Kari Orvik is a photographer born in Canada who moved to the Bay Area from Alaska. A graduate of Stanford University, she is currently in the MFA program at UC Berkeley.
My relationship to photography lives somewhere in between the following: observation and construction, documentation and interpretation, being onsite versus being elsewhere, participating versus intervening in a particular space. I aim for transparent agreements between myself and those I photograph, and work to clarify that which is being agreed upon. I position myself somewhere between displacement and belonging, reality and fantasy, materiality and memory. I see a project as a project, until situations change – buildings disappear, or people, and suddenly a project becomes a record. I am mindful about how and where I show these projects/stories/records.
My relationship to photography lives somewhere in between the following: observation and construction, documentation and interpretation, being onsite versus being elsewhere, participating versus intervening in a particular space. I aim for transparent agreements between myself and those I photograph, and work to clarify that which is being agreed upon. I position myself somewhere between displacement and belonging, reality and fantasy, materiality and memory. I see a project as a project, until situations change – buildings disappear, or people, and suddenly a project becomes a record. I am mindful about how and where I show these projects/stories/records.
Born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Lives and works in San Francisco
EDUCATION
University of California Berkeley, MFA (2012 if all goes well!)
Stanford University B.A.
GRANTS and AWARDS
2011
Eisner Prize: UC Berkeley Dept. of Art Practice
Fernstrom Fellowship: UC Berkeley Dept. of Scandinavian Studies
Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship Award: San Francisco Foundation
2007
Individual Artist Grant: San Francisco Arts Commission, “Mission Portrait Studio”
GROUP SHOWS and SCREENINGS
2011
Frontrunners: 2011 Murphy and Cadogan Award Exhibition, Somarts, SF
Bernal Heights Film Festival - New College Hill Market
1st Year MFA Show for UC Berkeley's Dept. of Art Practice, Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley
2010
Hope your friend's working so I can get a discount, 4707 Telegraph, Oakland
Intersection for the Arts 45th Anniversary Auction, San Francisco
Roll Call - SF Camerawork, San Francisco
Chain Reaction XI - (artist selector), SF Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall
Art in Storefronts - 24th Street Screening, with Martha Rosler and Vero Majano. Curated by Clare Haggarty, sponsored by Triple Base Gallery, San Francisco
2009
Ersatz Group Exhibition, SF Camerawork, San Francisco
Home is Something I Carry With Me, site-specific exhibition curated by Adrienne Skye Roberts, film screening, San Francisco
17 Reasons Why, Mission 17 Gallery, screening and lecture, with author Erick Lyle and community organizer Nick Pagoulatos, San Francisco
Intersection for the Arts Auction, San Francisco
2008
Fabulosa Festival, Mission Portrait Studio, Film Program; Guerneville, CA
Eth6 Magazine: Issue 3, exhibition at Blankspace Gallery, Oakland
Glimpses in Time, juried by Stephen Wirtz at Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland (review and catalog)
Narrating Identity, (Dis)locating Bodies, Galería de la Raza, San Francisco
The Show Starts on the Sidewalk, outdoor screening, part of UC Santa Cruz’s conference “Intervene! Interrupt!: Rethinking Art as Social Practice”
Lecture and Portrait Show, with Dr. Paul Ekman, expert on facial expressions, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley
2007
The View From Here: rooftop portrait studio, part of Southern Exposure Gallery’s GROUNDED? Juried Public Art Day, San Francisco
Pleased to Meet You: The Beholder Gallery at Tinlark Gallery, Los Angeles
Pleased to Meet You: The Beholder Gallery at Park Life Gallery, San Francisco
2006
Terror?, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco
A Tribute to Grain, Warehouse 1310 Gallery, San Francisco
2005: Introspection: Public vs. Private, Space Gallery, San Francisco
2004: It Can Change, Lucky Tackle, Berkeley
2003
Big Ballyhoo Benefit Auction, The LAB, San Francisco
Synthesis, Melting Point Gallery, San Francisco
Point Blank, Galia, San Francisco
2002
Big Ones, Adobe Books, San Francisco
Back Room Gallery Auction, Adobe Books, San Francisco
Christmas Show, Adobe Books, San Francisco
2001: The Western Show, Studio Z, San Francisco
2000
Photography Show, Ladyfest, Olympia, WA
Ladies’ Art Show, Adobe Books, San Francisco
SOLO SHOWS
2010: Tintype prints at Vessel SF, San Francisco
2007: Ladies’ Night: Mission Community Council: Outdoor 3-month commission for display at Plaza 16 BART Plaza, San Francisco
2006: Ladies’ Night, Balazo Gallery, San Francisco
Ladies’ Night, Muddy Waters Café at 16th St., San Francisco
2004: South Park Residence, Caffe Centro, San Francisco
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SF MOMA’s “Open Space” blog: Public Art and Redevelopment, article by Adrienne Skye Roberts (4/09)
East Bay Express: The Enduring Photograph, review by DeWitt Cheng 8/08
Glimpses in Time: 2008 - An International Juried Photography Exhibition,
hardcover catalog produced by Joyce Gordon Gallery
Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley, CA 2008
Eth6 Magazine, San Francisco, CA, 2008
Masque Magazine, Stanford, CA, 1998
Mind’s Eye Literary Journal, Stanford, CA, 1997
TEACHING
SF Camerawork First Exposures Program [2004, 2006-2007]
Photography Mentor – Mentored underserved youth in photography; taught portrait workshop with guest artist Jona Frank for a collaborative project on Identity at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco; completed a city-wide billboard project with students
CURATORIAL
Insights Exhibition of Blind and Visually Impaired Artists [2002-2009]
Directed and curated annual exhibition that brought together works of over 200 blind artists in the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall. Coordinated exhibition production for the audio description tour, catalog and signage in Braille. Insights 2009 was recognized by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a full-page article in the Sunday New York Times Arts section.
