Unexpected views

Katrina Palmer offers a different perspective on Room 18 and its paintings. Struck by an empty wall, the result of paintings being moved away from the vibrations caused by building work, Palmer's view, spoken by artist Ricardo Guimaraes, explores the impact of this displacement for Room 18 and beyond. Through paintings in the room, including Rubens's 'Samson and Delilah', his 'Peace and War' and others, her view addresses themes of change and movement, of gaps and displacement, and their repercussion.

About the artist

Born 1967 in London where she also now lives and works, Katrina Palmer’s practice encompasses sculpture, writing, drawing, audio environments, performance, and video. She is also our National Gallery Artist in Residence 2024.

Palmer is best known for her investigations of sculptural materiality, which often involve written compositions and site-specific recordings to explore histories of absence within landscapes or institutional spaces. Her commission 'End Matter' for Artangel in 2015 saw her situated on the Isle of Portland where Portland stone is quarried. She produced an audio tour based on her writing during her residency on the isle which was turned into a play for Radio 4 and a publication.

Palmer has exhibited widely, including at Tate Britain, the Hayward Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and the Henry Moore Institute. In 2014, she was awarded the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists, and was shortlisted for the Contemporary Art Society Annual Award in 2015. She completed her PhD at the Royal College of Art in 2012 and this year received an honorary doctorate from the University of Sussex. A third edition of her book 'The Dark Object' (Book Works, London, 2010) was published this year. Palmer is an Associate Professor of Sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art.

The National Gallery Artist in Residence is a collaboration with the Contemporary Art Society.

About the paintings

Find out more about the paintings on display in Room 18.

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