KAREN KNORR | TRANSMIGRATIONS

K A R E N K N O R R

K A R E N K N O R R TRANSMIGRATIONS MAY 5 – JUNE 4, 2022 SUNDARAM TAGORE CHELSEA

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TR ANSM I G R ATI O NS We are pleased to present a solo exhibition of photographs by Karen Knorr. The American/British artist is known for her sumptuous, conceptually driven images that employ the opulent palaces, museums and temples of Western Europe and Asia to frame issues of power rooted in cultural heritage.

The London-based artist, whose work is in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; and Tate, London, presents a curated selection of images from five of her most powerful series, including India Song, Fables, Monogatari, Metamorphoses and The Lanesborough. The exhibition includes brand-new photographs created in early 2022 as well as images never shown before in the United States.

Left: The Maharaja’s Apartment, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur (detail), 2010, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 58 x 72.5 inches/147.3 x 184.2 cm 5

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INDIA SONG Knorr’s most widely recognized series, India Song (2008–2022), began with a 2,000-mile trek across Rajasthan in 2008. The life-changing experience altered the focus of her practice, shifting her gaze to the upper-caste culture of the Rajput in India and its relationship to the “other” through the use of photography, video and performance.

In these skillfully crafted images, Knorr focuses on the interiors of sacred and secular spaces of Rajasthan. Photographed with a large-format Sinar P3 analogue camera and scanned to very high resolution, the images celebrate the rich visual culture of northern India and the layered, syncretic nature of the architecture, where motifs from Hindu and Islamic culture merge and migrate from room to room. Inspired by the Indian tradition of personifying animals in literature and art, Knorr digitally imposes images of tigers, elephants, peacocks and monkeys within these lavish spaces, which she photographs separately in reserves and zoos.

The settings are symbolic of wealth and social hierarchies and the animals who wander through them disrupt and disturb the power dynamics. The conflict between culture and nature, the fragility of the buildings damaged by earthquakes and mass tourism and the animals themselves, threatened by climate change and extinction, add a melancholic air. “I also see these photographs as documents of architectural heritage that may disappear,” says Knorr.

The series India Song is the subject of a large-format monograph with a preface

by British writer William Dalrymple, released by Italian fine-art publisher Skira Editore in 2014.

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The Queen’s Room, Zanana, Udaipur City Palace, 2010, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 58 x 72.5 inches/147.3 x 184.2 cm

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The Survivor, Deogarh Palace, Deogarh, 2012, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 58 x 72.5 inches/147.3 x 184.2 cm

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Ganesha’s Mount, Chavi Niwas, Jaipur, 2020, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 24 x 30 inches/60 x 76.2 cm

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Tiger Breath, Sheesh Mahal, Amer Fort, 2020, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 24 x 30 inches/60 x 76.2 cm

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The Lovesick Prince, Aam Khas, Junha Mahal, Dungarpur Palace, 2013, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 24 x 30 inches/60 x 76.2 cm

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A Moment of Solitude, Amer Fort, Amer, 2021, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 24 x 30 inches/60 x 76.2 cm

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A Steadfast Friend, Zanana, Samode Palace, 2022, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 60 x 48 inches/152.4 x 121.9 cm

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Mahadevi’s Divine Power, Bara Mahal, 2022, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/121.9 x 152.4 cm

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The Waiting Game, Poddar Haveli, Nawalgarh, 2021, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 24 x 30 inches/61 x 76.2 cm

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Interloper, Sheesh Mahal, Udaipur City Palace, 2019, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 24 x 30 inches/61 x 76.2 cm

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Procession, Aam Kaas, Juna Mahal, Dungarpur, 2021, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 24 x 30 inches/61 x 76.2 cm

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The Return of the Hunter, Chandra Mahal, Jaipur Palace, Jaipur, 2012, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 24 x 30 inches/61 x 76.2 cm

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The Maharaja’s Apartment, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur, 2010, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 58 x 72.5 inches/147.3 x 184.2 cm

