Photo of Brontë Grimm
|
Artist BioKathryne Brontë Grimm is an award-winning and internationally exhibited narrative photographer, multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and Jewish queer trans disability activist whose artwork focuses on initiating a dialogue about issues facing the disabled via a Jewish and queer lens.
They were the recent subject of the short documentary “Kathryne: Uncensored” where they discussed accessibility in the arts, and their artwork has been published in various literary journals and art magazines. Brontë’s activist work has led to numerous academic lectures and presentations on disability rights and issues facing the disability community, including ableism in media narratives and disability representation. They formerly sat on the board of the Kansas Disability Caucus and on the Expressions curatorial and organizing committee through The Whole Person as Curator, Event Organizer, and Disabled Artist Representative. Brontë’s current activism and art focus is breaking down the barriers of how disabled bodies are viewed in contemporary art and in society, bringing awareness to the lack of accessibility within the American arts scene, and discussing the intersection of Domestic Violence, Disability, and Queerness. They are currently a Fellow with Art/Lab in Portland, Oregon, and Disabled Artist mentor. Brontë resides in Portland, Oregon with an apocalypse-ready sized stash of green tea, and are constantly on the hunt for a good gluten-free challah recipe. |
Artist Statement
My multi-media photography is dramatic, sorrowful, and sometimes macabre, and I utilize their highly aesthetic nature to initiate a dialogue about the issues myself and others within the disability and trans community face. All of my works are linked together with a common narrative of pain and abandonment, represented through the solitary figure in each piece. Each element in my pieces is deliberate and highly conceptualized. Every aspect carries symbolism, from the color of the background, to the amount of skin exposed, to the way the fingers are posed, to the specific artistic mediums incorporated into the piece, whether it is a photograph or installation piece. My pieces are deeply inspired by my experiences as a Jewish non-binary trans disabled person, and function as both dialogue and activism. My pieces are a macabre yet aesthetically beautiful marriage; the beauty functioning as a form of ableism subversion, that disability is inherently beautiful and not grotesque, as is culturally and socially regarded among white american, northern and western european peoples. I incorporate aesthetics and symbolism from German Expressionism, Jewish Mysticism, and Mythology, so that my artworks echo of the past, while being timeless in nature, to mirror the existence of the disabled; we have always been present, but us and our stories have been ignored, pushed aside, abandoned, and forgotten.
My intention is to break down the barriers of how disabled bodies and disabled persons are viewed in contemporary art and in society, and subvert societal expectations of how disability is expected to visually present.
Solo Exhibitions
2022 - Asylum: Acceptable Losses - Solo Exhibition, Darkwood House Gallery, Independence, MO
2020 - Asylum: Acceptable Losses - Solo Exhibition, Thornhill Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2020 - Invisible Victims - Solo Exhibition, Kansas City Artists Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2019 - NURTURE | NATURE - Solo Exhibition, Collect Level, Kansas City, MO
2018 - Momento Morbus - Solo Exhibition, Red Light Gallery, Atchison, KS
2016 - Defacing the Gag - Solo Exhibition, Grimm and Barratt Art Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Selected Exhibitions
2023 - Opulent Mobility 2023 - Juried Group Exhibition, The Los Angeles Makery, Los Angeles, CA
2023 - Black + White - Juried Group Exhibition, Metamorphosis Gallery, Perth, Australia
2023 - Plaguewear Gala - Juried Exhibition, Opulent Mobility Gallery, Online
2022 - Opulent Mobility 2022 - Juried Group Exhibition, Antelope Valley Gallery, Lancaster, CA
2022 - Asylum: Acceptable Losses - Solo Exhibition, Darkwood House Gallery, Independence, MO
2022 - Seeing Red - Group Exhibition, Float Magazine, Online
