Ana Karkar's paintings have a distant memory of films, not at all virtuous, more haunted than exact. Ana Karkar paints these images of films as they continue to live in us, after their projection, inhabiting the back of our mind: caution, a permanent storm.
— Philippe Azoury, Journalist and Film Critic
Ana Karkar is a French-American artist based in Paris, whose work draws upon influences from the Vienna Secession. In her paintings of nudes, twisted and entwined bodies form a danse macabre reminiscent of Egon Schiele, or are joined in passionate freedom, echoing Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss.
Born and raised in San Francisco, she studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, the Sorbonne and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She dropped out of her MFA for a job at Louis Vuitton HQ where she worked for 7 years in image production and digital media. In 2013 she was mentored in the TURPS Correspondence program based in London.
Her work is influenced by underground film and cinema, both for its technical experimentation and unbridled characters. Karkar’s practice similarly approaches painting as an act of liberatory expression, and explores the capacity of art objects to serve as conduits of shared energy between maker and viewer. The storytelling in her work is inspired by film directors such as Shuji Terayama, Brian De Palma and Dario Argento as well as a number of contemporary photographers and found erotica. Her painterly stroke evokes that of Edvard Munch, Francis Bacon and Egon Schiele as well as the Viennese Secession reprised in Psychedelic Art from her hometown.
Recent solo and group exhibitions include Whole Cookie at Almine Rech, London, GB (2024, solo), LOVECHILD at Almine Rech, Brussels, BE (2024, solo), Blackout Romeo at Behind The Door, Paris, FR (2024, group), ART021 Shanghai fair with Galerie Marguo (2023, group), KIAF SEOUL fair with Galerie Marguo (2023, solo) and Box of Earth at Baert Gallery, Los Angeles, US (2023, solo).
Ana’s work can be found in public collections including the Longlati Foundation (Shanghai, China), Ståhl Collection (Norrköping, Sweden), Zhi Art Museum (Chengdu, China), Yageo Foundation (Taipei, Taiwan), and He Art Museum (Foshan, China).
Born in San Francisco, United States in 1986
Currently lives and works in Paris, France
EDUCATION
2016 | TURPS Art School, London, UK |
2010 | Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, Arts et Sciences de l'Art, Paris, France |
2008 | École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris |
2004 | San Francisco Art Institute, USA |
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 |
Almine Rech, Whole Cookie, London, UK |
2023 |
Almine Rech, LOVECHILD, Brussels, Belgium |
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Galerie Marguo, Kiaf Seoul 2023, Seoul, Korea |
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Baert Gallery, Box of Earth, Los Angeles, CA |
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Nosbaum Reding, Art Brussel, Brussel, Belgium |
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Nosbaum Reding, Villains Vault, Luxembourg |
2022 |
Galerie Marguo, Return From Exile, Paris, France |
2019 |
DZIALDOV, We value your privacy, Berlin, Germany |
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Copie Service, Spine to Perform an Exorcism, Paris, France |
2018 |
Le Consulat de la Gaité, Where there’s smoke, Paris, France |
2015 |
Meta-Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Unmanifest Territories, North Miami, FL |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 |
Aye Project Space, Reunion, Hong Kong |
2024 |
Galerie Marguo, Deli Dali, Paris, France |
Behind the Door Gallery, Blackout Romeo, Paris, France |
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2023 |
Galerie Marguo, Art021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, China |
2022 |
Galerie Marguo, ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, China |
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Nosbaum Reding, Fundamental Occurrences, Brussels, Belgium |
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Minus 1 Gallery, Tokyo, Japan |
2021 |
N.104 Gallery, Seasons of Nebula, Tokyo, Japan |
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ArtParis & Hors Cadre at Grand Palais Ephémère, Portraits et figuration. Regard sur la scène francaise, curated by Hervé Mikaeloff, Paris, France |
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König Galerie, MISA Discoveries, Berlin, Germany |
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König Galerie, Messe in St Agnes, Berlin, Germany |
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Tata bookshop, Iwakan 2, Tokyo, Japan |
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Horscadre, Intimations, Paris, France |
2020 |
Nosbaum Reding, Brussels Galerie Ephémère, Brussels, Belgium |
2019 |
Nosbaum Reding, Just So Stories, Luxembourg |
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Galerie PCP, Café Spit, Paris, France |
2018 |
SFMOMA, Submission Friday, online |
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Laundry Artspace, Colourful Chaos by FluxKUNST, Brisbane, Australia |