OTHER
Guest Lecturer – Artist Lecture Series
San Francisco State University: Art and Social Practice in El Salvador
Volunteer Photographer – Jochen Gerz exhibit at SF MOMA
Portrait photographer for artist’s project, part of exhibition Participation: 1950 to Present
Volunteer Photographer – Operation Photo Rescue
Retouched damaged family photos for evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Lives and works in San Francisco
EDUCATION
University of California Berkeley, MFA (2012 if all goes well!)
Stanford University B.A.
GRANTS and AWARDS
2011
Eisner Prize: UC Berkeley Dept. of Art Practice
Fernstrom Fellowship: UC Berkeley Dept. of Scandinavian Studies
Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship Award: San Francisco Foundation
2007
Individual Artist Grant: San Francisco Arts Commission, “Mission Portrait Studio”
GROUP SHOWS and SCREENINGS
2011
Frontrunners: 2011 Murphy and Cadogan Award Exhibition, Somarts, SF
Bernal Heights Film Festival - New College Hill Market
1st Year MFA Show for UC Berkeley's Dept. of Art Practice, Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley
2010
Hope your friend's working so I can get a discount, 4707 Telegraph, Oakland
Intersection for the Arts 45th Anniversary Auction, San Francisco
Roll Call - SF Camerawork, San Francisco
Chain Reaction XI - (artist selector), SF Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall
Art in Storefronts - 24th Street Screening, with Martha Rosler and Vero Majano. Curated by Clare Haggarty, sponsored by Triple Base Gallery, San Francisco
2009
Ersatz Group Exhibition, SF Camerawork, San Francisco
Home is Something I Carry With Me, site-specific exhibition curated by Adrienne Skye Roberts, film screening, San Francisco
17 Reasons Why, Mission 17 Gallery, screening and lecture, with author Erick Lyle and community organizer Nick Pagoulatos, San Francisco
Intersection for the Arts Auction, San Francisco
2008
Fabulosa Festival, Mission Portrait Studio, Film Program; Guerneville, CA
Eth6 Magazine: Issue 3, exhibition at Blankspace Gallery, Oakland
Glimpses in Time, juried by Stephen Wirtz at Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland (review and catalog)
Narrating Identity, (Dis)locating Bodies, Galería de la Raza, San Francisco
The Show Starts on the Sidewalk, outdoor screening, part of UC Santa Cruz’s conference “Intervene! Interrupt!: Rethinking Art as Social Practice”
Lecture and Portrait Show, with Dr. Paul Ekman, expert on facial expressions, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley
2007
The View From Here: rooftop portrait studio, part of Southern Exposure Gallery’s GROUNDED? Juried Public Art Day, San Francisco
Pleased to Meet You: The Beholder Gallery at Tinlark Gallery, Los Angeles
Pleased to Meet You: The Beholder Gallery at Park Life Gallery, San Francisco
2006
Terror?, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco
A Tribute to Grain, Warehouse 1310 Gallery, San Francisco
2005: Introspection: Public vs. Private, Space Gallery, San Francisco
2004: It Can Change, Lucky Tackle, Berkeley
2003
Big Ballyhoo Benefit Auction, The LAB, San Francisco
Synthesis, Melting Point Gallery, San Francisco
Point Blank, Galia, San Francisco
2002
Big Ones, Adobe Books, San Francisco
Back Room Gallery Auction, Adobe Books, San Francisco
Christmas Show, Adobe Books, San Francisco
2001: The Western Show, Studio Z, San Francisco
2000
Photography Show, Ladyfest, Olympia, WA
Ladies’ Art Show, Adobe Books, San Francisco
SOLO SHOWS
2010: Tintype prints at Vessel SF, San Francisco
2007: Ladies’ Night: Mission Community Council: Outdoor 3-month commission for display at Plaza 16 BART Plaza, San Francisco
2006: Ladies’ Night, Balazo Gallery, San Francisco
Ladies’ Night, Muddy Waters Café at 16th St., San Francisco
2004: South Park Residence, Caffe Centro, San Francisco
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SF MOMA’s “Open Space” blog: Public Art and Redevelopment, article by Adrienne Skye Roberts (4/09)
East Bay Express: The Enduring Photograph, review by DeWitt Cheng 8/08
Glimpses in Time: 2008 - An International Juried Photography Exhibition,
hardcover catalog produced by Joyce Gordon Gallery
Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley, CA 2008
Eth6 Magazine, San Francisco, CA, 2008
Masque Magazine, Stanford, CA, 1998
Mind’s Eye Literary Journal, Stanford, CA, 1997
TEACHING
SF Camerawork First Exposures Program [2004, 2006-2007]
Photography Mentor – Mentored underserved youth in photography; taught portrait workshop with guest artist Jona Frank for a collaborative project on Identity at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco; completed a city-wide billboard project with students
CURATORIAL
Insights Exhibition of Blind and Visually Impaired Artists [2002-2009]
Directed and curated annual exhibition that brought together works of over 200 blind artists in the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall. Coordinated exhibition production for the audio description tour, catalog and signage in Braille. Insights 2009 was recognized by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a full-page article in the Sunday New York Times Arts section.
OTHER
Guest Lecturer – Artist Lecture Series
San Francisco State University: Art and Social Practice in El Salvador
Volunteer Photographer – Jochen Gerz exhibit at SF MOMA
Portrait photographer for artist’s project, part of exhibition Participation: 1950 to Present
Volunteer Photographer – Operation Photo Rescue
Retouched damaged family photos for evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