2021 - Photo Shoot: 2021 - Group Exhibition, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
2021 - Opulent Mobility 2021 - Group Exhibition, Wingwalker, Monrovia, CA
2020 - Asylum: Acceptable Losses - Solo Exhibition, Thornhill Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2020 - Invisible Victims - Solo Exhibition, Kansas City Artists Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2020 - Group Salon, Unlucky Rabbit Art Studio, Kansas City, MO
2019 - Ghoul and Guile - Group Invitational Exhibition, The Smalter Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2019 - NURTURE | NATURE - Solo Exhibition, Collect Level, Kansas City, MO
2019 - Cardiology - Group Salon, Heidmann Art Salon, Kansas City, MO
2019 - Colla Voce - Group Exhibition, Carter Art Center Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2018 - Momento Morbus - Solo Exhibition, Red Light Gallery, Atchison, KS
2018 - Artists Undeterred - Group Exhibition, The Pride Center, Staten Island, NY
2018 - Exhibition: Illuminating the Queer Experience - Group Exhibition, InterUrban ArtHouse, Overland Park, KS
2018 - The Human Form - Group Exhibition, The Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2017 - Group Exhibition, Blue Box Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2017 - Group Exhibition, The Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, MO
2017 - Group Exhibition, The Thornhill Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2017 - Expressions - Group Exhibition, KCYA, Kansas City, MO
2016 - Expressions - Group Exhibition, The Arts Asylum, Kansas City, MO
2016 - Defacing the Gag - Solo Exhibition, Grimm and Barratt Art Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2016 - Group Exhibition, Serrated Edge Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2015 - Fringe Festival Featured Artist, Union Station, Kansas City, MO
2015 - FringePrize for Fringe Festival, Union Station, Kansas City, MO
2015 - Blue Art - Group Exhibition, Vulcan Forge, Kansas City, MO
2015 - The Mannequin Project, The Living Room Theater, Kansas City, MO
2014 - FringePrize for Fringe Festival, Union Station, Kansas City, MO
2006 - Group Exhibition, Borders Gallery, Selma, TX
2005 - Angels - Group Exhibition, Silver Center, Seguin, TX
2003 - Group Exhibition, Firehouse Gallery, Kamuela, HI
2002 - Group Exhibition, Firehouse Gallery, Kamuela, HII
Publications
2024 - Kansas City Voices, Whispering Prairie Press, Featured Artist, Volume 19
2022 - Float Magazine, Featured Artist, CHROMATOGRAPHY Issue, June
2021 - Literary Arts Notebook, Johnson County Library, Featured Artist, Volume 4
2020 - Kansas City Voices, Whispering Prairie Press, Featured Artist, Volume 15
2018 - East Eight Art Magazine, "Pomegranate", Featured Artist
2017 - Kansas City Voices, Whispering Prairie Press, Featured Artist, Volume 14
2017 - Desolate Country, 39 West Press, Featured Poet
2016 - Prompts! A Spontaneous Anthology, 39 West Press, Featured Artist and Poet
2015 - Blue Monday Review, Cover art and Featured Artist, Volume 2, Number 2
2012 - b'ak'tun magazine, Featured Artist and Poet, Volume 1, Issue 1
2012 - Bicycle Literary Magazine, Featured Poet, Volume 1, Issue 1
Awards | Grants
2020 - Charlotte Street Foundation Rocket Grant Recipient, Kansas City, MO
2015 - Second Place, Iron Artist Competition, KC Fringe Festival, Kansas City, MO
2014 - First Place, Iron Artist Competition, KC Fringe Festival, Kansas City, MO
2003 - First Place, Hawaii Juried Art Show, Kamuela, HI
2002 - First Place, Hawaii Juried Art Show, Kamuela, HI
2000 - First Place, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX
Residencies | Fellowships
March 2024 - Artist in Residence - Sou’Wester Arts, Seaview, WA
Oct 2023 - June 2024 - Art/Lab Artists Fellow - Art/Lab & Co/Lab, Portland, OR
Professional Experience | Curatorial Work
2019–2022 - Board Member, Kansas Disability Caucus, Topeka, KS
2017–2021 - Expressions, Curator, Event Organizing Committee Member, and Arts Educator, The Whole Person, Kansas City, MO
2004–Present - Freelance Illustration and Graphic Design, International
2011–2015 - Fine Art Instructor, Kansas City, MO and Surrounding Area
2003–2005 - Scenic Artist, Waimea Community Theatre, Kamuela, HI
2003–2005 - Actor, Waimea Community Theatre, Kamuela, HI
Visiting Artist Lectures | Presentations
