Permindar Kaur is a British artist of Sikh origin. She was born in 1965 in Nottingham and studied at Sheffield Polytechnic (BFA) as well as the Glasgow School of Art (MFA).
Kaur’s work often references notions of childhood, innocence and vulnerability, as well as to different religious or historical backgrounds, exploring a broad scope of the human condition. Her signature polar-fleece sculptures for example combine the conviviality of cuddly toys with the threatening elements of claws, armour and horns. By appearing simultaneously welcoming and dangerous, her work can often expose feelings of fragility in the viewer.
In 2016 Kaur participated as a speaker for Now & Then, Here & There, a two-day conference at Iniva interrogating the question of how artists of African and Asian descent in Britain feature in the story of twentieth-century art.
Permindar Kaur has exhibited internationally. Major solo exhibitions include ‘Interlopers’, University of Hertfordshire (2016); ‘Hiding Out’, Djanogly Art Gallery, Nottingham Lakeside Arts (2014); ‘Untitled’, Berwick Gymnasium Art Gallery, Berwick (1999); ‘Comfort of Little Places’, Aspex, Portsmouth (1998) and ‘Cold Comfort’, Ikon Gallery, Bimingham, Mead Gallery, Coventry (1996).
Major group exhibitions include ‘A Vision of Utopia’, Spirella Building, Letchworth (2014), ‘What’s Going On?’ Usher Gallery, Lincoln (2013); ‘Spoilt Rotten: Young Curators’, Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, Wales (2005); ‘At Home with Art’, Tate, London and touring (2000); ‘Hot Air’, Granship, Shizouka Arts Centre, Japan (1999); ‘Pictura Britannica, Art from Britain’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (1997); ‘British Art Show 4’, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff (1995).
Permindar Kaur lives and works in the UK.