Katharina Grosse
Katharina Grosse (born 2 October 1961) is a German visual artist. She is known for her large-scale, site-related installations to create immersive visual experiences. Grosse's work employs a use of architecture, sculpture, and painting.
Katharina Grosse
Bengt Oberger · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Katharina Grosse
- Born
- 2 October 1961
- Birthplace
- Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
- Education
- Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
- Known for
- Painting
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- painter · university teacher · artist
- Fields
- art · painting
- Honours
- Villa Romana Prize
- Languages
- German
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Documentary summary
Katharina Grosse (born 2 October 1961) is a German visual artist. She is known for her large-scale, site-related installations to create immersive visual experiences. Grosse's work employs a use of architecture, sculpture, and painting.
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gnd · 1249106478 · wikidata · Q1735903 · wikipedia · Katharina Grosse
In this article
Biography
Biography
She has been using an industrial paint-sprayer to apply prismatic swaths of color to a variety of surfaces since the late 1990s, and often uses bright, unmixed sprayed-on acrylic paints to create both large-scale sculptural elements and smaller wall works.
The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is art and painting. Places of work recorded in the authority are Berlin. Employment is recorded with Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin. Work by Katharina Grosse is recorded in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, De Pont, Bavarian State Painting Collections, Lenbachhaus and Museum of Contemporary Art Helga de Alvear. Distinctions recorded are Villa Romana Prize.
Oliver Mark - Katharina Grosse, Berlin, 2011
© Oliver Mark · Oliver Mark
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Katharina Grosse • Born — 2 October 1961 • Birthplace — Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany • Education — Kunstakademie Düsseldorf • Website — www.katharinagrosse.com • Known for — Painting
Early life and education
Early life and education
Grosse was born in 1961 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, but grew up in the Ruhr region, where her artist mother and linguist father exposed her to theater and dance from a young age. Grosse studied at the from 1982 to 1986, and Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1986 to 1990. In subsequent years, she completed artist-in-residence programs at the Villa Romana in Florence, Italy (1992); Chinati Foundation in Marfa, USA (1999); Elam School of Fine Art in Auckland, New Zealand (2001); and Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco, USA (2002).
Work
Work
Grosse maintains studios in Berlin's Moabit district (since 2008), Auckland and Groß Kreutz (since 2020). In 2004, Grosse sprayed the bedroom of her Düsseldorf flat — including the bed, floor and the clothes, books and shoes strewn across it — in rainbow-hued acrylics. More monumental interventions followed, including in 2015, when she installed three massive trees in the Museum Wiesbaden’s neoclassical hall, their paint-drenched roots dazzlingly exposed. Rockaway (2016), a project with MoMA PS1, saw Grosse thickly spray painting an abandoned US Army bathhouse and part of the surrounding beach on New York’s Rockaway peninsula.
Commissions
Commissions
Grosse has been commissioned with various site-specific installations, including for the Federal Labour Court in Erfurt (1999) Gate 122 of Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto (2003), the German Parliament in Berlin (2015) and the Messeplatz at Art Basel (2025). • Illustration — Messeplatz with CHOIR installation by Katharina Grosse at Art Basel 2025
Art market
Art market
Grosse is represented by Galerie Max Hetzler (since 2022) and Gagosian Gallery (since 2017). She previously worked with Johann König until 2022.
Personal life
Personal life
Grosse is in a relationship with artist Judy Millar. She has been living and working in Berlin since 2000. In 2005, she purchased a former supermarket in Berlin's Friedrichshain district and turned it into her primary residence.
