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Stanya Kahn is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in film/video with a practice that includes ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture/installation, sound, and writing. She foregrounds humor, pathos and the uncanny to re-work relationships between fiction and document, the real and the hyper-real, narrative time and the synchronic time of impulse. Her sculptural works and paintings often utilize anthropomorphic characters, talking animals and usually inanimate objects, using absurdist imagery to speak to real-life global anxieties and traumas.

Kahn’s feature-length work, Stand in the Stream (2011-2017), is an ambient digital film shot on multiple camera formats over the course of six years. The film’s footage (all shot by Kahn or screen-recorded by Kahn in real-time) moves globally and locally through the wild, the streets, the home, and online. The resulting work is a visceral, phenomenological reflection of life, power, and uprising in late capitalism. Tracing the decline of her mother into dementia and the birth and growing up of her now young adult son against a backdrop of evolving technology and increasing violence in the face of uprisings against police violence and inequality, Stand in the Stream affirms the political in the personal and the personal in collective resistance. No Go Backs (2020), shot on 16mm film, then transferred and edited digitally, follows two teenage boys as they escape the city for the wild. The boys, while unprepared and vulnerable, are strong in their commitment to working together. No Go Backs posits a possible future made manifest by the resistance documented in Stand in the Stream, the immediate need and possibility to not only imagine but create a new world. Created before the global pandemic, No Go Backs presaged the psychological impact of the pandemic and alluded to the climate catastrophes that have accelerated in the last few years.

Stanya Kahn was born in 1968 in San Francisco and lives and works in Los Angeles. She graduated from Bard College’s Milton Avery School of the Arts with an MFA in 2003. Recent solo exhibitions include shows at Institute for Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, The Wexner Center for the Arts, MoMA, PS1, New Museum, NY, British Film Institute, London Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Marlborough Chelsea, NY, Weiss Berlin, The Pit, LA, Cornerhouse/Manchester, UK. Select group exhibitions include Weslyan Art Gallery, the Walker Art Center, CAM, St. Louis, the Gwanju Biennial (’18), Hammer Museum, New Museum, MOCA, SD, Fernley Astrup, Norway, Transmediale, The California Biennial (’10). Her collaborative work with Harry Dodge has shown at Elizabeth Dee Gallery, NY, the Whitney Biennial (08), Sundance Film Festival, MOCA, LA, MoMA, NY, ZKM, Karlsrüh, among others. Kahn was a 2012 Guggenheim Fellow in Film/Video. She was a contributing writer and actor in feature film By Hook or By Crook. Her writings and drawings appear in multiple publications including Die Laughing (2nd Cannons), Moving Image (MIT Press), It’s Cool, I’m Good (Cornerhouse), and Abstract Video (UC Press.) Her work is in the collections of the Hammer Museum, MoMA, NY, LACMA, the Walker Art Museum and among others.

