MK Guth is a nationally recognized Portland, Oregon, interdisciplinary artist who teaches Visual Studies at Pacific Northwest College of Art. Born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in 1963, she attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she received her BA degree in sociology; and New York University, where she received her MFA degree in studio art.
For the past fifteen years, Guth has made artwork that brings people into a cultural conversation with one another. She first gained national attention for her entry in the Whitney Biennial in 2008. Her installation there, entitled Ties of Protection and Safekeeping, asked visitors to record what was most dear to them on scraps of cloth that in turn were woven into a five-hundred-foot braided sculpture. In 2012 she created installations entitled When Nothing Else Subsists, Smell and Taste Remain at The Art Gym at Marylhurst University in Portland, where she used food as a vehicle for triggering memories and emotions.
Guth’s artwork is firmly rooted in the tradition of conceptual art as she utilizes mixed-media works, photography, video, installations, and performances. Her work has been discussed in periodicals including The New York Times, Flash Art, New Art Examiner, and Art in America.
Over the years, her work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Australia, and Europe, including The Whitney Museum of American Art (New York City), The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), The Melbourne International Arts Festival (Australia), Nottdance Festival (England), The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (Portland, Oregon), The Art Gym at Marylhurst University (Marylhurst, Oregon), The Frye Art Museum, and The Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington. Her artworks are included in important public and private collections in this country as well as abroad.
Guth is currently an Associate Professor as well as the Interim Chair of the MA in Critical Studies Program at the Pacific Northwest College of Art where she has taught since 2004.
Image: MK Guth. Photo by Gia Goodrich.