla Black and Alexandra Metcalf
Capitain Petzel, Berlin, Germany
2023
Karla Black
Newhaven Art Space, UK
Karla Black
The New Art Gallery Walsall, UK
2022
Karla Black
Modern Art Gallery, London, UK
2021
Sculptures (2001-2020) details for a retrospective
Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
2020
Karla Black: 20 Years
Des Moines Art Centre, Des Moines, IA
2019
Karla Black
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany
Karla Black
Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne, Germany
2018
Karla Black
The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada
Karla Black
Capitain Petzel, Berlin, Germany
2017
Stuart Shave / Modern Art, London, UK
Festival d‘Autumn, Archives nationales & Beaux-arts de Paris, France
Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium
2016
Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan, Italy
A New Order I Karla Black and Kishio Suga
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
David Zwirner, New York, NY
Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne, Germany
2015
IMMA - Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
2014
David Zwirner, New York, NY
Karla Black
Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan, Italy
Stuart Shave/ Modern Art, London, UK
2013
Kestnergesellschaft, Hannover, Germany
ICA – Institute of Contemporary Art – University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne, Germany
Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, The Netherlands
2012
Karla Black: Concentrations 55
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany
Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, UK
Stuart Shave/ Modern Art, London, UK
2011
Karla Black. Scotland + Venice 2011
Palazzo Pisani (S. Marina), 54th Venice Biennale, Italy
2010
Capitain Petzel, Berlin, Germany
Wittmann Collection, Ingolstadt, Germany
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY
Ten Sculptures
Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Germany
2009
Karla Black: Sculptures with paintings by Bet Low (1924-2007)
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Inverleith House, Edinburgh, UK
Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK
Kunstverein Hamburg, Germany
Migros Museum, Zurich Mary Mary, Glasgow, UK
2008
Champagne Perrier-Jouët Prize (Winner 2007)
Zoo Art Fair, London, UK
Catch This: New Works from the Arts Council Collection
Longside Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK
West London Projects, London, UK
Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne, Germany
2007
IBID Projects, London, UK
2006
Galerie Sandra Bürgel, Berlin, Germany
Mary Mary, Glasgow, UK
Outpost, Norwich, UK
Have Him Be Her
Broadway 1602, New York, NY
2004
Mary Mary, Glasgow, UK
2002
Robert, Glasgow Project Room, Glasgow, UK
Group Exhibitions
2024
SUR TES LÈVRES
Le Lieu Unique and the Frac des Pays de la Loire, Nantes, France
The Nine Rules of Tremulation, curated by Daniel Birnbaum & Jacqui Davies
NO NAME, Paris, France
2023
New Arrivals
National Gallerie of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
2022
Trilogie de cendres / Trilogy of ashes
Frac des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, France
My reflection of you
The Perimeter, London, UK
Omelette Papier
Capitain Petzel, Berlin, Germany
2021
Nulla è Perduto. Arte e Materia in Trasformazione
GAMeC – Galleria D’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy
2020
Installationen aus 25 Jahren Sammlung Falckenberg
Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
Schönheit!?
Galerie Gisela Clement, Bonn, Germany
Wiśnie
Galeria Arsenał, Białystok, Poland
Room Enough for Former Teasers
Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne
On Paper (Arts Council Collection touring exhibition)
Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton; Gallery Oldham, UK
2019
In a Waiting Room
Fiorucci Art Trust, London, UK
Installationen aus 25 Jahren Sammlung Falckenberg
Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
The Aerodrome
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK
Josephine Meckseper
Frac des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, France
2018
She sees the shadows
MOSTYN, Wales, UK
Stuart Shave / Modern Art, London, UK
Der flexible Plan. Das Rokoko in der Gegenwartskunst
Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
A MIND OF WINTER
Giorgio Pace Projects, St. Moritz, Switzerland
On Paper (Arts Councis Collection touring exhibition)
Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Perth, UK
Iverness Museum and Art Gallery, Iverness, UK
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, UK
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, UK
2017
Viva Arte Viva (curated by Christine Macel)
57th Venice Biennale, Italy
Mental Yellow. The Sun in the Zenith
Städtische Galerie im Lehnbachhaus und Kunstbau München, Germany
Sculptures Made from Paper: from Kurt Schwitters to Karla Black
Museum im Deutschhof/Kunsthalle Vogelmann, Städtische Museen Heilbronn, Germany
MACBA Collection. Beneath the Surface
MACBA Museu d‘Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Entangled: Threads & Making
Turner Contemporary, Margate England
2016
20 – An Exhibition in Three Acts
Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, Switzerland
I Still Believe in Miracles
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Inverleith House, Scotland
KALEIDOSCOPE: Mystics and Rationalists
Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK
Theories of Modern Art
Stuart Shave / Modern Art, London, UK
Cher(e)s Ami(e)s: Hommage aux donateurs des collections contemporaines
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Revolution in the Making. Abstract Sculpture by Women 1947-2016
Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Now, At the Latest
Kunsthalle Krems, Germany
My Blueberry Night
Casarotto di Albegno, Bergamo, Italy (organized by Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo)
Living in the Material world. Materialität in der Ziegenösisschen Kunst
Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck, Austria