This image depicts an artwork by Stanya Kahn titled "The Dead of Winter." This artwork was created in 2024 and measures 38 ⁷⁄₈" x 42 ⁷⁄₈" x 2" [HxWxD] (98.74 x 108.9 x 5.08 cm) framed. Its medium is Oil painting on linen on board with reclaimed old growth Douglas Fir frame.
Stanya Kahn
“The Dead of Winter,” 2024
This image depicts an artwork by Stanya Kahn titled "New Dogs/Old Tricks." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 12" x 6 ³⁄₄" x 7 ³⁄₈" [HxWxD] (30.48 x 17.15 x 18.75 cm). Its medium is Unglazed porcelain figure, glazed porcelain and reclaimed old growth Douglas Fir.
Stanya Kahn
“New Dogs/Old Tricks,” 2023
This image depicts an artwork by Stanya Kahn titled "Six skull vase." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 10" x 9 ³⁄₄" [HxW] (25.4 x 24.77 cm). Its medium is Glazed stoneware.
Stanya Kahn
“Six skull vase,” 2023
This image depicts an artwork by Stanya Kahn titled "Powder blue four handle skull and bird vase." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 14" x 6" [HxW] (35.56 x 15.24 cm). Its medium is Glazed stoneware.
Stanya Kahn
“Powder blue four handle skull and bird vase,” 2022
This image depicts an artwork by Stanya Kahn titled "Black Snake." This artwork was created in 2022 and  its dimensions are not known. Its medium is Bronze.
Stanya Kahn
“Black Snake,” 2022
Stanya Kahn “Prairie Dog,” 2022
Stanya Kahn
“Prairie Dog,” 2022
Stanya Kahn “Harambe (RIP),” 2022
Stanya Kahn
“Harambe (RIP),” 2022
Stanya Kahn “Meadow,” 2022
Stanya Kahn
“Meadow,” 2022
Stanya Kahn [still] "No Go Backs," 2020
Stanya Kahn
[still] "No Go Backs," 2020
Stanya Kahn [still] "No Go Backs," 2020
Stanya Kahn
[still] "No Go Backs," 2020
Stanya Kahn [still] "Stand in the Stream," 2011-2017
Stanya Kahn
[still] "Stand in the Stream," 2011-2017
Stanya Kahn [still] "Don't Go Back to Sleep," 2014
Stanya Kahn
[still] "Don't Go Back to Sleep," 2014
Stanya Kahn [still] “So Low You Can't Get Over It,” 2020
Stanya Kahn
[still] “So Low You Can't Get Over It,” 2020
Stanya Kahn [still] "It's Cool, I'm Good," 2010
Stanya Kahn
[still] "It's Cool, I'm Good," 2010
Stanya Kahn Installation view of "Sandra," 2010
Stanya Kahn
Installation view of "Sandra," 2010
Stanya Kahn [still] "Kathy," 2009
Stanya Kahn
[still] "Kathy," 2009
1968
Born in California
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
2003
MFA, Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, Bard College, Red Hook, NY
1992
BA, Magna Cum Laude, Interdisciplinary Social Science/ Minor in History, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

Selected Solo and Two Person Exhibitions

2023
"PERIPHERIE #1: Detouring with Traction: Stanya Kahn," Screenings of "Stand in the Stream" and "No Go Backs," Kunstmuseum Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany
Stanya Kahn, “For the Birds,” “Friends in Low Places,” “Happy Song for You,” “No Go Backs,” “So Low You Can’t Get Over It,” “Winner,” &"Stand in the Stream," International Film Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands
2022
"Forest for the Trees," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2020-2021
"Stanya Kahn: No Go Backs," ICALA, Los Angeles, CA (Link)
2020
"No Go Backs," Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
2018
"Stand in the Stream," The Box at Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (Link)
“Stanya Kahn: Friends in Low Places,” Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2017
“Stand in the Stream,” MoMA PS1, New York, NY (Link)
“Stand in the Stream,” Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
2016
“Heatstroke,” The Pit, Los Angeles, CA (Link)
"Stanya Kahn," Weiss Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2015
"Stanya Kahn: Die Laughing," Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY
2014
"Don't Go Back To Sleep", Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
"Stanya Kahn," Grand Arts, Kansas City, MO
"Blood, Paper, and Mud (leave your slippers at the door)", curated by Kendra Paltz, University Galleries, University of Illinois, Normal, IL
2013
"Downer (but your ass looks huge from down here)," Curated by Emi Fontana, Pigna Project Space, Rome, Italy
2012
"I can clearly see yer nuts," The New Museum, New York, NY
"It's Cool, I'm Good," Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK
"A cave walks into a bar," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
2011
Galleria Perdida/Recess Activities, New York, New York
2010
"It's Cool, I'm Good," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2008
Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, NY, with Harry Dodge
2007
"No Ins and Outs," Carlier | Gebauer Gallery, Berlin, Germany, with Harry Dodge
2006
Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, NY, with Harry Dodge