2021 - Presentation, Pricing Your Artwork and Art Packaging Basics, The Whole Person, Kansas City, February
2020 - Lecture and Panel Discussion, The Intersection of Disability and Domestic Violence, Kansas City Artists Coalition, June
2020 - Lecture, Invisible Victims - Domestic Violence and the Disabled in the time of Covid, June
2020 - Lecture, Navigating exhibitions and gallery relations as a disabled artist, The Whole Person, Kansas City, June
2019 - Presentation, Ableism and Inspiration Exploitation, Carter Art Center - Metropolitan Community College, February
2019 - Lecture, Ableism in Media Narratives, University of Missouri - Kansas City, January
Performance
2016 - “Aktion T4”, Apocalypse Yesterday, Kansas City, MO
2006 - Touch a Cripple, Public Performance Art, Austin, TX
My multi-media photography is dramatic, sorrowful, and sometimes macabre, and I utilize their highly aesthetic nature to initiate a dialogue about the issues myself and others within the disability and trans community face. All of my works are linked together with a common narrative of pain and abandonment, represented through the solitary figure in each piece. Each element in my pieces is deliberate and highly conceptualized. Every aspect carries symbolism, from the color of the background, to the amount of skin exposed, to the way the fingers are posed, to the specific artistic mediums incorporated into the piece, whether it is a photograph or installation piece. My pieces are deeply inspired by my experiences as a Jewish non-binary trans disabled person, and function as both dialogue and activism. My pieces are a macabre yet aesthetically beautiful marriage; the beauty functioning as a form of ableism subversion, that disability is inherently beautiful and not grotesque, as is culturally and socially regarded among white american, northern and western european peoples. I incorporate aesthetics and symbolism from German Expressionism, Jewish Mysticism, and Mythology, so that my artworks echo of the past, while being timeless in nature, to mirror the existence of the disabled; we have always been present, but us and our stories have been ignored, pushed aside, abandoned, and forgotten.
My intention is to break down the barriers of how disabled bodies and disabled persons are viewed in contemporary art and in society, and subvert societal expectations of how disability is expected to visually present.
Solo Exhibitions
2022 - Asylum: Acceptable Losses - Solo Exhibition, Darkwood House Gallery, Independence, MO
2020 - Asylum: Acceptable Losses - Solo Exhibition, Thornhill Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2020 - Invisible Victims - Solo Exhibition, Kansas City Artists Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2019 - NURTURE | NATURE - Solo Exhibition, Collect Level, Kansas City, MO
2018 - Momento Morbus - Solo Exhibition, Red Light Gallery, Atchison, KS
2016 - Defacing the Gag - Solo Exhibition, Grimm and Barratt Art Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Selected Exhibitions
2023 - Opulent Mobility 2023 - Juried Group Exhibition, The Los Angeles Makery, Los Angeles, CA
2023 - Black + White - Juried Group Exhibition, Metamorphosis Gallery, Perth, Australia
2023 - Plaguewear Gala - Juried Exhibition, Opulent Mobility Gallery, Online
2022 - Opulent Mobility 2022 - Juried Group Exhibition, Antelope Valley Gallery, Lancaster, CA
2022 - Asylum: Acceptable Losses - Solo Exhibition, Darkwood House Gallery, Independence, MO
2022 - Seeing Red - Group Exhibition, Float Magazine, Online
2021 - Photo Shoot: 2021 - Group Exhibition, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
2021 - Opulent Mobility 2021 - Group Exhibition, Wingwalker, Monrovia, CA
2020 - Asylum: Acceptable Losses - Solo Exhibition, Thornhill Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2020 - Invisible Victims - Solo Exhibition, Kansas City Artists Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2020 - Group Salon, Unlucky Rabbit Art Studio, Kansas City, MO
2019 - Ghoul and Guile - Group Invitational Exhibition, The Smalter Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2019 - NURTURE | NATURE - Solo Exhibition, Collect Level, Kansas City, MO
2019 - Cardiology - Group Salon, Heidmann Art Salon, Kansas City, MO
