Karen Kilimnik’s work has occupied a significant position in international contemporary art since the 1990s. Kilimnik’s practice combines art historical styles, cultural codes, and prominent figures from the romantic tradition of painting, ballet, and opera with those of contemporary glamor and pop culture. Her artistic practice draws on diverse media such as painting, drawing, collage, photography, video, and installation. A certain passionate aura characterizes her work, which stems from her extensive knowledge of selected subject areas.
Karen Kilimnik (b.1955, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) studied architecture at Temple University, Philadelphia. Kilimnik’s work has been included in major exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and Carnegie Museum of Art, among others. Her works are held in leading institutional collections across the U.S. including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art, among others; and international collections including Fondazione Prada, Fondazione Di Vignola, and Statens Museum for Kunst.