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024
"Wild Grass: Our Lives," 8th Yokohama Triennale’s Second Chapter, Yokohama, Japan (Link)
2023
“Some Trees,” The Floating Gallery, Auto Brake Center, Los Angeles, CA
"Unbound: Performance as Rupture," Julia Stoschek Foundation, Berlin, Germany
"Together in Time: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
"Full Burn: Videos from the Hammer Contemporary Collection," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2020
"A Sculpture, A Film, AND Six Videos," Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
"20 Years," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
"All of Them Witches," Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, CA
2019-2020
"Get well soon," Kunsthaus, Nuremberg, Germany
2019
"Fruitful Labors," Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
2018
"TEN," Artist Curated Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Gwangju Biennale 2018, Gwangju, South Korea
2017
“Crossroads,” Anren Biennale, Anren, Sichuan Province, China
“Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon,” New Museum, New York, NY (Link)
“Sea Sick in Paradise,” curated by Amy Yao, Depart Foundation, Malibu, CA
“Teeter: Stanya Kahn, Anna-Sophie Berger, Aleksander Hardashnakov, Dena Yago,” Carl Louie, London, Ontario, Canada
“Greater works than these shall he do…,” Edward Cella Art + Architecture, Los Angeles, CA
2016
“Los Angeles – A Fiction,” Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway, travelling to Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France (Link)
2015
Looking Back / The 9th White Columns Annual, White Columns, New York, NY
Stand Up!, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Laugh-In: Art, Comedy, Performance, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, CA
2014
"Real Emotions: Thinking in Film," KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany (with Harry Dodge)
"Cherub," curated by Andrew Berardini and Brian Kennon, 2nd Cannons, Los Angeles, CA
"Artadia's 15th Anniversary exhibition," curated by Gianni Jetzer, Longhouse Projects, New York, NY
"Special Madness: Aaron Garber-Maikovska, Stanya Kahn, Chloe Seibert, Jesse Stecklow, and Ian Swanson," curated by Keith J. Varadi, David Shelton Gallery, Houston, TX
2012
"Between a Run and a Cascade: Constraint, Desperation, and Optimism in Water, CA," Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
"Sunday @ 4," Todd Madigan Gallery, California State University, Bakersfield, CA
2011
"Two Schools of Cool," curated by Sarah Bancroft, FOCA, Los Angeles, CA
"Suelto," curated by Pilar Tompkins Rivas and Adrian Rivas, La Central, Bogota, Colombia
"Keren Cytter, Stanya Kahn, Dafna Maimon, and Shana Moulton," Future Gallery, Berlin, Germany
"Electromediascope: Inside/Out," curated by Gwen Widmer, Nelson-Atkins Museum, MO
2010
California Biennial, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
"Ludicrous!" Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA
"Virtuoso Illusions," curated by Michael Rush, MIT, Cambridge, MA
"45 Years of Performance Video from EAI," PS1 NY, NY
"45 Years of Performance Video from EAI," Wiels, Brussels, Belgium
"Slightly Unbalanced," curated by ICI, Harnett Museum, Richmond, VA
"Queer Voices," Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
2009
"Reflections on the Electric Mirror: New Feminist Video," curated by Lauren Ross, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
"Code Share: 5 continents, 10 biennales, 20 artists," CAC Vilnius, Lithuania, curated by Simon Reese
"Videonale 12," Kunstalle Bonn, Bonn, Germany
"Unusual Behavior," Santa Barbara Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, CA
2008
"Desert Shore," Luckman Fine Arts, curated by Jan Tumlirm, Cal State, LA
Whitney Biennial 2008, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
"California Video," Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
"Laughing in a Foreign Language," Hayward, London, UK
2007
"Between Two Deaths," ZKM/Center for Art and Media, Karlsrhe, Germany, curated by Ellen Blumenstein and Felix Ensslin
"Edens Edge," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, curated by Gary Garrels
"Shared Women," Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA, curated by Eve Fowler, Emily Roysdon and A. L., Steiner
2006
"Defamation of Character," PS 1, New York, NY
Locale Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"VIDEO MARATHON 2006," Art in General, New York, NY
"Fair Exchange," Millard Sheets Gallery, LA County Fair, Los Angeles, CA
2005
"Marking Time," Getty, Los Angeles, CA; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), Los Angeles, CA
"Sugartown," Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York and Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, TX
"The Early Show," White Columns Gallery, New York, NY
"Films/Stills," New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CA
2004
Backyard Invitational Video Competition, group show and competition (winner), sponsored by the Believer Magazine, Hollywood Hills House and Lazy-J
"Pilot: 1," Old Limehouse Town Hall, London, UK
"LTTR Show: Fail More," Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA
"Inside of Inside," The Lab, San Francisco, CA
2003
"Fail Better," Ocularis, New York, NY
"Soft Machines," Brewery Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

