Brad Kahlhamer (American, b. 1956)
Kahlhamer is a multimedia artist whose work focuses on identity and culture. He has spent his life traveling as a musician which led him to New York City and his art career. He is inspired by Expressionism, multi-cultural artworks, and street culture. Kahlhamer’s work draws from his own experiences, and refuses to easily be categorized or identified.
Born to Native American parents in Arizona, Kahlhamer was raised by adoptive German-American parents in Wisconsin. In 1982, Kahlhamer received a Bachelor’s of Fine arts from the University of Wisconsin-Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. His work has been featured at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Denver Art Museum; Milwaukee Art Museum; Seattle Art Museum; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He is the recipient of the Joan Mitchell Award, a Smithsonian Commission, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts 2020 Visual Arts Grant, and the 2017 Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant. His work will be featured in a solo exhibition at Bates College Museum of Art in Fall 2023.