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Finding Refuge, Junha Mahal Dungarpur, 2013, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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Master of Seduction, Amer Fort, Amer, 2017, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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The Holding of Vigilance, Samode Palace, 2010, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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Temple Servant, Amber Fort, Jaipur, 2014, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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The Sound of Rain, Junagarh Fort, Bikaner, 2011, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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Waiting for Atman, Junagarh Fort, Bikaner, 2011, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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Shakti, Junha Mahal, Dungarpur, 2013, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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The Search for Sattva, Ahhichatragarh Fort, Nagaur, 2014, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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The Winds of Change, Villa Farnese, Caprarola, 2015, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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The Witness, Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi, 2011, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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Amrita’s Message, Nagaur Fort, Nagaur, 2012, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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Mahasattva’s Sacrifice, Ajanta Caves, 2013, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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FABLES Unlike traditional parables, where anthropomorphized animals often embody or critique human folly, the animals that inhabit Knorr’s series Fables (2003–2020) are not dressed up to resemble humans nor do they illustrate any explicit moral.

Roaming freely in human territory, they draw attention to the unbridged gap between nature and culture, encroaching into the domain of the museum and other cultural sanctuaries that resolutely forbid their entry, except in the form of representation.

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The Battle Gallery 2 (Château de Chantilly), 2020, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 60 x 48 inches/152.4 x 121.9 cm

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The Grand Monkey Room 3 (Château de Chantilly), 2006, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 72.5 x 58 inches/184.2 x 147.3 cm

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Ledoux’s Reception (Musée Carnavalet), 2004, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 58 x 72.5 inches/147.3 x 184.2 cm

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MONOGATARI On view for the first time in the U.S. are images from the Monogatari series.

Photographed in temples, shrines, gardens and ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) in Kyoto, Nara, Ise and Tokyo, the Monogatari series (2012–2017) takes its name from the centuries-old Japanese literary genre. The series imagines animal life and Japanese cultural heritage, referencing Buddhist Jataka folklore and Japanese tales of the supernatural, such as Kaidan (ghost stories) and Shinto kami (ancient spirits). Knorr also found inspiration in Japanese art, particularly ukiyo-e, a style of painting popular in Japan from the 17th to 19th century.

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The Journey, Hie Torii, Tokyo, 2015, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 39.9 x 59.8 inches/101.4 x 151.9 cm

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Intoxicated by the Moonlight, Obai-in, Kyoto, 2017, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 39.9 x 59.8 inches/101.4 x 151.9 cm

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Every Encounter Treasured, Obai-in, Kyoto, 2017, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 28.9 x 43.3 inches/73.4 x 110 cm

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Path To Enlightenment, Meiji Jingu Shrine Tokyo, 2015, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 21.3 x 31.5 inches/54.1 x 80 cm

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Form No Other than Emptiness, Obai-in, Kyoto, 2017, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 21.3 x 31.5 inches/54.1 x 80 cm

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Once Only, Obai-in, Kyoto, 2017, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 21.3 x 31.5 inches/54.1 x 80 cm

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Emptiness No Other Than Form, Obai-in, Kyoto, 2017, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 21.3 x 31.5 inches/54.1 x 80 cm

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Only Once, Obai-in, Kyoto, 2017, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 21.3 x 31.5 inches/54.1 x 80 cm

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METAMORPHOSES In the series Metamorphoses (2014–2018), which is set among the breathtaking villas and palaces of Italy, Knorr draws from the epic poem Metamorphoses by Ovid to explore ideas of legacy and heritage in modern-day Europe. In these works, pagan and Christian allegories intersect, expressing the tension and uncertainty stemming from contemporary international migrations that may change the face of old Europe forever—which for some, presents a cultural precipice.

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Brief Encounter, Palazzina Cinese, 2018, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm

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Immaculate Conception, Villa d’Este, 2015, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 31.5 x 39.4 inches/80 x 100 cm

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Heaven’s Vault, Villa Farnese, Caprarola, 2014, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 31.5 x 39.4 inches/80 x 100 cm

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Love at First Sight, Palazinna Cinese, 2017, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 58 x 72.5 inches/147.3 x 184.2 cm

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THE LANESBOROUGH The Lanesborough (2015) is a series shot in what used to be a hospital but is now one of the most expensive hotels in the world. In these images, Knorr wryly parodies the notion of living well in the most exclusive and aspirational locale in London.