Performances

(Evening-length works, unless indicated by )
2016
Die Laughing, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
2006
Jimbo Cherry and Martin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005
Lois Live Sundown Salon, Los Angeles, CA
2004
Let the Good Times Roll Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2003
Ballad of Crappy and Seapole Diverseworks, Houston, TX
2002
Delirium, production of 1996 one-person play Yale School of Drama, CT
Nobble Reading series curated by Lydia Lunch, Los Angeles, CA
2001
The Ballad of Crappy and Seapole National Queer Arts Festival, San Francisco, CA
The Ballad of Crappy and Seapole Jack Tilton Gallery, NY, NY
The Ballad of Crappy and Seapole Stromereien Festival of Performance, Zurich, Switzerland
The Ballad of Crappy and Seapole University Settlement, NY, NY
2000
The Ballad of Crappy and Seapole Performance Space 122 (P.S. 122), NY, NY
The Ballad of Crappy and Seapole Galapagos Performance Space, NY, NY
1999
Rank Stranger Dixon Place, NY, NY
Rank Stranger Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Philadelphia, PA
Rank Stranger Mad Alex Presents, NY
Rank Stranger Links Hall, Chicago, IL
1998
Specimens, collaborative work w/ P.S. 122, NY and Christ Church Philadelphia, PA
Ishmael Houston-Jones
Delirium SUSHI Performance Space, San Diego, CA
Delirium Cleveland Performance Art Festival, Cleveland, OH
Delirium Default Propaganda, HERE Space, NY
This is Not Enough P.S. 122, NY, NY
Movement Research/Judson Church, NY
Entertainment for the Apocalypse, Pfefferberg, Berlin, Germany
collaborative work w/ performance Fabrik, Potsdam. Germany
company CORE (as co-founder Lot Theater, Braunshweig, Germany
and performer)
Various Excerpts Sister Spit Spoken Word Tour, 30 Venues, US
1997
Delirium Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Delirium The McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
Delirium WOW Caf, NY
Delirium P.S. 122, NY
Delirium San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
New Work, reading Brooklyn Museum, NY
Entertainment for the Apocalypse P.S. 122, NY
Entertainment for the Apocalypse Highways, Los Angeles, CA
Entertainment for the Apocalypse SUSHI Performance Space, San Diego, CA
Entertainment for the Apocalypse Brady St. Dance Center, San Francisco, CA
1996
Delirium New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CA
Delirium Dixon Place, NY, NY
Delirium Climate Theater, San Francisco, CA
Entertainment for the Apocalypse Bay Area Dance Series, Lainey College, Oakland, CA
Utility Beast P.S. 122, NY, NY
Utility Beast WOW Caf, NY, NY
1987-1995
Selected performances and readings at Theater Artaud, Intersection for the Arts, New College of California, New Performance Gallery, Southern Exposure Gallery, SOMARTS, all in San Francisco. Selected live action street performance events with Theater Action Group.

Video Screenings

2023
"It’s Cool, I’m Good," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (forthcoming)
"PERIPHERIE #1: Detouring with Traction: Stanya Kahn," Screenings of "Stand in the Stream" and "No Go Backs," Kunstmuseum Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany
Short Profile: Stanya Kahn, “For the Birds,” “Friends in Low Places,” “Happy Song for You,” “No Go Backs,” “So Low You Can’t Get Over It,” “Winner,” &"Stand in the Stream," International Film Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands
2020
"No Go Backs," BFI London Film Fesitval
2018
"Don't Go Back to Sleep," Canada, New York, NY
"Stand in the Stream," Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
"Happy Song for You," ltd los angeles, Los Angeles, CA (Link)
"Stand in the Stream," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (Link)
2017
"Stand in the Stream," Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
"Stand in the Stream," School, Vienna, Austria
2016
Lookin’ Good, Feelin’ Good, Dortmund I Cologne International Women’s Film Festival, Cologne, Germany
2015
Its Cool, Im Good, TOTAL WORK, Los Angeles, CA
2013
Always Worried, video screening, Institute for Contemporary Art, London, GB
Always Worried, video screening, Temple Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
"Happy Song For You", New Museum, New York, NY (with Llyn Foulkes)
2002
Winner, Slamdance, New York; Best of Slamdance, Los Angeles; Mix Festival, New York; Los Angeles Film Festival; New Festival, New York; Slamdance Film Festival, Utah; London Lesbian/Gay Intl Film Festival; OUTFEST Film Festival, LA; Silverlake Film Festival, Los Angeles; Hallwalls Art Space, Buffalo, NY, Flaming Festival, Minneapolis, MN
2001
By Hook or By Crook (Contributing writer, actor, performance consultant: Independent feature film, written and directed by Harry Dodge and Silas Howard. DVD distributed by Wolfe Video. On cable TV, Sundance Channel. Selected Film Festival Screenings:
Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah; South by Southwest, Austin, TX; OUTFEST, Los Angeles, CA; New Festival, New York, NY; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay, CA; Cleveland International, OH; Paris International Lesbian and Gay, Paris, France

