Miriam Cahn

Biography

Cahn studied at Gewerbeschule in Basle from 1968 to 1975.

Cahn's work

Cahn's paintings and drawings incorporate feminism themes and female rituals; featuring "violent and shocking representations of sexual organs". They are often created using unorthodox methods. Cahn's first exhibition was Being a Women in My Public Role in 1979. Cahn's first exhibition in the United States was at the Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York City, in 2011. Cahn's work has been said to show influence by the Neo-Expressionism movement.

Collections

Being a Woman is My Public Role. 1979.

Classical Love. 1983.

Wild Love. 1984.

Relations. 1989/90.

Schlafen. 1997.

Räumlichich. 2010-11.

Individual Exhibitions

Stampa, Basel, 1977, 1979, 1981

Wach Raum 1, Konrad Fischer, Zurich, 1982

Das Klassische Lieben, Kunsthalle Basel, 1983

Das Klassische Lieben, Musée la Chaux-de-Fonds, 1984

Das Klassische Lieben, Galerie Grita Insam, Vienna, 1984

Das Klassische Lieben, Stampa, Basel, 1984

Strategische Orte, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, and Kunstmuseum, Bonn, 1985

Strategische Orte, Elisabeth Kaufmann, Zurich, 1985

Strategische Orte, DAAD, Berlin, 1986

Strategische Orte, Stampa, Basel, 1986

Lesen in Staub/Strategische Orte, Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf, 1987

Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, 1987

Galerie Vorsetzen, Hamberg, 1987

Stampa, Basel, 1987

Elisabeth Kaufmann, Zurich, 1988

Van de Loo, Munich, 1988

Lesen in Staub, Gemeentemuseum, Arnhem, 1988

Lesen in Staub, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, 1988

Lesen in Staub/Weibliche Monate, Kunstverein Hannover, 1988

Musée Rath, Geneva, 1988

Verwandschaften, Stampa, Basel, 1990

Verwandschaften, Art Frankfurt, 1990

Verwandschaften, Cornerhouse, Manchester, 1990

Verwandschaften, Galerie Espace, Amsterdam, 1991

Nachkrieg-Vorkrieg (Was Fehlt), Stampe, Basel, 1992

Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, 1992, 1995

Sarajevo, Stampa, Basel, 1993

Stampa, Basel, 1994

Selected Group Exhibitions

Feministische Kunst International, Frauenzimmer, Basel, 1979

Documenta, Kassel, Germany, 1982

Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1984

Crosscurrents in Swiss Art, Serpentine Gallery, London, 1984

Biennial, Sydney, 1986

Triennal de Dibuix, Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, 1989

Zur Sache Selbst, Künstlerinnen des 20. Jahrhunderts Museum, Wiesbaden, 1990

Centre d'Art Contemporian, Geneva, 1994

From Beyond the Pale, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, 1994

Where Is Abel, Thy Brother? National Gallery of Contemporary Art Zacheta, Warsaw, 1995

Reception

Jörg Scheller describes Cahn as a "feminist who likes to fight." Schorgg comments that Cahn's pieces have a tone he describes as a "deceptive calm", though Export et al. note the "wild sketching" as a key element to the tension between cultural influences in her work.

In 1998 Cahn won the Käthe Kollwitz Prize awarded by the Academy of Arts, Berlin.