Katharine Kuharic: 2018 Richard Diebenkorn Teaching Fellow

San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) is pleased to announce artist Katharine Kuharic as the recipient of the 2018 Richard Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship. Established in 1998 by the family of renowned painter Richard Diebenkorn, who studied and taught at SFAI beginning in the 1940s, this fellowship makes it possible for a contemporary artist to both teach at SFAI and pursue independent studio work.

Katharine Kuharic is a painter primarily known for her allegorical paintings consisting of thousands of details, multiple figures, and complex technique. Kuharic received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 1984.

Brett Reichman, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Painting, states, “For the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Richard Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship at SFAI, we’re enthusiastically looking forward to having Katharine Kuharic join us as the 2018 Fellow. Katharine’s rigorous approach to realism combined with projects devoted to political activism were essential in her selection. Katharine will be teaching a painting course she designed titled ‘Painting as Protest’ to ‘probe and interrogate’ our tumultuous political landscape. Katharine’s passion for teaching and firm commitment to her unique practice exemplifies the all-encompassing spirit of the Diebenkorn Fellowship.”

Richard Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship
The Richard Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship is dedicated to the memory of distinguished painter Richard Diebenkorn. In January 1946, Diebenkorn enrolled at SFAI as a student, and in September was awarded the school’s Albert Bender Grant, which allowed him to travel and work independently for a year. Diebenkorn went to New York and, when he returned the following year, was offered his first teaching appointment at SFAI. He taught through 1949, and again from 1959 to 1966. The Richard Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship was established in 1998 to honor his contributions as a teacher and to provide a similar opportunity to contemporary artists.

This prestigious award has been given to 20 artists since 1998, including Brad Brown, Shaun O’Dell, Iona Rozeal Brown, Josephine Taylor, Monica Majoli, Polly Apfelbaum, and Liam Everett. See a complete list of recipients here.

The Richard Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship is funded by the generosity of the family of Richard Diebenkorn.

About SFAI
Founded in 1871, SFAI is one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious institutions in the practice and study of contemporary art. As a diverse community of working artists and scholars, SFAI provides students with a rigorous education in the arts and preparation for a life in the arts through an immersive studio environment, an integrated liberal arts and art history curriculum, and critical engagement with the world. Committed to educating artists who will shape the future of art, culture, and society, SFAI fosters creativity and original thinking in an open, experimental, and interdisciplinary context.

SFAI offers BFA, BA, MFA, and MA degrees, a dual MA/MFA degree, a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, and a range of exhibitions, public programs, and public education courses. Notable past faculty and alumni include Lance Acord, Ansel Adams, Kathryn Bigelow, Enrique Chagoya, Angela Davis, Richard Diebenkorn, Paul Kos, George Kuchar, Annie Leibovitz, Barry McGee, Manuel Neri, Catherine Opie, Peter Pau, Laura Poitras, Clyfford Still, and Kehinde Wiley.