Bibliography

2024
Valie, Elaine. "Bid on an Artist’s Kite to Aid Gaza," Hyperallergic, January 30 (Link)
2023
Wojtowicz, Kathrin. "Candid Real Life Spaces; An interview with Stanya Kahn," Publics And Publishings, September 1 (Link)
Westall, Mark. "Unbound: Performance As Rupture Curated By: Lisa Long At The Julia Stoschek Foundation.," FADMagazine, August 14
"Stanya Kahn," The Hoosac Institute, February 7 (Link)
Westall, Mark. "Stanya Kahn Selected for 2023 R.U.IN.Art Commision at Frieze Los Angeles 2023," FAD Magazine, January 27 (Link)
Lloyd-Smith, Harriet. "Stanya Kahn’s Frieze Los Angeles commission to unearth the ‘understory’ of human intervention in nature," Wallpaper*, January 27 (Link)
Frieze Los Angeles. "Harambe, Fallen Trees and a Mutant Duck: Stanya Kahn’s R.U.in.ART Commission," Frieze, January 17 (Link)
2022
Dawson, Aimee. "Let it snow, let it snow: wintry works bring the temperature down at Art Basel in Miami Beach," The Art Newspaper, December 1 (Link)
2021
Staff, Frieze. "The Top 7 Shows to See in the UK and Ireland," Frieze EU, November 17 (Link)
Fheorais, Iarlaith Ni. "Love, Longing and George Michael at TULCA Festival of Visual Arts," Frieze, November 17 (Link)
2020
Tumlir, Jan. "Stanya Kahn’s Communication Breakdown," Frieze, November 17
Reizman, Renée. "A Surreal and Eerie Look at Los Angeles Over the Past Decade," Hyperallergic, November 3
Simmons, William. "Portfolio: Stanya Kahn," Bomb, October 26
Beckhurst, Gabriella. "Against Inheritance: Stanya Kahn’s ‘No Go Backs’", Another Gaze Journal, August 20
Diehl, Travis. "Teens Wander a Postapocalyptic World in Stanya Kahn's New Film," Art in America, May 14
Regensburger, Jeff. "Art Review: Stanya Kahn – No Go Backs," Columbus Underground, March 23 (Link)
Oliphint, Joel. "Teens lead the way forward in ‘No Go Backs’," Columbus Alive, January 24 (Link)
Aguirre, Abby. "Inside the Los Feliz Home of Frieze’s Bettina Korek," W, January 29 (Link)
2019
Kahn, Stanya. "Sally Spitz of French Vanilla Likes her language deviant," Interview, July 2 (Link)
2018
Brown, Laura, "Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon at New Museum (LA in NY)," CARLA, February 28 (Link)
2017
Gritz, Anna, “And I Stop and I Turn and I Go for a Ride,” Mousse Magazine 60, November (Link)
Lehrer, Adam, “‘Trigger’ Exhibition at thew New Museum Tackles Gender but Ponders So Much More,” Forbes (web), October 5 (Link)
Cotter, Holland, "When It Comes to Gender, Let Confusion Reign," The New York Times (web), September 28 (Link)
Taubin, Amy, “A River Runs Through It,” Artforum (web), August 31 (Link)
Diehl, Travis, “Stanya Kahn at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects,” frieze (web), May 11 (Link)
Mizota, Sharon, "Chat rooms, home movies, life, death: A tangled, touching video at Susanne Vielmetter," Los Angeles Times, May 4 (Link)
Shaw, Michael, “Stanya Kahn,” ArtScene, May (Link)
“Views: Stanya Kahn at Weiss Berlin,” Spike Quarterly, Winter (Link)
2016
Whiteford, Meg, “Critics’ Pick: Stanya Kahn at The Pit,” Artforum (web), September 29
Peterson, Jennifer, “Stanya Kahn at the Pit,” Contemporary Art Review LA (web), October 12
Schneider, Hans, “Stanya Kahn’s ‘Don’t Go Back to Sleep’ at Weiss Berlin,” Blouin ArtInfo (web), November 9
2015
McGarry, Kevin, In San Diego, Art is a Laughing Matter, New York Times T Magazine Blog, January 23
Chute, James, Art imitates comedy, UT San Diego, February 18
Connor, Michael, Eight Big Ideas from Seven on Seven, Rhizome, May 4
Rosenthal, Tracy Jeanne, Stanya Kahn: In the Studio, Art in America, June / July
Wyma, Chloe, Marina Abramovic, Meet Chelsea Handler? How Standup Comedy Became the New Performance Art, Artspace (web), August 28
Emory, Sami, Mansions, Gore, and Party Food: The Apocalyptic Delights of Die Laughing, The Creators Project (web), September 12