Public commissions (selected)
Public commissions (selected)
• Illustration — Katharina Grosse speaking at Art Basel 2025, where she was commissioned to create CHOIR • Untitled, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (2003) • Seven Days Time, Kunstmuseum Bonn (2011) • Blue Orange, Vara Bahnhof, Sweden (2012 design) • Just Two Of Us, MetroTech Commons, Public Art Fund, New York (2013) • Untitled, Ehrenhof Düsseldorf (2014) • Untitled, The Cologne Public Transport Company - KVB, stop Chlodwigplatz, Cologne (2015) • Untitled, Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus, Berlin (commissioned by Federal Republic of Germany for House of Representatives) (2015) • Untitled, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA (commissioned by the Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center) (2016) • Rockaway!, for MoMA PS1, Fort Tilden, NY (2016) • Mural, for Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (2019)
Identity
Identity
Katharina Grosse is recorded as painter, university teacher and artist.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1961
Katharina Grosse was born in 1961 at Freiburg im Breisgau.
Publications (catalogues)
• Location, Location, Location. Contributions by Steffen Bodekker, Roman Kurzmeyer, Judy Millar, Retrograde Strategies Cooperative, Angela Schneider, Beat Wismer, Düsseldorf 2002. • Katharina Grosse. Kunstverein Ruhr. Contribution by Peter Friese, Essen 2002. • Cool Puppen / Der weisse Saal trifft sich im Wald / Ich wüsste jetzt nichts. Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, München; Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen; Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel. Contributions by Marion Ackermann, Beate Ermacora, Jonathan Watkins, Roland Wäspe, Wolfratshausen 2002. • Katharina Grosse. Fred Thieler Preis für Malerei 2003. Berlinische Galerie, Berlin. Contribution by Armin Zweite, Berlin 2003. • Infinite Logic Conference. Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Sweden. Contributions by Richard Julin, Lars Mikael Raattamaa, Stockholm 2004. • Double Floor Painting. Kunsthallen Brandts Klaedefabrik, Denmark. Contributions by Lene Burkard, Tor Nørretranders, Cecilie Bepler, Odense 2004. • Holey Residue. de Appel, Amsterdam. Contribution by Janneke Wesseling, Amsterdam 2006. • Picture Park. Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art. Contributions by Nicholas Chambers, Robert Leonard, Brisbane 2007. • The Poise of the Head und die anderen folgen. Kunstmuseum Bochum. Contributions by Hans Gunther Golinski and Katharina Grosse, Nuremberg 2007. • Atoms Outside Eggs. Museu de Arte Contemporânea (Fundação de Serralves), Porto. Contributions by Leonhard Emmerling, Ulrich Loock, Porto 2007. • Another Man Who Has Dropped His Paintbrush. Galleria Civica di Modena. Contributions by Arno Brandlhuber & Katharina Grosse, Milovan Farronato, Angela Vettese, Cologne 2008. • The Flowershow / SKROW NO REPAP. FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand. Contribution by Jean-Charles Vergne, Cologne 2008. • Ich wünsche mir ein grosses Atelier im Zentrum der Stadt. Contributions by Georg Augustin, Laura Bieger, Andreas Denk, Ulrich Loock, Philip Ursprung, Baden, Switzerland 2009. • Shadowbox. Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin. Contributions by Laura Bieger, Katja Blomberg, Uta Degner, Antje Dietze, Alexander Koch, Gerd G. Kopper, Cologne 2009. • Atoms Inside Balloons. The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Contributions by David Hilbert, Nana Last, and Hamza Walker, Chicago 2009. • Barbara und Katharina Grosse. Museum für Neue Kunst Freiburg. Contributions by Walter von Lucadou, Isabel Herda, Nuremberg 2010. • Transparent Eyeballs. Quadriennale 2010, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. Contributions by Gregor Jansem, Annika Reich, Uwe Vetter, Düsseldorf 2011. • Eat child eat. Contribution by Ulrich Wilmes, Berlin 2011. • One floor up more highly. MASS MoCA, MA, North Adams, USA. Contribution by Susan Cross, Massachusetts, 2012. • Wunderblock, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX, USA. Contributions by Jeremy Strick, Catherine Craft, Dallas 2013. • Katharina Grosse. Monograph. Contributions and published by Ulrich Loock, Annika Reich, Katharina Grosse, Cologne 2013. • Wer, ich? Wen, Du?. Kunsthaus Graz, Austria. Contributions by Peter Pakesch, Katrin Bucher Trantow, Adam Budak, Graz 2014. • Inside the Speaker. Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf. Contributions by Dustin Breitenwischer, Philipp Kaiser, Ulrich Loock, Beat Wismer, Cologne 2014. • psychylustro. City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Contributions by Douglas Ashford, Anthony Elms, Jane Golden, Daniel Marcus, Elizabeth Thomas, Cologne 2015. • Katharina Grosse: Seven Hours, Eight Voices, Three Trees. Museum Wiesbaden. Contributions by Ann Cotten, Dustin Breitenwischer, Jörg Daur, Alexander Klar, Sally McGrane, Teresa Präauer, Annika Reich, Monika Rinck, Cologne 2015. • Katharina Grosse. Museum Frieder Burda. Contributions by Helmut Friedel and Katrin Dillkofer (both in German), Cologne 2016. • Katharina Grosse: Wunderbild. Editors/Contributors: Katharina Grosse (Artist), Adam Budak (Editor), Elisabeth Lebovici, Ulrich Loock, Chantal Mouffe, Michal Nanoru. Walther König, 2018.
Other activities
Grosse taught at the Weißensee Academy of Art from 2000 to 2010. She was a professor of painting at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 2010 to 2018. She was a member of the juries that selected Hito Steyerl as recipient of the Käthe Kollwitz Prize (2019) and Sheela Gowda of the Maria Lassnig Prize (2019). Since 2021, Grosse has been chairing the board of KW Institute for Contemporary Art. In this capacity, she was part of the search committee that chose Emma Enderby as the KW's new director in 2023.
Collections
Collections
Grosse's work is held in several permanent collections, including the following: • Museum of Modern Art, New York • QAGOMA, Brisbane, Australia • Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris • Pomeranz Collection • Collection Société Générale
Recognition and collections
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Katharina Grosse received Villa Romana Prize.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Grosse, Katharina, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2011
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1735903: Katharina Grosse
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1249106478, Tiergarten (Zusammenstellung, Katharina Grosse).
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Awards
• Villa Romana Prize, Florence, Italy (1992) • Schmidt-Rottluff Stipend, Germany (1993) • Stiftung Kunstfonds Bonn, Germany (1995) • Chinati Foundation's artist-in-residence program, Marfa, Texas, USA (1999) • Artist-in-residence at Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland, New Zealand (2001) • Artist-in-residency award, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California, USA (2002) • Fred Thieler Award, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany (2003) • Oskar-Schlemmer-Award, Great State Prize for Visual Arts of Baden-Wuerttemberg (2014) • Otto-Ritschl-Kunstpreis (2015)
Literature
Literature
Grosse, Katharina, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Westall, Mark. Katharina Grosse, Spectrum without Traces, new solo exhibition. FAD Magazine. 2023-03-16.
- 2.Kristina Foster (13 June 2025), Katharina Grosse’s stroke of genius? Swapping a paint brush for an industrial spray gun Financial Times.
- 3.Chill Seeping. SCAD Museum of Art.
- 4.Staatsministerin für Kultur und Medien. Grosse. Akademie der Künste (ADK).
- 5.Kristina Foster (13 June 2025), Katharina Grosse’s stroke of genius? Swapping a paint brush for an industrial spray gun Financial Times.
- 6.Hammer Projects: Katharina Grosse, 17 October 2001 – 27 January 2002 Hammer Museum.
- 7.Boris Pofalla (4 May 2023), Katharina Grosse: „Ich möchte malen, als ob ich allein wäre" Die Welt.
- 8.Kristina Foster (13 June 2025), Katharina Grosse’s stroke of genius? Swapping a paint brush for an industrial spray gun Financial Times.