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The Peers of the Realm, Entrance Hall, 2015, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 58 x 72.5 inches/147.3 x 184.2 cm

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The Lady in Waiting, Royal Entrance, 2015, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 31.5 x 39.4 inches/80 x 100 cm

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ABO UT K AREN KN O RR Karen Knorr was born to American parents in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1954 and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She studied art in Paris and London, where she eventually settled in 1976 and still lives today. Knorr's multi-cultural upbringing was deeply influential, especially in the formative years of her career, when she used photography to make sense of her world as a young Puerto Rican American assimilating to life in London. Her experience as an outsider is part of what sparked her longtime interest in exploring issues of culture and society.

Knorr was also inspired by the artistic practices of friends and contemporaries, including photographers Bill Brandt, Bill Owens and Diane Arbus, as well as conceptual artists Michael Asher, Martha Rosler, Andrea Fraser and Hans Haacke, one of the leading proponents of institutional critique. In the 1970’s, she studied under noted photographer Eileen Cowin and artist Victor Burgin, who opened her eyes to new ways of critically engaging with photography and its relationship to institutions and heritage.

Over the course of her career, Knorr has used video and photography as a method of critical inquest. Her work has consistently examined the meaning of place, often drawing from folklore, myths and allegories to express contemporary ideas. More recently, her titles reference historic works of literature, such as Aesop's Fables, the poems of Ovid and ancient epics from India, including the Rāmāyana, the Mahābhārata and the Panchatantra.

Knorr uses this layered storytelling approach to distance herself from more literal documentary photography. Lush, playful and spectacularly colorful, her images of exotic animals digitally fused into grand architectural settings are as aesthetically thrilling as they are thought-provoking.

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C O L L E CTI O N S A N D A W A R D S Karen Knorr’s work has been exhibited widely, including at Tate Britain; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; San Diego Museum of Photography, California; Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow; Kyoto Modern Museum of Art, Japan; Seoul Museum of Art, Korea; and the Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Tate London, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the United Kingdom Government Art Collection, England; Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and Centre Georges Pompidou, France; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California; and the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, among others.

Knorr was awarded the Photography Pilar Citoler Prize in 2011 and she was nominated for the Deutsche Börse in both 2011 and 2012. She also received nominations for the Prix Pictet in 2012 and 2018. As an advocate for women in photography, she was made an Honorary Fellow at the Royal Photographic Society in 2018, as well as Honorary Chair of Women in Photography.

Knorr is an activist as well as an artist, advocating for transnationality, equality and diversity in the art world. She is a professor of photography at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey, United Kingdom.

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S U N DARAM TAG O R E GA LLE R I E S We have been representing established and emerging artists from around the world since 2000. We champion work that is aesthetically and intellectually rigorous, infused with humanism and art historically significant. We specialize in paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations with a strong emphasis on materiality. Our artists cross cultural and national boundaries, synthesizing Western visual language with forms, techniques and philosophies from Asia, the Subcontinent and the Middle East. We show this work alongside important work by overlooked women from the New York School. The gallery also has a robust photography program that includes some of the world’s most noted photographers.

N EW YOR K Chelsea: 542 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001 • tel 212 677 4520 gallery@sundaramtagore.com

SI NGAPOR E 5 Lock Road 01-05, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108933 • tel 65 6694 3378 singapore@sundaramtagore.com

LON DON 4 Cromwell Place, London, SW7 2JE President and curator: Sundaram Tagore Senior Director, New York: Susan McCaffrey Director, Singapore: Melanie Taylor Director, New York: Kathryn McSweeney Registrar: Julia Occhiogrosso Designer: Russell Whitehead Editorial support: Kieran Doherty

WWW.SU N DARAMTAGOR E.COM Text © 2022 Sundaram Tagore Gallery Photographs © 2022 Karen Knorr All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover: The Witness, Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi, 2011, colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 48 x 60 inches/122 x 152 cm