2019 - Colla Voce - Group Exhibition, Carter Art Center Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2018 - Momento Morbus - Solo Exhibition, Red Light Gallery, Atchison, KS
2018 - Artists Undeterred - Group Exhibition, The Pride Center, Staten Island, NY
2018 - Exhibition: Illuminating the Queer Experience - Group Exhibition, InterUrban ArtHouse, Overland Park, KS
2018 - The Human Form - Group Exhibition, The Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2017 - Group Exhibition, Blue Box Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2017 - Group Exhibition, The Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, MO
2017 - Group Exhibition, The Thornhill Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2017 - Expressions - Group Exhibition, KCYA, Kansas City, MO
2016 - Expressions - Group Exhibition, The Arts Asylum, Kansas City, MO
2016 - Defacing the Gag - Solo Exhibition, Grimm and Barratt Art Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2016 - Group Exhibition, Serrated Edge Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2015 - Fringe Festival Featured Artist, Union Station, Kansas City, MO
2015 - FringePrize for Fringe Festival, Union Station, Kansas City, MO
2015 - Blue Art - Group Exhibition, Vulcan Forge, Kansas City, MO
2015 - The Mannequin Project, The Living Room Theater, Kansas City, MO
2014 - FringePrize for Fringe Festival, Union Station, Kansas City, MO
2006 - Group Exhibition, Borders Gallery, Selma, TX
2005 - Angels - Group Exhibition, Silver Center, Seguin, TX
2003 - Group Exhibition, Firehouse Gallery, Kamuela, HI
2002 - Group Exhibition, Firehouse Gallery, Kamuela, HII
Publications
2024 - Kansas City Voices, Whispering Prairie Press, Featured Artist, Volume 19
2022 - Float Magazine, Featured Artist, CHROMATOGRAPHY Issue, June
2021 - Literary Arts Notebook, Johnson County Library, Featured Artist, Volume 4
2020 - Kansas City Voices, Whispering Prairie Press, Featured Artist, Volume 15
2018 - East Eight Art Magazine, "Pomegranate", Featured Artist
2017 - Kansas City Voices, Whispering Prairie Press, Featured Artist, Volume 14
2017 - Desolate Country, 39 West Press, Featured Poet
2016 - Prompts! A Spontaneous Anthology, 39 West Press, Featured Artist and Poet
2015 - Blue Monday Review, Cover art and Featured Artist, Volume 2, Number 2
2012 - b'ak'tun magazine, Featured Artist and Poet, Volume 1, Issue 1
2012 - Bicycle Literary Magazine, Featured Poet, Volume 1, Issue 1
Awards | Grants
2020 - Charlotte Street Foundation Rocket Grant Recipient, Kansas City, MO
2015 - Second Place, Iron Artist Competition, KC Fringe Festival, Kansas City, MO
2014 - First Place, Iron Artist Competition, KC Fringe Festival, Kansas City, MO
2003 - First Place, Hawaii Juried Art Show, Kamuela, HI
2002 - First Place, Hawaii Juried Art Show, Kamuela, HI
2000 - First Place, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX
Residencies | Fellowships
March 2024 - Artist in Residence - Sou’Wester Arts, Seaview, WA
Oct 2023 - June 2024 - Art/Lab Artists Fellow - Art/Lab & Co/Lab, Portland, OR
Professional Experience | Curatorial Work
2019–2022 - Board Member, Kansas Disability Caucus, Topeka, KS
2017–2021 - Expressions, Curator, Event Organizing Committee Member, and Arts Educator, The Whole Person, Kansas City, MO
2004–Present - Freelance Illustration and Graphic Design, International
2011–2015 - Fine Art Instructor, Kansas City, MO and Surrounding Area
2003–2005 - Scenic Artist, Waimea Community Theatre, Kamuela, HI
2003–2005 - Actor, Waimea Community Theatre, Kamuela, HI
Visiting Artist Lectures | Presentations
2021 - Presentation, Pricing Your Artwork and Art Packaging Basics, The Whole Person, Kansas City, February
2020 - Lecture and Panel Discussion, The Intersection of Disability and Domestic Violence, Kansas City Artists Coalition, June
2020 - Lecture, Invisible Victims - Domestic Violence and the Disabled in the time of Covid, June
2020 - Lecture, Navigating exhibitions and gallery relations as a disabled artist, The Whole Person, Kansas City, June
2019 - Presentation, Ableism and Inspiration Exploitation, Carter Art Center - Metropolitan Community College, February
2019 - Lecture, Ableism in Media Narratives, University of Missouri - Kansas City, January
Performance
2016 - “Aktion T4”, Apocalypse Yesterday, Kansas City, MO
2006 - Touch a Cripple, Public Performance Art, Austin, TX
