Kara Hamilton

Kara Hamilton (b. 1967, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) explores the agency of material using mostly found or discarded matter. She works in a variety of mediums: sculpture, drawing in two and three dimensions, and jewelry. With a background in visual art, design, and architecture, Hamilton’s works live at the intersection of these disciplines, decontextualizing materials and forms in order to create new spatial narratives. She often begins her making process by thinking about design parameters, such as space and utility, and applies these concepts to unexpected materials. As a result, what Hamilton calls “critical decoration” questions what we consider to be intrinsic material value.

Hamilton received her BFA from Concordia University in 1989, her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of British Columbia in 1993, and her MFA from Yale University in 1999. She has exhibited nationally and internationally at spaces such as MKG127, Toronto (2019); Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg (2017); EFA Project Space, New York (2016); Tate Liverpool, Liverpool (2015); Kunstverein Amsterdam, Amsterdam (2014); Front Gallery, Houston (2013); Taut and Tame, Berlin (2013); Salon 94, New York (2012); and the Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga (2012). In 2018, she had a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario entitled Water in Two Colours. Hamilton is also the co-director of Kunstverein Toronto. She lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.