An Interdisciplinary Visionary
Kathe Burkhart is an American interdisciplinary artist, painter, writer, and art critic. Based in the United States, her diverse practice spans numerous media, including collage, digital media, drawing, fiction, installation, nonfiction, painting, photography, video, poetry, and sculpture. As a conceptual and installation artist, she utilizes these varied forms to explore themes centered on the radical female. Her work is characterized by a sustained interrogation of celebrity, gender, and self-representation.
A significant component of her body of work is The Liz Taylor Series, a project she began in 1982. In this self-portrait project, Burkhart uses the image of actress Elizabeth Taylor as an alter ego to explore fantasies and evoke a genderqueer identity. These works often feature stills of Taylor from her films, rendered in a deliberate "bad"-painting style with profane text imposed on the surface.
Exhibitions and Literary Contributions
Burkhart's work has been exhibited in various international locations, including:
Beyond her visual art, Burkhart is an author of literary fiction and poetry. Her published writings include From Under From Under the 8-Ball, The Double Standard, Deux poids, deux mesures, Deux âmes sœurs, and Dudes. In 2016, she gifted her personal archives to the Fales Library and Special Collections at New York University, where the "Kathe Burkhart Papers" are held within the Downtown Collection.
