Kate Steenhauer: On the Runway

On the Runway captures the fashion industry through drawings, models’ voices, music, and highly detailed imagery of Dame Zandra Rhodes‘ bold prints and colourful patterns from the V&A exhibition "50 Years of Fabulous". This suite of pencil and graphite drawings form a small part of the complex and diverse works of the artist. She examines the fashion industry, aiming to shed light on life in the fashion world, not always focused on the glamour and glitter of the runway.

Kate Steenhauer was born and raised in the Netherlands. Her work centres on socio-political issues, such as COVID-19, feminism, heteronormativity, gender presentation, data bias, and the role of Artificial Intelligence. Her practice “looks to move the traditionally static experience of visual art into a dynamic and interactive art form that is temporal, transient, and transformational... These multi-disciplinary productions can be viewed through the mediums of theatre, film, (live) audio-visual installation and artwork.” and she explores the capacity of drawing in dialogue with other art forms, technology, and the relationship with its audience.

The pencil and graphite fashion drawings are available both in the gallery and online at Compass Gallery.

Kate Steenhauer has had numerous solo shows across Scotland and in collaboration with the Internazionale di Grafica, Venice. Since 2010 she has exhibited in numerous mixed group exhibitions throughout Scotland and in London, including the RSA, SSA, RGI, RA, Aberdeen Art Gallery and The Mall Galleries, London.

She has works held in the public collection of Aberdeen Maritime Museum and Angus Council.

Awards include:
2022 Film & Video Award, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen Artist Society;
2021 Connected Innovators’ Creative Edinburgh and Creative Informatics Award, Painting Music;
2021 Aberdeen City Council Creative Funding Award, In the bell with Composer Maria Sappho;
2020, 2017, 2012 Aberdeen City Visual Artist Award;
2019 Aberdeen City Council Creative Funding Award, Painting Music (Film) with AI Specialist Dr. Starkey;
2018 Haddo House Installation Arts Prize, Aberdeen Artists’ Society, The Shelter, Writer Shane Strachan;
2016 Visiting Guest Artist Full Fellowship, Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venice & Murano, Italy;
2015 Meffan Museum and Gallery, The Colin Dakers Memorial Purchase Prize;
2014 Royal Scottish Academy Latimer Award.