Kembra Pfahler's Decades of Transgressive Art Celebrated in New Book

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Kembra Pfahler, a pioneering performance artist known for her transgressive and ritualistic work, is the subject of a new eponymous book published by Rizzoli. The book celebrates four decades of Pfahler's boundary-pushing art, from her early Cinema of Transgression pieces to her legendary rock band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, as well as her gallery interventions featuring nude painted bodies. Pfahler has forged a singular visual language that obliterates traditional notions of acceptable femininity in art and performance.

Why it matters

Pfahler's work has been a driving force behind a feminist underground in New York since the 1980s, challenging societal norms and expectations around female artmaking. Her uncompromising approach has made her a seminal figure in the world of transgressive performance art.

The details

The new Rizzoli book collects a wealth of ephemera, performance documentation, and portraits showcasing Pfahler's electrifying vision over the past four decades. From her early Cinema of Transgression works to her iconic rock band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, where performers with blackened teeth and mountainous wigs enacted ritualistic critiques, to her gallery interventions featuring nude painted bodies, Pfahler has forged a singular visual language that refuses the polite confines of traditional female artmaking.

• Pfahler arrived on the Lower East Side art scene in the early 1980s.
• The new Rizzoli book celebrating her work was launched last week at Dover Street Market.

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