Date of Birth: November 26, 1969
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Date of Death: [Leave blank as Kara Walker is alive]
Biography
Kara Walker is an acclaimed American contemporary artist known for her exploration of race, gender, sexuality, and violence through her powerful and provocative artworks. Born on November 26, 1969, in Stockton, California, Walker spent her early years in a household that valued creativity and education; her father was a painter and professor. She earned her BFA from the Atlanta College of Art in 1991 and her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1994. Walker’s career took off in the mid-1990s when she began creating large-scale tableaux using cut-paper silhouettes, a medium that became her signature style. Her work often delves into the brutal history of slavery in America, confronting viewers with stark and unsettling imagery that forces them to confront uncomfortable truths about the past and its lingering impact on the present. Among her most notable works is “A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby,” a monumental installation created in 2014 in the former Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, New York. The piece featured a massive sugar-coated sphinx-like figure and smaller sculptures, all made from sugar and molasses, highlighting the intertwined histories of sugar production and slavery. Walker has received numerous awards and honors, including the MacArthur “Genius” Grant in 1997, and her work has been exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide. She continues to be a significant and influential figure in contemporary art, using her platform to address critical social issues through her compelling and thought-provoking creations.
5 Interesting Facts about Kara Walker
1. Kara Walker was awarded the MacArthur “Genius” Grant in 1997 at the age of 27.
2. Her father, Larry Walker, is also a renowned artist and professor of art.
3. Walker’s “A Subtlety” installation used over 80 tons of sugar.
4. She was the second youngest recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship.
5. Walker’s work often employs the silhouette technique, inspired by the 19th-century tradition of cut-paper silhouettes.
5 Most Interesting Quotes from Kara Walker
1. “My work is about the underbelly of American culture.”
2. “I was making work about what it means to be an African American and the ways that we negotiate our place within the larger culture.”
3. “I think the silhouette lends itself to avoidance of the subject — the avoidance of the subject of my work.”
4. “The work is not about me, but it’s about me having a dialogue with the culture that bred me.”
5. “I couldn’t really imagine anything more horrifying than my first realization of the deep-seated racism in the world.”
Highest Net Worth Achieved
As of recent estimates, Kara Walker’s highest net worth is approximately $5 million.
Children
Kara Walker has one daughter, Octavia Butterfield, born in 1996.
Relevant Links
1. [Kara Walker at the Tate](https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/kara-walker-2676
2. [Kara Walker at the Guggenheim](https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/kara-walker
3. [Kara Walker on MoMA](https://www.moma.org/artists/25985
4. [Kara Walker’s “A Subtlety” on Creative Time](https://creativetime.org/projects/karawalker/
5. [Kara Walker on Art21](https://art21.org/artist/kara-walker/
