Katrina Palmer

Katrina Palmer (born 1967)^[1] is a British artist and writer, living in London. She is "best known for her investigations of sculptural materiality, which often involve written compositions and site-specific recordings".^[2] Palmer has had solo exhibitions at the Henry Moore Institute, the National Gallery, and Warwick Arts Centre. In 2014, she was co-winner of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation's Award for Artists.

Katrina Palmer
Born	1967 (age 57–58) London
Alma mater	University of Sussex, Central Saint Martins, Royal College of Art
Awards	Award for Artists – Paul Hamlyn Foundation 2014
Website	katrinapalmerartist.com

Early life and education

Palmer was born in London.^[3] She studied philosophy and English literature at the University of Sussex (1986–89). She then worked in the publishing industry for a decade. She gained an undergraduate sculpture degree at Central Saint Martins (2001–04); and received an MA (2004–06) and a PhD (2012) from the Royal College of Art. In 2024 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Sussex.^[4]

Life and work

End Matter was a multi-platform project consisting of The Loss Adjusters, a site-specific installation and audio walk around some of the Isle of Portland (April–June 2015); "The Quarryman's Daughters", a broadcast on BBC Radio 4; and End Matter, a book. The project "attempted to account for the systematic removal of huge quantities of stone from Portland, an island off the Dorset coast".^[5][6][7] The book End Matter is "a non-book, consisting of appendices, acknowledgements, an epilogue, an index, a map, some postscripts… all the written notes and paraphernalia that surrounds a written work, but not the actual main body text".^[8]

Palmer was the National Gallery in London's 2024 Artist in Residence.^[2]

Personal life

As of 2015^[update], she lived in London, with her husband and son.^[8]

Solo exhibitions

• The Loss Adjusters, a site-specific installation and audio walk, Isle of Portland, April–June 2015^[9]
• The Necropolitan Line, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, December 2015 – February 2016.^[10][11]
• What's Already Going On, Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, January–March 2023^[12]
• The Touch Report, National Gallery, London, December 2024 – March 2025^[13]

Publications

• The Dark Object. Semina No. 5. London: Book Works, 2010. ISBN 978-1906012229. Second edition of 1000 copies. Third edition, 2023; edition of 1000 copies.
• The Fabricator's Tale. London: Book Works, 2014. ISBN 9781906012519. Edition of 1500 copies.
• End Matter. London: Book Works; Artangel, 2015. ISBN 9781906012731. Edition of 1500 copies.
• Black Slit. London: Book Works, 2023. ISBN 978-1-912570-29-4. Edition of 1000 copies.
• The Touch Report. London: Book Works, 2024. ISBN 9781912570355. Edition of 1000 copies.

Awards

• 2014: Co-winner, Award for Artists, Paul Hamlyn Foundation. A £50,000 award.^[14]