Kate Breakey (born August 14, 1957) is a visual artist known for her large-scale, hand-colored photographs. Since 1981 her work has appeared in more than 75 solo exhibitions and more than 50 group exhibitions in the United States, France, Japan, Australia, China, and New Zealand. Her work is in the permanent collection of many public institutions including the
Center for Creative Photography
The Center for Creative Photography (CCP), established in 1975 and located on the University of Arizona's Tucson campus, is a research facility and archival repository containing the full archives of over sixty of the most famous American ph ...
in Tucson, the
Museum of Photographic Arts
The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, ...
in San Diego, the
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...
Texas State University
Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...
, the Austin Museum of Art, the
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
in Canberra and the Osaka Museum in Japan. In 2004, she received the Photographer of the Year Award from the Houston Center for Photography.
Biography
Kate Breakey was born in
Port Lincoln
Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...
, South Australia on 14 August 1957. She achieved a Diploma in Graphic Design from the
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...
in 1978, and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the same university in 1981. In 1988, Breakey moved to Austin, Texas, where she completed a Master of Fine Art at the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
in 1991, and where she taught photography in the university's Department of Art and Art History until 1997. In 1999, Breakey moved to Tucson, Arizona. In addition to participating in countless solo and group exhibitions, she is regularly invited to be a guest speaker and to teach throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Public collections
*
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...
, Boulder, CO
* Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
*
Museum of Photographic Arts
The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, ...
, San Diego, CA
*
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...
, Photography Collection, The University of Texas at Austin, TX
*
Center for Creative Photography
The Center for Creative Photography (CCP), established in 1975 and located on the University of Arizona's Tucson campus, is a research facility and archival repository containing the full archives of over sixty of the most famous American ph ...
Austin Museum of Art
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufactu ...
, Austin, TX
* South Texas Institute for the Arts, Corpus Christi, TX
* Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern and Mexican Photography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
*
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...
, Adelaide, Australia
*
Australian National Gallery
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
, Canberra, Australia
*
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...
, Sydney, Australia
*
Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...
, Adelaide, Australia
*
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...
, Melbourne, Australia
* Osaka Museum, Osaka, Japan
Solo exhibitions
* 2015 – ''Small Deaths'', James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA
* 2014 – ''Out of Darkness'', Cattletrack Art Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
* 2014 – ''Au'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2013 – ''Heartland'',
Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...
, Adelaide, Australia
* 2013 – ''Creatures of Light and Darkness'', Temple of Music and Art Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2013 – ''Grasslands'', Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
* 2013 – ''Small Deaths'', Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
* 2012 – ''Las Sombras/The Shadows'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2012 – ''Las Sombras/The Shadows'', Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
* 2012 – ''Painted Light'', Goodwin Fine Art, Denver, CO
* 2011 – ''Slow Light'', Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2011 – ''Painted Light'', McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX
* 2010 – ''New Work 2010'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2010 – ''Painted Light'', Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
* 2010 – ''Kate Breakey'', Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Longview, TX
* 2009 – ''Poetics of Light'', Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2009 – ''Mexico – Pueblo y Jardin'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2009 – ''Las Sombras/ The Shadows'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2009 – ''Light Quartet: Themes and Variations'', See+ Gallery, Beijing, China
* 2008 – ''Loose Ends'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2008 – ''Kate Breakey, A Natural Investigation'', Gallery in the Garden, Tucson Botanic Gardens, Tucson, AZ
* 2008 – ''Small Deaths'', University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
* 2007 – ''Elegant Wisdoms'', Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2007 – ''Kate Breakey, Painted Photographs'', Joseph Bellows Gallery, San Diego, CA
* 2007 – ''New Work'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2007 – Small Deaths, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
* 2007 – ''Stilled Lives'', Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago, IL
* 2006 – ''Memories and Dreams'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2006 – ''Issues and Arrangements'', Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2006 – ''Wildflowers'', Tohono Chul Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2005 – ''Kate Breakey'', photo-eye Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
* 2005 – ''Small Deaths'', Galerie MC, Atlanta, GA
* 2005 – ''Photographs'', McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX
* 2005 – ''New Work'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2004 – ''Kate Breakey'', Segura Art, Mesa, AZ
* 2004 – ''Small Deaths'', Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
* 2004 – ''New Work'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2004 – ''Kate Breakey'', Art Museum of South East Texas, Beaumont, TX
* 2004 – ''Remembrances'', Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago, IL
* 2004 – ''Kate Breakey Photographs'', McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX
* 2003 – ''Stilleven'', Gerald Peters Gallery, Dallas, TX
* 2003 – Kate Breakey, Mainsite Contemporary Art, Norman, OK
* 2003 – ''Firsthand: Evocations of Figure and Form'', Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2003 – ''Still Life'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2002 – ''Resurrection: the floral images of Kate Breakey'', Segura Art, Mesa, AZ
* 2002 – ''Small Deaths'', Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, South Australia
* 2002 – ''The Image Chamber, Flora, Fauna, Fact and Dream'', Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2001 – ''Kate Breakey, Photographs'', McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX
* 2001 – ''Small Deaths'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2001 – ''Small Deaths'', Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
* 2001 – ''Recent Work'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery Austin, TX
* 2001 – ''Hand painted photograph'', Parchman Stremmel Gallery, San Antonio, TX
* 2001 – ''Small Deaths'', Julie Saul Gallery, NY, NY
* 2000 – ''Naturagraphia'', Temple of Music and Art Gallery, Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2000 – ''The Nature of Things'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2000 – ''Memento Mori'', Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
* 1999 – ''Flora and Fauna'', John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
* 1999 – ''Small Deaths'', Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA
* 1999 – ''12 Flowers'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 1998 – ''Photoworks'', Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography, South West Texas State University, TX
* 1998 – ''Slow Light'', Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 1998 – ''Small Deaths'', Rudolph Poissant Gallery, Fotofest, Houston, TX
* 1997 – ''Kate Breakey, Small Deaths'', Galveston Art Center, Galveston, TX
* 1994-5 – ''Laws of Physics – Principles of Mathematics'', New Zealand International Festival of Arts, Wellington, New Zealand
* 1994-5 – ''Laws of Physics – Principles of Mathematics'',
Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first capital city multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the early 1970s and designed by Hassell (architecture firm), Hassell Architects. The Festival The ...