- 9.Ulrike Knöfel (14 April 2020), Künstlerin Katharina Grosse über die Corona-Folgen: "Die Krise ist nun Teil meiner Arbeit" Der Spiegel.
- 10.Boris Pofalla (4 May 2023), Katharina Grosse: „Ich möchte malen, als ob ich allein wäre" Die Welt.
- 11.Kristina Foster (13 June 2025), Katharina Grosse’s stroke of genius? Swapping a paint brush for an industrial spray gun Financial Times.
- 12.Falk Jaeger (18 November 1999), Örtlicher Widerstand - Das Bundesarbeitsgericht in Erfurt, ein Entwurf der Berliner Architektin Gesine Weinmiller Der Tagesspiegel.
- 13.Andrew Blum (28 March 2004), The White Zone is for Loading and Unloading Art New York Times.
- 14.Isabell Jürgens (9 January 2021), Im Auftrag des Staates – Kunst am Bau Berliner Morgenpost.
- 15.Alex Greenberger (25 October 2018), Hito Steyerl Wins 2019 Käthe Kollwitz Prize ARTnews.
- 16.Annie Armstrong (12 March 2019), Sheela Gowda Wins 2019 Maria Lassnig Prize ARTnews.
- 17.Katharina Grosse zur neuen Vorstandsvorsitzenden des KUNST KW Institute for Contemporary Art, press release of 30 September 2021.
- 18.Emma Enderby to become director of KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin KW Institute for Contemporary Art, press release of 10 October 2023.
- 19.Ingeborg Ruthe (21 March 2023), Katharina Grosse macht aus sechs Farben Energiebündel Berliner Zeitung.
- 20.Randy Kennedy (11 January 2017), The Woman With the Power Sprayer? She's a German Artist New York Times.
- 21.Alex Greenberger (28 November 2022), Artists and König Galerie Cut Ties Amid Allegations Against Founder Johann König ARTnews.
- 22.Boris Pofalla (4 May 2023), Katharina Grosse: „Ich möchte malen, als ob ich allein wäre" Die Welt.
- 23.Gabriela Walde (24 January 2014), Katharina Grosse ist die Meisterin der Spritzpistole Berliner Morgenpost.
- 24.Boris Pofalla (4 May 2023), Katharina Grosse: „Ich möchte malen, als ob ich allein wäre" Die Welt.
- 25.Toronto Airports Authority commissions art for new terminal building at Pearson Airport. California Aviation Alliance.
- 26.KATHARINA GROSSE: IN SEVEN DAYS TIME. Kunstmuseum Bonn. April 2025.
- 27.Julin, Richard. Blue Orange - Katharina Grosse. Public Art Agency Sweden. April 2025.
- 28.Katharina Grosse: Just Two of Us. Public Art Fun.
- 29.Installation by Katharina Grosse. Sam Fox School, Washington University in St. Louis. April 2025.
- 30.Rockaway! at Fort Tilden. MoMA PS1.
- 31.Mural at MFA. MFA.
- 32.Katharina Grosse | MoMA.
- 33.Katharina Grosse.
- 34.Katharina Grosse.
- 35.Katharina Grosse | Pomeranz Collection.
- 36.Katharina Grosse | Accueil | Collection Société Générale.
- 37.Villa Romana Prize.
- 38.Schmidt-Rottluff Stipend, Buchfreund.de.
- 39.Katharina Grosse – the Chinati Foundation.
- 40.The Elam International Artist in Residence Programme - the University of Auckland.
- 41.Katharina Grosse. Headlands Center for the Arts.
- 42.Katharina Grosse Wins First Oskar Schlemmer Prize. Artforum.com. May 22, 2014.
- 43.Otto-Ritschl-Preis | Otto Ritschl.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Grosse, Katharina, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011Crossref registry
Institutional witnessInstitutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1735903: Katharina GrosseWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1249106478, Tiergarten (Zusammenstellung, Katharina Grosse).Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Born at
1- Freiburg im BreisgauPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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