Indrisek, Scott, The Apocolypse is Hilarious: Stanya Kahns Bleak Laughter at Marlborough Chelsea, ArtInfo (web), September 23
Stanya Kahn, Malibu Magazine, November / December
Indrisek, Scott, The Apocalypse Will Be Hilarious, Modern Painters, December
Something to Laugh About: La Jolla exhibit to explore stand-up comedy in contemporary art, La Jolla Light, January 21
2014
Kahn, Stanya, Stanya Kahns Favorite Moving Pictures Experiences of 2014, ArtInfo, December 31
Yue, Genevieve, "The 6th Annual Migrating Forms at BAMcinmatek," New York, art agenda, December 12
Indrisek, Scott, "Waking Up to Stanya Kahns Oddly Moving Drama," ArtInfo, December 10
Lehrer-Graiwer, Sarah, Best of 2014: Sarah Legrer-Graiwer, ArtForum, December
Jovanovic, Rozalia, "Artadias 15th Birthday Adventure in NYC," ArtNews, October 16
Thorson, Alice, " 'Don't Go Back To Sleep': The time for change is now," Kansas City Star, May 24 (Link)
Halter, Ed, "Body Bags," essay on Stanya Kahn's 'Don't Go Back To Sleep,' commissioned by Grand Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, Summer (Link)
Cook, Liz, "Stanya Kahn visits the suburbs for Grand Arts' 'Don't Go Back To Sleep,'" The Pitch, May 20 (Link)
Guthery, Summer, "Critic's Pick: Stanya Kahn at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects," Artforum.com, May 19 (Link)
Beck, Chelsea, "Review: Selfing Togetherment Naturally," ArtSlant, May 11 (Link)
2013
Michno, Christopher, Review: Facing the Sublime in Water, CA, Artillery, January/February
2012
Myers, Holly, Llyn Foulkes' art of raw emotion, The Los Angeles Times, October 28
Allsop, Laura, "Stanya Kahn: It's Cool, I'm Good", Art Monthly, No. 359, September
Rahman, Sophia, "Interview: 'It's cool, I'm good' artist discusses first UK solo exhibition at Manchester's Cornerhouse", Mancunian Matters, June 21
Yablonsky, Linda, Womens Work, New York Times, May 10
Mohebbi, Sohrab, Stanya Kahns A cave walks into a bar, Art Agenda, April 3
Wiley, Chris, Stanya Kahn, Artforum Critics Picks, March
Myers, Holly, Art review: Stanya Kahn at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles Times, March 8
Wagley, Catherine, Five Artsy Things to Do This Week, Including a Penis Costume Film, LA Weekly, Februrary 29
Stanya Kahn Exhibition Navigates the Art of the Joke, Huffington Post, February 14
2011
Bancroft, Sarah, Two Schools of Cool, Orange County Museum of Art / Fellows Of Contemporary Art, DelMonico Books
Clothier, Peter, PST/OC, The Huffington Post, October
Kramer, David Jacob, Stanya Kahn, A Video Artist Who Defies Characterization, Paper Magazine, April
2010
Kilston, Lyra, First View: Stanya Kahn Its Cool, Im Good, Artreview.com, March 26 (Link)
Pagel, David, Around the galleries: A film fest that is all her own, Los Angeles Times, April 9 (Link)
Hebron, Micol, Critics Pick: Stanya Kahn at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Artforum.com, March 25 (Link)
Berardini, Andrew, Scene & Heard: Tour of Duty, ArtForum.com, March 19 (Link)
Smee, Sebastian, MIT Exhibit bends More Thank Gender, Boston Globe, February 14 (Link)
Proctor, Roy, Harnett Museum is Time-Based Art, February 14
2009
Woodard, Josef,Off the Off Radar Art, Santa Barbara News Press, November 20
Smith, Michael, Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, Bomb Magazine, No. 108, Summer
2008
Bedford, Christopher, Focus: Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, Frieze Magazine, Nov-Dec
Finkel, Jori, Unsettling in a Funny Sort of Way, New York Times, March 2
Kushner, Rachel 1,000 Words, Artforum, January
"Art reviews, defamation of character", New Yorker, November
Halle, Howard, "Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn," Time Out NY, July
Schambelan, Elizabeth, "Whitney Biennial," Art Forum, Summer
Armetta, Amoreen, "Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn," Artforum.com, June
