Barbara Kasten Discovery Project

Institute of Contemporary Art

Barbara Kasten, Construct XV, 1982, polaroid, 8 x 10. — Barbara Kasten, *Construct XV,* 1982, polaroid, 8 x 10.

Documentation of Barbara Kasten working in her studio, New York, NY, 1983. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Barbara Kasten, Construct 32, 1986, 40 x 30 inches, Cibachrome. Photo courtesy of the artist. — Barbara Kasten, *Construct 32*, 1986, 40 x 30 inches, Cibachrome. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Barbara Kasten, Axis, 2015, video projection, installation view, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. Photo by Constance Mensh. Courtesy of the Institute of Contemporary Art. — *Barbara Kasten*, *Axis*, 2015, video projection, installation view, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. Photo by Constance Mensh. Courtesy of the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Recipient

Grant Year 2013

Grant Amount $25,000

Status Completed

Updated June 1, 2023

Barbara Kasten's photography—which draws inspiration from sculpture, theater, and architecture—has become an important precedent for a generation of younger artists. Despite this, her work remains largely unknown in the culture at large. The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) plans to change that by organizing the first major retrospective to situate four decades of Kasten's photography in relationship to other areas of artistic practice. Program Curator Alex Klein will conduct research first in Chicago, where she will interview the artist and view her extensive archives, and then in California, where she will speak to people affiliated with the Bauhaus and the California Light and Space movements—both influences on Kasten's work. Klein will share her ongoing research through ICA's newly revamped website, which will launch in the fall of 2013.

Primary EventsEvents & Exhibitions

Barbara Kasten: Stages

Feb 4–Aug 16, 2015
Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 South 36th Street, Philadelphia

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Barbara Kasten, Transposition 7, 2014, Fujiflex digital print, 60 x 48 inches. Courtesy of the artist.

Kasten in Context: New Peers with Barbara Kasten and Special Guests

Apr 8, 2015
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 118 SOUTH 36TH STREET, PHILADELPHIA

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Additional exhibitions Barbara Kasten: Stages at the Graham Foundation

Oct 2, 2015–Jan 9, 2016
Madlener House, 4 West Burton Place, Chicago, IL

Supporting Events

Barbara Kasten: Stages Opening Celebration

Feb 4, 2015
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 118 SOUTH 36TH STREET, PHILADELPHIA

Kasten Considered: Materials and Margins with Sarah Crowner, Christine Poggi, and Jenni Sorkin

Feb 25, 2015
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 118 SOUTH 36TH STREET, PHILADELPHIA

Kasten Considered: Postmodernism in the Present with Peter Shire & Martino Gamper

Mar 25, 2015
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 118 SOUTH 36TH STREET, PHILADELPHIA

Kasten in Context: New Peers with Barbara Kasten and Special Guests

Apr 8, 2015
INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 118 SOUTH 36TH STREET, PHILADELPHIA

uestions of ractice

Interview

"Pictures and Props:" An Excerpt from Barbara Kasten: Stages

Brent Wahl, At Odds with a Reflection, 2013, 20 x 30

Interview

A Barbara Kasten-Inspired Disruption

Interview

Inside the Institute of Contemporary Art: Q&A with Amy Sadao

Recipient

Institute of Contemporary Art

Founded in 1963, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the University of Pennsylvania has developed an international reputation as a preeminent venue for contemporary art and culture. ICA is widely known for exhibiting artists at critical points in their careers. It organized the first museum shows on the work of Andy Warhol, Laurie Anderson, Robert Indiana, and Agnes Martin. A non-collecting museum, ICA is also one of the only kunsthalles in America.

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