Artspace Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
* 1994-5 – ''Laws of Physics – Principles of Mathematics'', Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia
* 1992 – ''Laws of Physics'', American Association for the Advancement of Science's Art of Science and Technology Program, Atrium Gallery AAAS, Washington, DC
* 1989 – ''Portraits of South Australian Aborigines'', Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, Australia
* 1988 – ''Encounters 1'', South Australian School of Art Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
* 1988 – ''Portraits of South Australian Aborigines'', South Australian Touring Exhibition, Australia
* 1987 – ''Portraits of South Australian Aborigines'', Festival Theatre Foyer, Adelaide, Australia
* 1986 – ''Scientists, Life-Sized Portraits'', Festival Theatre Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
* 1984 – ''Painted Photos'', The Photographers' Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
* 1984 – Painted Photos,
Australian Centre for Photography
The Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) was a not-for-profit photography gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia that was established in 1973 and which also provided part-time courses and community programs.
One of the longest running c ...
, Sydney, Australia
* 1982 – ''Painted Photos'', The Developed Image Gallery, Adelaide, Australia
Selected group exhibitions
* 2016 – ''ART + SCIENCE'', Contemporary Arts Center, Las Vegas, NV
* 2014 – ''Without and Within: Photographs by Keith Carter and Kate Breakey'', Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
* 2014 – ''New Acquisitions'', Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
* 2013 – ''Mexico Lindo'', Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
* 2013 – ''Lies That Tell the Truth: Magic Realism in Contemporary Art'', Indiana State University Art Gallery, Terre Haute, IN
* 2013 – ''Twentieth Anniversary Show'' (with
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...
, Keith Carter, James Evans, Jack Spencer, Rick Williams, Bill Wittliff), Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
* 2008 – ''The Texas Chair Project'', Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX
* 2007 – ''Latent Image'', Mesa Contemporary Arts Center, Mesa, AZ
* 2006 – ''A Little More Red'', McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX
* 2006 – ''Arts Botanica'', Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, IL
* 2006 – ''Magical Realism'', Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, Australia
Awards
* 2012 –
Tucson Weekly
The ''Tucson Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan area of about 1,000,000 residents.
The paper is a member of the Association of Altern ...
Annual Best of Tucson Awards, Best Photographer
* 2012 – Texas Association of Museums Mitchell A. Wilder Award for Excellence in Publication and Media Design (for ''Las Sombras/The Shadows'')
* 2011 – Texas Association of Museums Mitchell A. Wilder Award, Gold Award (for ''Painted Light'')
* 2002 – Texas Association of Museums Mitchell A. Wilder Award for Excellence in Publication and Media Design (for ''Small Deaths'')
* 2004 – Houston Center for Photography, Photographer of the Year
* 2002 – Oscart Awards (Adelaide, Australia), Best Photography
* 2002 – Arts SA Returning Artist Residency Grant
* 1999 – Tokyo International Photo-Biennale, Olympus Japan Co Award
* 1990 – Marian Royal Kazen Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Art
* 1991 –
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
Merit Award Scholarship
* 1990 –
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
Merit Award Scholarship
* 1989 –
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
Merit Award Scholarship
* 1988 – The International Forestry Conference for the Australian Bicentenary Jurors Award
* 1978 –
Adelaide Advertiser
''The Advertiser'' is a daily tabloid format newspaper based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. First published as a broadsheet named ''The South Australian Advertiser'' on 12 July 1858," Amazing Illustrated Art Books And Their Brilliant Publishers" ''Huffington Post'', 8 June 2011
* ''Flowers/Birds''. Breakey, Kate. Eastland Books, 2002.
* ''Small Deaths: Photographs''. Breakey, Kate (introduction by A. D. Coleman). University of Texas Press, Wittliff Gallery Series, Austin, TX 2001.
* ''Our Backyard''. Swearer, Randolph and Breakey, Kate. Lupine Industries, 1994.