Artist Biography
Sharon Kagan’s multimedia work focuses on listening, unraveling, and pulling apart the complexities of intergenerational trauma and forgiveness. She brings her experiences as the daughter of Holocaust survivors to her work. Kagan has developed a complex practice that is built upon the symbolic act of knitting. Layering intimate stories onto the act of knitting transforms this traditional woman’s craft into a distinct language; a metaphor. Her work speaks to the patterns that are created when a life is broken, a stitch is dropped. But breaking can also be an act of breaking free. Kagan sees resilience, beauty, and integrity amidst her parents’ broken lives.
Kagan’s practice comes from intersectional feminism and privileges the act of listening. By using stories that have been contributed anonymously and direct engagement with her audiences, she becomes “the listener.” At her Alfred University exhibit (2022) students sat beside her knitting, sharing stories, or in silence.
Kagan received the WORD Artist Grant (2021).
Upcoming solo exhibition at Patricia Sweetow Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2024).
Recent solo exhibitions include Compassion in Action, Alfred University, NY (2022); The Politics of Color, Show Gallery, Hollywood, CA (2020); and String Theory, College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, ID (2020-2021) and Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT (2019). Freedom from Entanglement has been awarded the Best US Experimental Short at the Austin International Art Festival and selected for inclusion in national and international film festivals (2024). The Undoing: Forgiveness has been selected for inclusion in national and international film festivals (2022).
Kagan earned her MFA from the Otis Art Institute and her BFA from UCLA.
Education
M.F.A. 1979 Sculpture/Performance Otis Art Institute
B.A. 1976 Fine Art (cum laude) UCLA
Grants/Fellowships/Awards
2021 WORD Artist Grant: The Bruce Geller Memorial Prize, AJU
2019 CCI Quick Grant Awardee
1989-1990 National State County Partnership II Matching Grant, we declined due to fiscal problems with our non-profit partner
1985-1986 Brody Arts Fund Fellowship Award, Individual fellowship in performance art
1985 California Arts Council, Artist in Residence sponsored by Artsreach
Selected Exhibitions
2022 Compassion in Action Solo Exhibition at Alfred University in Alfred, NY, October 10, 2022 - December 9, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Semi-Finalist for best experimental film at Sydney Indie Short Festival, May 3, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Semi-Finalist for best experimental film at Phoenix Shorts, April 26, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Semi-Finalist for best experimental film at Kansas Arthouse Festival, April 20, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Finalist for best experimental film at San Diego Shorts, April 15, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Semi-Finalist for best experimental film at Paris Women Festival, April 5, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Official Selection for best experimental film at LA Indies, April 2, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Official Selection for best experimental film at Toronto Film and Script Awards, April 1, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Official Selection for best experimental film at Berlin International Art Film Festival, April 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Official Selection for best experimental film at Toronto Indie Shorts, March 31, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Semi-Finalist for best experimental film at Roma Shorts, March 19, 2022
The Undoing: Forgiveness Semi-Finalist for best experimental film at Tokyo Shorts, February 28
The Undoing: Forgiveness selected for the New York Independent Cinema Awards, February 27
The Undoing: Forgiveness selected for the SoCal Film Awards, January 16
2020-2021 The Politics of Color (solo exhibition), Show Gallery, Hollywood, CA
String Theory (solo exhibition), Herrett Center for Arts and Science, Jean B. King Gallery, College of Southern, Idaho,
Twin Falls, ID
