Katja Schenker

Biography

Katja Schenker lives and works in Zurich. Her practice encompasses performance, drawing, sculpture and installation, unfolding in both indoor and outdoor settings. She frequently works with natural materials whose sensory, spatial and temporal qualities—such as mass, permeability and perishability—play a central role. Her works seek to intensify the experience of the body, both in relation to the audience and to the artist herself.

A three-time recipient of the Swiss Art Award, she has also received the Swiss Performance Award and the Recognition Prize of the Cultural Foundation of the Canton of St. Gallen (2021). She studied Comparative Literature, Art History and Philosophy at the University of Zurich and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. Her work has been exhibited and performed at numerous institutions, including Casa Rusca (Lugano), the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, The Pearl Art Museum (Shanghai), the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Istituto Svizzero (Rome), Kunsthaus Baselland (Muttenz), Circuit (Lausanne), the 5th Ural Biennial of Contemporary Art (Yekaterinburg), Musée Tinguely (Basel), the Centre culturel suisse (Paris), and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. In 2026, Museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich presents a major solo exhibition of her work.