Volk, Gregory, "Spring in Dystopia," Art in America, May
Saltz, Jerry, Whitney Biennial, Village Voice, April
Alemani, Cecilia, "Whitney Girls", Mousse Magazine, March
Cotter, Holland, Whitney Biennial, New York Times, March
Schjeldahl, Peter, Lessness: The Art World, New Yorker, March
Halle, Howard, Whitney Biennial, Time Out NY, March
Shaffer, Grant, "Art Review", Harry Dodge & Stanya Kahn", New Yorker, March 18
Cornell, Loren, "Art Picks: Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn," Time Out NY
Mellis, Miranda, California Video, Exhibition Catalogue, January
2007
Blumenstein, Ellen, Between Two Deaths, Exhibition Catalogue, July
Garrels, Gary, Edens Edge, Exhibition Catalogue, July
Art and Politics in LA, Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, Modern Painters, January
2006
Catalogue, Fair Exchange Show, Sept-Oct
Smith, Roberta, Art in Review: Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, New York Times, May 12
Arts About Town: Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, New Yorker, May 15
Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, Time Out New York, May 11
Kushner, Rachel, Openings: Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, Artforum, February
2005
Van, Tran Duc, Scene and Heard: The Artforum Diary: Houses Proud, December
Bailey, Cindy, Radar Reading Series, LitRave, September 9
Johnson, Ken, Stanya Kahn and Harriet (Harry) Dodge, New York Times, August 5
Cornell, Lauren, Notes from Underground, NYFA Interactive News, April
Gilani, Nadia, Selected Shorts, Gingerbeer, April
Weissman, Benjamin, Slaves to the Visual, The Believer, Dec 2004/January
2004
Halter, Ed, A Few Odd Girls Out, Village Voice, November 19-25
Hall, Phil, Winner, Film Threat, February 16
2003
Specht, Mary, Crappy Theater, Houston Press, Volume 15, Number 19, May 8-14
2002
Kehr, Dave, By Hook or By Crook, New York Times, Friday October 25
Anderson, Melissa, Tracking Shots, Village Voice, October 23-29
2001
Success: By Hook or By Crook, Seattle Gay Standard, November 2-8
2000
Covan, Ellie, Politics, Nakedness, and Other Hot Topics, New York Times, September 20
Pilger, Faith, The Absurdist Brilliance of Shempco AKA Stanya Kahn, Dance Insider, January 19
1999
Soloski, Alexis, Rank Stranger, Village Voice, May 25
Rasmusson, Erika, Rank Stranger, Shout Magazine, May
A Bit of Strangeness in Rank Stranger, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 30
Molzahn, Laura, Magnificent Irreverence: Ladylike Performance Festival, Chicago Reader, February 5
1998
Jast, Frank, Exciting Political Stage Art (translation), Potsdamer Neuste Nachrichten Wochenendausgabe, September 19
Wild, Political and Exciting (translation), Neus Deutschland- Berlin, October 8
Seidel, Miriam, Opening up to Interrogation and Self-Interrogation in Specimens, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 13
Dunning, Jennifer, Fallen Angels in Energetic Theatricality, New York Times, December 12
Campello, Lennox, Stanya Kahns Delirium, Echo Magazine Online, April
Jackson, Merilyn, Thoughtful Gestures, Philadelphia Weekly, June 12-18
Rudstrom, Sten, Delirium: Stanya Kahn, P-Form, Number 44 Fall1997/ Winter
1997
Knaff, Deborah, COREs Activist Artists try to bring sense to the Millenium, San Diego Union Tribune, April 10
Critics Pick, Dallas Observer, December 8
Lloyd, Carol, Intelligent Carnality, San Francisco Weekly, Arpil 30 - May 8
Entertainment for the Apocalypse, San Francisco Weekly, April 16 - 22
Guerilla Dance: Among the Ruins, San Francisco Focus Magazine, July
1996
Murrin, Tom, Probing Mars, Paper Magazine Online, December
Chonin, Neva, Art Revolution, San Francisco Bay Guardian, September 25 - October 2
Chonin, Neva, Utility Beast, San Francisco Bay Guardian, by October 4 - 10
1995
Noyes, Katia, Whos That Tomgirl, Dykespeak, April
1994
Bussa, JJ, Face Lift, P-Form, January15