Artists with Beirut, benefit online art auction
Maiden LA, SOS.Siren, Los Angeles, CA
2019 String Theory, Hardin Center for Cultural Arts (solo exhibition) Gadsden, AL
String Theory (solo exhibition), Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT
2018 Ping Pong 2018 Miami, Miami, FL
Sharon Kagan, Charles MacNider Art Museum (solo exhibition), Mason City, IA
Ping Pong 2018 Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Sharon Kagan, Northern State University (solo exhibition), Aberdeen, SD
2017 Free Form Five, Elga Wimmer, NY, NY
2005-2015 Incognito, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA
2013 Summer Salon, Fresh Paint, Culver City, CA
2010 Avec Le Coeur D’Un Enfant, New Puppy Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Dancing Girls Don’t Need Safety Nets (solo exhibition), Gallery 825, Los Angeles CA
Plays Well with Others, PiNK (into Pins, Needles and Knives), Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery, Santa Monica College,
Santa Monica, CA
2006 Sweater, collaborative installation directed by Tim Hawkinson, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
Biannual, LAAA South/The Mike Napoliello Gallery, juried by Jeremy Strick, Hermosa Beach, CA
Entwined, Santa Monica College Gallery (two person show), Santa Monica, CA
2005 Fascia, private commission outdoor installation, Venice, CA
Newhall Art Walk, temporary public art project, Newhall, CA
OutAuction, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, Los Angeles, CA
2003 In Utero: what were the chances, Gallery 825 (solo exhibition), Los Angeles, CA
Selected Performances
2022 Release Me, a durational performance, Theatre Gallery at Alfred University, Alfred, NY
2000 An Intimate Conversation, a performance/installation, Upstairs at the Market Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1999 Bone Kaddish, Santa Monica Airport, Santa Monica, CA
A Husband/A Wife collaboration with Terry Holzgreen, Santa Monica Airport, Santa Monica, CA
1989 As I Recall, HIGHWAYS Opening Benefit, Santa Monica, CA
1988 The One Hundred Gates of Love, In Synergy Conference, Santa Monica, CA
That Longing for Love, Voiceover Performance, Wallenboyd Theater, Los Angeles, CA
1985 Autumnal Equinox, coordinated by Barbara T Smith and David Dunn, Angels Gate, San Pedro, CA
They Say the War Ended in 1945, but it Lives on in ME! University Synagogue, Los Angeles, CA
Testimony of the Human Spirit, Imagine There’s a Future, Los Angeles Arts Festival, Social and Public Art Resource
Center (SPARC), Venice, CA
1984 They Say the War Ended in 1945, but it Lives on in ME! 49 Palms Canyon/Joshua Tree National Monument, 29 Palms, CA
Selected Bibliography
“Meet an Artist Monday”; LAWeekly.com, Shana Nys Dambrot, November 16, 2020
“5 New Exhibitions to Check Out”, Angeleno Magazine, Claire Harper, October 2020
“Free, Form, Five”, CultureCatch.com, Mary Hrbacek, October 16, 2017
“FREEFORM 5”, ArtQuips, 5, David Gibson, October 17, 2017
“Free Form Five”, Huffington Post, D. Dominick Lombardi, September 29, 2017
“Sharon Kagan: Microcosmic”, Huffington Post, Shana Nys Dambrot, March 16, 2017
“More Than Just Dyed in the Wool”, Los Angeles Times, David Ng, February 4, 2007,
“Close-knit ‘Sweater’ Teamwork”, Los Angeles Times, Holly Myers, July 14, 2006
“A Place of Respite in the Heart of the City”, Los Angeles Times, Beverly Beyette, August 25, 1995
“Right Out of History: The Making of Judy Chicago's Dinner Party”, 1980
Professional and Volunteer Affiliations
2020-2019 Kipaipai Fellow, artist professional development program
2017 Pico Union Project, Artist in Residence
2005-2007 PiNK (into Pins, Needles & Knives) Collaborative Artist Group
1999 Barbara T. Smith archive, registrar
1986 Performance Director, Suzanne Lacy’s The Dark Madonna, UCLA Sculpture Garden
1977-1979 Judy Chicago The Dinner Party, apprentice
Speaking engagements
“My Holy Land, My Heart,” Love Forward Talks, Superhero of Love, November 11, 2023
“The Healing Power of Forgiveness: Forgiving the Unforgivable with Sharon Kagan,” Whole Healed Holy, Patricia Russo, August 7, 2023
“The Scope of My Body of Work,” Weekly Wednesday Artist Speaker Series, Alfred University, New York, October 12, 2022
“The Art of Forgiveness,” Live Boldly, Sara Schulting Kranz, March 2, 2022