CATHERINE OPIE.

Catherine Opie (b. 1961, Sandusky, Ohio) first came to prominence with her series Portraits (1993–97), which celebrated transgender people, drag queens, and performance artists involved with body modification. In the years since, portraiture has continued to play an important role in her work. Set against brilliantly colored backgrounds, the sitters in Opie’s studio portraits confront the viewer with direct and often intense gazes, asserting their individuality before the camera’s lens. Classic portraiture meets the liminal and the two marry to create a rare, confrontational beauty.
Her work was featured in a mid-career survey at the Guggenheim Museum in New York from September 26, 2008 till January 7, 2009 curated by Jennifer Blessing. It included an encyclopedic exhibition catalogue of all of Opie's almost 200 works since 1988, loosely divided into two sections: portraits and landscapes. Her works balance personal and political. Her assertive portraits bring queers to a forefront that is normally silenced by societal norms.
Awards: Catherine Opie has won numerous awards which include the 1997 Citibank Private Bank Emerging Artist Award, 1999 Washington University Freund Fellowship, 2003 CalArts Alpert Award in the Arts, 2004 Larry Aldrich Award, San Francisco Art Institute President's Award for Excellence, and 2006 United States Artist Fellowship.


From: AnnenbergSpace