2014
Generation: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, UK
Living in the Material World: Materiality in Contemporary Art
Museum Haus Esters, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Germany
Manifesta 10: European Biennial of Contemporary Art
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
ONE2 Collection
Palácio das Artes, Porto, Portugal
2013
Cranford Collection: Out of the House
Sala de Arte, Fundación Banco Santander, Madrid, Spain
Die Liebe zu den Dingen
Kunsthalle Münster, Münster, Germany
Neo Povera
L&M Arts, Venice, CA
Nur was nicht ist ist möglich
Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany
21 Revolutions
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK
2012
The space between
Tate Britain, London, UK
21 Revolutions
Glasgow Women’s Library, Glasgow, UK
En todo y en todas partes / Everywhere and on everything
kurimanzutto, Mexico City, Mexico
2011
Before the Law
Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
Turner Prize 2011
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK
D’un Autre Monde
Le Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse, France
Pour un art pauvre (inventaire du monde et de l’atelier)
Carré d‘Art - Musée d‘art contemporain de Nîmes, France
Frauenzimmer
Museum Schloss Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
Flaca, Portikus, Frankfurt, Germany (curated by Tom Humphreys)
Tableaux. Principe d’incertitude
Magasin - Centre National d’Art Contemporain de Grenoble, Grenoble, France
Watercolour
Tate Britain, London, UK
Arte essenziale / Essential Art
Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Germany
Radical Autonomy
Netwerk, Aalst, Belgium
Structure and Material
Longside Gallery, West Yorkshire, UK; The New Art Gallery, Walsall, UK
British Art Show 7
Hayward Gallery, London, UK; Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, UK; Peninsula Art Gallery, Plymouth, UK
All of this and nothing, 6th Hammer Invitational
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Nouvelles Collections IV
CentrePasquArt Kunsthaus Centre d’art Seevorstadt, Biel, Switzerland
2010
In the Days of the Comet: British Art Show 7
Nottingham Contemporary, UK
The Alchemy of Material
Landesmuseum Münster, Germany
Neuigierig?
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundersrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany
Karla Black & Nate Lowman
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY
Profusion
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, UK
2009
Black Hole
CCA Andratx, Mallorca, Spain (curated by Friederike Nymphius)
Nothing to say and I am saying it
Kunstverein Freiburg, Germany
Don‘t Expect Anything
Francesca Minini, Milan, Italy
Kunstverein Hamburg (with Kostis Velonis & Karen Sargsyan), Germany
Material Intelligence
Kettle‘s Yard, Cambridge, UK; Huddersfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield, UK
Reduction & Suspense
Magazin 4, Bregenz, Austria
Contemporary Scottish Art: New Acquisitions & Loans
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, UK
2008
Brussels Biennial 1 for contemporary art, Brussels, Belgium
The Garden of the Forking Paths
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria (curated by Heike Munder)
Karla Black, Elliot Hundley, Ross Tibbles
Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London, UK
Wollust
Columbus Art Foundation in Halle 14, Leipzig, Germany
Art Now: Strange Solution
Art Now, Tate Britain, London, UK
2007
Ultramoderne
Hall Paul Wurth, Luxembourg; La Passerelle, Brest, France
What remains. Quello che resta
Lambretto Art Project, Milan, Italy
Poor thing
Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (curated by Simone Neuenschwander)
Special Presentation
Broadway 1602, New York, NY
Untitled - Works on Paper
Art:Concept, Paris, France
Planting the tele
Mary Mary, Glasgow, UK (curated by Hayley Tompkins)
2006
Karla Black / Sally Osborn / Sue Tompkins
Flaca, London, UK
Karla Black / Dean Hughes / Duncan Marguiss / Jonathan Owen / Hanneline Visnes
Doggerfisher, Edinburgh, UK
2005
Pilot 2, London, UK
Like It Matters
CCA, Glasgow, UK
Exile, New York is a Good Hotel
Broadway 1602, New York, NY
Not Yet Night
Studio Voltaire, London, UK
Karla Black / Babak Ghazi
S1 Artspace, Sheffield, UK
2004
Spacemakers
Lothringer Dreizehn, Munich, Germany
MFA Degree show
Tramway, Glasgow, UK
Rheinschau.
Art Cologne Projects (with Transmission Gallery), Cologne, Germany
Cheyney Thompson / Karla Black
Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
Synth
Kunstraum B/2, Leipzig, Germany
2003
Pallas
The Changing Room Gallery, Stirling, Scotland
East International
Norwich Gallery, Norwich School of Art & Design, UK
An American Conversation (with Alex Frost)
Cooper Gallery, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee, UK
2002
The Châteaux
Switchspace, Glasgow, UK
Half the World Away
Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo, New York, NY
2001
Man Dancing
Intermedia Gallery, Glasgow, UK
October: Contemporary Art in St. Vincent Street
Glasgow, UK
Hi-Civics
Market Gallery, Glasgow, UK
2000
Louder than Love
De Zeyp, Brussels, Belgium
Someone, Somewhere
Glasgow Project Room, Glasgow, UK
Public collections
Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, UK
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London, UK
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Cranford Collection, London, UK
Dallas Museum of Art, TX
David Roberts Art Foundation, London, UK
Des Moines Art Center, IA
EMΣT | National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens
EVN Collection, Maria Enzersdorf, Austria
Gemeente Museum Den Haag. The Hague, The Netherlands
Glasgow Museums, UK
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Kadist, Paris, France
KiCo Collection, Munich, Germany
Lafayette Anticipations, Paris, France
Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, Switzerland
RISD Museum, Rhode Island School of Design, RI
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, UK
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, NY
Tate, London, UK
The Perimeter, London, UK