2017 |
DZIALDOV, L'homme Sauvage, Berlin, Germany |
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Andrew Edlin Gallery, Et Tu, Art Brute?, New York, NY |
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La Galerie 36 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, Night School, Paris, France |
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Zaratan Arte Contemporânea, BYOB_Lx, Lisbon, Portugal |
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DZIALDOV, …why not hug the strangers., Berlin, Germany |
2016 |
SFMOMA, Submission Friday, online |
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Turps Correspond, The Artworks, Halifax, UK |
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IR11, Edinburgh, UK |
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Londonewcastle Project Space, London, UK |
2015 |
DZIALDOV, Malfunction, Berlin, Germany |
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Glasgow Openhouse, Cold on the Outside, Glasgow, UK |
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Passage Choiseul, FTO #2, Paris, France |
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Assembly House, Figure This Out, Leeds, UK |
2014 |
Turps Painting Studio, Correspond, London, UK |
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DZIALDOV, Re-Boot, Berlin, Germany |
2012 |
Galerie Christian Berst, Surf Your Mind, Paris, France |
2010 |
Centre Commerciale Sans Commerce, CHIC Art Fair, Cité de la Mode et du Design, Paris, France |
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Centre Culturel Auguste Dobel, Chez Jack, Paris, France |
2009 |
« La Petite Ceinture » 75020, Chemins de Fer, Paris, France |
2008 |
Centre Saint Charles, Untitled, Paris, France |
2006 |
Carrousel du Louvre, I V Y Paris, Paris, France |
COLLECTIONS
He Art Museum, Foshan, China
Zhi Art Museum, Chengdu, China
Longlati Foundation, Shanghai, China
Yageo Foundation, Taiwan
Ståhl Collection, Sweden
GRANTS / RESIDENCIES
2014 | Atelier Austmarka Artist in Residence Grant, Norway |
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Ana KarkarUntil he appeared again, 2024Oil on linen160 x 220 cm (63 x 86 ⅝ in)
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Ana KarkarCold wave, 2023Oil on canvas220 x 160 cm (86 5/8 x 63 in)
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Ana KarkarCall Me Snake, 2022Oil on linen130 x 195 cm (51 1/8 x 76 3/4 in)
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Ana KarkarDe la Mort à la Vie (Orangutan), 2022Oil on linen160 x 220 cm (63 x 86 5/8 in)
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Ana KarkarGhosted, 2022Oil on linen46 x 61 cm (18 1/8 x 24 in)
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Ana KarkarMeat dreams, 2022Oil on canvas162 x 130 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 in)
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Ana KarkarReal Live Wire, 2022Oil on linen146 x 114 cm (57 1/2 x 44 7/8 in)
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Ana KarkarSirens In the Beat of Your Heart, 2022Oil on canvas130 x 195 cm (51 1/8 x 76 3/4 in)
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Ana KarkarTrack in the Back, 2022Oil on linen92 x 65 cm (36 1/4 x 25 5/8 in)
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Ana KarkarAss Grab, 2021Oil on canvas61 x 46 cm (24 x 18 1/8 in)
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Ana KarkarBiceps, 2021Oil on canvas92 x 73 cm (36 1/4 x 28 3/4 in)
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Ana KarkarFever, 2021Oil on canvas97 x 130 cm (38 1/4 x 51 1/8 in)
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Ana KarkarPrism, 2021Oil on canvas130 x 162 cm (51 1/8 x 63 3/4 in)
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Ana KarkarRoll back, 2021Oil on canvas162 x 130 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 in)
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Ana KarkarHolographic Lover, 2020Oil on canvas130 x 195 cm (51 1/8 x 76 3/4 in)
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Ana KarkarJump Into My Mouth and Breathe the Stardust, 2020Oil on canvas130 x 195 cm (51 1/8 x 76 3/4 in)
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Ana KarkarWhip, 2019Oil on canvas110 x 180 cm (43 1/4 x 70 7/8 in)
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Ana KarkarNo Sleep Elm Street, 2018Oil on canvas200 x 300 cm (78 3/4 x 118 1/8 in)
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Ana KarkarOde to Camille, 2018Oil on canvas200 x 300 cm (78 3/4 x 118 1/8 in)
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Ana KarkarStreaming through, 2017Oil on canvas60 x 50 cm (23 5/8 x 19 3/4 in)
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Purple Magazine: PurpleART “Deli Dali” a group exhibition at Galerie Marguo Paris, on view until December 7th
Purple Magazine, 2024年11月13日 -
Artsy: 10 Must-See Shows during Art Basel Paris 2024
Sarah Moroz, Artsy, 2024年10月11日 -
*Discoveries Ana Karkar
Gallery Weekend Berlin, GALLERY WEEKEND BERLIN -
Le Quotidien de l'Art | Il y a du Schiele chez Ana Karkar !
Armelle Malvoisin , Le Quotidien de l'Art , 2021年9月8日