Permindar Kaur Explained

Permindar Kaur
Birth Date:	1965
Birth Place:	Nottingham
Education:	Sheffield City Polytechnic, Glasgow School of Art
Website:	https://www.permindarkaur.com/

Permindar Kaur (born 1965, in Nottingham) is a visual artist.^[1] She was included in the British Art Show in 1996.^[2] She is shortlisted for the Freelands Award 2022 for her upcoming exhibition at John Hansard Gallery.^[3]

Life and education

Kaur was born in Nottingham to Punjabi parents. She gained a BA from Sheffield City Polytechnic in 1989, an MA from Glasgow School of Art in 1992 and spent several years in Barcelona in the early 1990s.^[4]

Career and work

Kaur emerged to prominence during the 1990s. Her work is often concerned with themes surrounding the home, domestic life and childhood. The structure of the house itself frequently appears in her sculpture in works such as Overgrown House (2020).^[5] Items of domestic furniture such as beds and chairs also appear, often in outsized or distorted forms, resulting in an effect that is slightly ‘disconcerting’ or ‘unnerving’ as art historian Eddie Chambers has noted.^[6]

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• Permindar Kaur: Outgrown, The Art House, Wakefield (3 September – 13 November 2022)
• Independent Thoughts: New work by Permindar Kaur, Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery (27 March - 24 May 1998)^[7]
• Cold Comfort, shown in two parts at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham and Mead Gallery, Coventry (18 May 1996 – 22 June 1996). Toured to Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool (27 July – 31 August 1996)^[8]

Group exhibitions

• Permindar Kaur, Ranya Abdulateef and Ifa Mesfin Abebe: Dream Runner, Wakefield Cathedral (28 September – 13 November 2022)
• What Lies Beneath: Women, Politics, Textiles, New Hall Art Collection, Cambridge (17 February – 28 August 2022)^[9]
• Animals & Us, Turner Contemporary, Margate (25 May – 30 September 2018)^{[10] [11]}
• Tread Softly, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield (27 May – 15 October 2017)^[12]
• Invisible Cities, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (8 – 22 February 1992)^[13]
• Four X 4, Arnolfini, Bristol (12 October – 24 November 1991)^[14]
• Let the Canvas Come to Life With Dark Faces, Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry (14 April – 29 May 1990) and touring.^[15]

Collections

Permindar Kaur's work is part of the following collections:

• Arts Council, England^[16]
• British Council, UK^[17]
• New Art Hall Collection, Cambridge
• Cartwright Hall, Bradford^[18]
• Nottingham Castle Museum, Nottingham^[19]

Further reading

• Alice Correia, 'Permindar Kaur: Locating a "Black" Artist in Narratives of British Art in the 1990s', Art History, June 2021 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352788474_Permindar_Kaur_Locating_a_'Black'_Artist_in_Narratives_of_British_Art_in_the_1990s

Notes and References

1. Book: Chambers, Eddie . Black artists in British art : a history since the 1950s . I.B. Tauris . 2014 . 978-0-85773-608-6 . London . 162 . 894299609.
2. Web site: Permindar Kaur : Cold Comfort - Exhibition . 2022-10-12 . Ikon . en.
3. Web site: Shortlist for Freelands Award 2022 announced with five organisations and artists shortlisted for £110,000 prize . 2022-10-12 . artdaily.com.
4. Book: Chambers, Eddie . Black artists in British art : a history from 1950 to the present . 2014 . 978-0-85773-608-6 . London . 163–4 . 889882882.
5. Web site: Judah . Hettie . Permindar Kaur – interview: 'It's hard to get a balance in the work: an equal amount of threat and an equal amount of softness' . 2022-10-12 . www.studiointernational.com . en.
6. Book: Chambers, Eddie . Black artists in British art : a history from 1950 to the present . 2014 . 978-0-85773-608-6 . London . 163 . 889882882.
7. Web site: Diaspora-artists: View details . 2022-10-12 . new.diaspora-artists.net.
8. Book: Chambers, Eddie . Black artists in British art : a history from 1950 to the present . 2014 . 978-0-85773-608-6 . London . 232 . 889882882.
9. Web site: What Lies Beneath: Women, Politics, TextilesNew Hall Art Collection, Cambridge, GB17.02. – 28.08.2022 - etn-net.org . 2022-10-12 . etn-net.org . en.
10. Web site: Animals & Us . 2022-10-12 . Turner Contemporary . en-GB.
11. Web site: 2018-05-24 . Animals and Us review – four-legged insights give artists paws . 2022-10-12 . The Guardian . en.
12. Web site: Tread Softly: An Arts Council Collection National Partner exhibition . 2022-10-12 . Yorkshire Sculpture Park . 27 May 2017 . en.
13. Web site: Invisible Cities . 2022-10-12 . Fruitmarket.
14. Web site: Four x 4 . 2022-10-12 . Arnolfini . en-GB.
15. Web site: Eddie Chambers 'Let The Canvas Come Alive With Dark Faces' 1990 . 2022-10-12 . Room & Book . en-US.
16. Web site: Kaur, Permindar Arts Council Collection . 2022-10-12 . artscouncilcollection.org.uk.
17. Web site: Permindar Kaur Artists Collection British Council − Visual Arts . 2022-10-12 . visualarts.britishcouncil.org.
18. Web site: Permindar Kaur CV Permindar Kaur . 2022-10-12 . en-GB.
19. Web site: Independence Art UK . 2022-10-12 . artuk.org . en.