Group Exhibition Catalogues and Books

2017
Burton, J., and Bell, N. (2017). Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon. Pg 100-103. New Museum.
2015
Dawsey, Jill, Laugh-In: Art, Comedy, Performance, exhibition essay, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, January 23
2010
Bryant, Tisa, Miranda Mellis, Kate Schatz, eds., Hell, Encyclopedia Project, Vol. 2, SPD Press
2007
Cooper, Dennis, Ed. Hell, Userlands: New Fiction from the Blogging Underground, Akashic Press, January
Hull, Steven, Ed., Let the Good Times Roll, performance text in Nothing Moments, collection of art and fiction, Angstrom Gallery, Los Angeles
Let the Good Times Roll, performance text, Soft Targets Journal of Theory, Art and Literature, Vol. 1
Lois and Conan, short story, LTTR Journal of Art and Writing, #4
2002
Athey, Ron, Interview, POZ Magazine, June
7:15 AM: On Timothy McVeigh, Movement Research Journal, 23, August
2000
The Ballad of Crappy and Seapole According to Shempco, chapbook of performance text, December
1999
Rank Stranger, chapbook of performance text, April
1998
Delirium, chapbook of performance text, March
Terminatrix Progeny, Poetry and Performance Texts, Abundant F*CK Press, with M. Mellis and Anah-K
1995
Utility Beast, chapbook of performance text, September

Awards, Grants and Fellowships

2021
MacDowell Fellowship
2015
San Francisco Art Institute Artist in Residence
2014
Investing in Artists grant, Center for Cultural Innovation
2013
Artadia Award, Los Angeles Awardee
2012
Guggenheim Fellowship, Film/Video
2011
ARC Grant, Center for Cultural Innovation
2010
Jury Prize: Best Short, Narrative Fiction, Migrating Forms Film Festival
2009
Durfee Foundation, Artists Resource Grant
Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, nomination
2008
United States Artists Fellowship, nomination
Durfee Foundation, Artist's Resource Grant
2007
Rockefeller Film/Video Fellowship Nomination
California Community Fund Fellowship for Mid-Career Artists
2006
Durfee Foundation, Artist's Resource Grant
2004
Winner, Backyard Invitational Video Competition, sponsored by Lazy-J, Hollywood Hills House, and the Believer Magazine