Karen Knorr
Karen Knorr was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the 1960s. She finished her education in Paris and London. Karen has taught, exhibited, and lectured internationally, including at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, The University of Westminster, Goldsmiths, Harvard, and The Art Institute of Chicago. She studied at the University of Westminster in the mid-1970s, exhibiting photography that addressed debates in cultural studies and film theory concerning the ‘politics of representation’ practices that emerged during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is currently Professor of Photography at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, Surrey.
In her Fables series (2004-2008,) Knorr playfully mixes analog and digital photography, reconfiguring tales from Ovid, Aesop, and La Fontaine with popular culture like Disney and Attenborough in museums and heritage sites. These include the Carnavalet Museum, the Museum of Hunt and Nature in Paris, Chambord Castle, the Conde Museum in Chantilly Castle, and Versailles. The visual style of these photographs is rich with reference to the baroque. In the last section of the work, Knorr interrogated the free-flowing space of modern architecture in Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, reintroducing life into the modernist aesthetic of a building.
Since her life-changing journey to Rajasthan, India, in 2008, Karen Knorr’s work explores the Rajput and Mughal cultural heritage and its relationship to feminine subjectivity and animality. India Song, a series of carefully crafted photographs, explores the past and its relation to India’s contemporary heritage sites across Rajasthan. Since 2012 Knorr has visited Japan to reflect on tradition within contemporary Japan, referencing Ukiyo-e prints and folktales connected to Shinto and Buddhist heritage sites. Her first series, entitled Monogatari, places animals and humans in temple sites found in Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Ohara. Her second related series, Karyukai, is inspired by Kano’s 36 portraits of poets, also referencing “bijinga” prints of the 17th century. Women photographed by Karen Knorr were asked to compose waka and haiku, reflecting on their life and dreams. Knorr’s photography is visually seductive and offers the viewer aspects of the universe from different concepts of civilization and the potential and richness of the natural world. Her photographs are alluring mixes of opulent and historical locations with anthropomorphic animals. She creates imaginary narratives that question our societies and their significance on our individual free will.
SELECTED MUSEUM COLLECTIONS:
• Tate London, London, UK
• Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
• Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, FR
• Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, FR
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, US
• National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, JP
Photography & Works
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Karen Knorr
A Place Like Amravati 2, Udaipur City Palace Read more -
Karen Knorr
A Place Like Amravati, Udaipur City Palace Read more -
Karen Knorr
A Steadfast Friend, Zanana, Samode Palace Read more -
Karen Knorr
Brief Encounter, Palazzina Cinese Read more -
Karen Knorr
Conqueror of the World, Podar Haveli, Nawalgarh Read more -
Karen Knorr
Finding Refuge, Junha Mahal, Dungarpur Read more -
Karen Knorr
Ganesha’s Mount, Chavi Niwas, Jaipur Read more -
Karen Knorr
Ganesha’s Stride, Abha Mahal, Ahichhatragarh, Nagaur Read more -
Karen Knorr
Immaculate Conception, Villa D’Este Read more -
Karen Knorr
Interloper, Sheesh Mahal, Udaipur City Palace Read more -
Karen Knorr
Love at First Sight, Palazinna Cinese Read more -
Karen Knorr
Mahadevi’s Divine Power, Bara Mahal Read more -
Karen Knorr
Master of Seduction, Amer Fort, Amer Read more -
Karen Knorr
Morning Glory, Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi Read more -
Karen Knorr
The Return of the Hunter, Chandra Mahal, Jaipur Palace Read more -
Karen Knorr
Intoxicated by the Moonlight, Obai-in, Kyoto Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Form no Other then Emptiness, Obai-in, Kyoto Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Emptiness no Other than Form, Obai-in, Kyoto Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Opium Smoker, Chitrasala Bundi Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Wedding Party (Lanesborough) Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Wedding Guests (Lanesborough) Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
The Peers of the Realm (Lanesborough) Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Taking Refuge, Junha Mahal, Dugarpur Add to cart -
Karen Knorr
Callisto’s Despair, Palazzina Cinese (Metamorphoses) Add to cart
News & Articles

Picturing Xanadu: A Vision in a Dream

Karen Knorr’s Mahadevi’s Divine Power, Bara Mahal

Photo London 2022

Art Miami 2021

Karen Knorr: The Virtues of Spectacular Spaces

Tishani Doshi on Karen Knorr

Rooms that Resonate with Possibilities

Meet our Artists: Karen Knorr

Dialogues With Great Photographers – Karen Knorr

Seeing Spaces: Four Photographers Viewing Architecture
