Katharina Grosse, one of the most distinguished artists of international contemporary painting, was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1961. She completed her studies at the Münster Art Academy as student of Norbert Tadeusz and Johannes Brus between 1982 and 1986. In 1986 Katharina Grosse changed to the Academy in Düsseldorf, joining the class of Gotthard Graubner, who accepted her as master student. In 1990 she eventually graduated from the academy.
The artistic beginnings of Katharina Grosse were in Neo-expressionism, the "Junge Wilde" (Young Wild Artists) were a source of inspiration. However, as early as in the mid 1980s Katharina Grosse gradually abandoned figuration.
After her powerful pigment mole pictures, she began to apply glazing color compositions with a broad stroke of the brush along the image axis. In 1998 Katharina Grosse discovered the spray gun, which she also used for architectural works.
As of the turn of the millennium Katharina Grosse began working with paralleling lines with which she covered her objects, additionally, she used different kinds of color stains and traces for this method. The detachment of painting from classic image carriers and the conquest of space are characteristic of Katharina Grosse's works.
But traditional image carriers remain part of her work: Since 2007 she has been making canvas pictures with soil scabs, additionally, her dynamic-abstract works on paper are also worthwhile mentioning.
Katharina Grosse has been internationally acknowledged and celebrated since the 1990s. In 1999 she was awarded the first prize from the 'Deutschen Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken', in 2003 the Fred-Thieler-Prize from the Berlinische Galerie followed. Renowned international museums show her works, among them the Lenbachhaus in Munich, the Museum of Modern Art in New York or the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris.
Katharina Grosse, who has been teaching at the Art School Berlin-Weißensee since 2000, lives and works in Berlin.