Independent Curator & Sky Arts Artist of the Year Judge
Kathleen Soriano is an independent curator, strategic consultant, and broadcaster. Chair of the Liverpool Biennial, and Chair of Art UK, on the Visual Arts Committee of St Paul’s Cathedral and Advisory Council of 2 Temple Place, she is also a specialist advisor to the National Trust.
With over 35 years’ experience in the art world she has been responsible for contemporary and historical exhibitions, collections and public programmes at the National Portrait Gallery, London and the Royal Academy of Arts, where she was Artistic Director (2009-14), as well as at Compton Verney Art Gallery, where she was previously Director.
We were delighted to chat to Kathleen about incredible curatorial work, experience of being a judge on Sky Arts and now being one of the guest judges for the Cass Art Prize.
Hi Kathleen, thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, in your curatorial work, what are the guiding principles and passions that influence these decisions? What excites you most about connecting art with audiences?
I tend to be most excited by the idea of broadening the canon of art history and introducing audiences to artists that they haven’t previously encountered. Ideally when doing this I like to go narrow and deep so that you leave feeling as if you’ve really learnt something about an individual artist, a nation or an artistic movement – and that’s as relevant for me as it is the audience.
Through Portrait and Landscape Artist of the Year I’ve also taken huge pleasure in sharing the vocabulary that we use when talking about art. I always remember in the very first episode talking to Joan Bakewell about the narrative within one particular painting and she sharply questioned the presence of narrative when it wasn’t a book. Today we talk regularly about narrative in painting, and viewers of the show and artists alike feel comfortable using words such as ground, palette, composition, etc. In hearing that reflected back, it makes me feel very proud that we have helped to democratize the way in which we talk about art.
Are there any artists or exhibitions you’ve been most inspired by these past 12 months?
Naturally, as Chair of the Board, I would say that the best thing I saw in the last 12 months was the Liverpool Biennial. Liverpool Biennial is the largest festival of contemporary art in the UK and in 2023 we mounted our 12th edition, guest curated by Khanyisili Mbongwa and entitled uMoya: The sacred return of lost things. Including over 35 artists and collectives from 6 continents, including 15 new commissions, this Biennial addressed the history and temperament of the city of Liverpool and was a call for ancestral and indigenous forms of knowledge, wisdom and healing. I couldn’t be more proud of what the Biennial team achieved with this ambitious city-wide programme.
After Impressionism at the National Gallery blew me away. We tend to think that we know the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists but this exhibition brought important works together in rooms that allowed for connections to be revealed and new insights into familiar works. That said, there were a many works that I had never seen in the flesh before so – a total joy.
With your extensive curatorial background and your experience judging Sky Arts Artist of the Year, you offer such a unique perspective. What things will you be looking for in the entries to the Cass Art Prize?
In coming to judge a work of art I first work to put my own personal aesthetics to one side and focus on identifying quality in production and intention. I’m always looking for something that I’ve never seen before, but I also love things that are rooted in the past and show an intelligent re-interpretation for today. I’m a sucker for anything that takes me off to other places either through narrative, colour, shape and form, or simply through its physicality. But at the end of the day, truth and beauty still wins out for me.
Having judged numerous competitions, can you share a story of an artist or artwork that left a lasting impression on you?
For 18 years I ran the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, or the John Player Portrait Award as it used to be called in my first years there. That entire open competition formed the foundation of my art education in contemporary art and helped me move my thinking on to where it is today.
I am also especially fond of it as it was through the competition that I first met Tai Shan Schierenberg (with whom I judge on the tv programme) … when we were both in our mid-twenties … many centuries ago.
Sky Arts Artist of the Year is known for supporting artistic development, and we’re hoping that the Cass Art Prize can be a launchpad for many emerging artists. Can you share some insights on how competitions like this can empower and support new artistic voices within the contemporary art scene?
The impact of a significant art prize can be easily measured by the successful careers of those artists who took part, and especially through those that won. Our Sky Arts Artists of the Year are now able to list their works as in the collections of some of our most important art galleries – from Manchester Art Gallery to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, from the Walker Art Gallery to the Science Museum. Many of our winning artists have been able to devote themselves full-time to making their art as a result of their endeavours in the competition, and it has been a joy to see them fly in this way. And of course, competitions such as these do what matters to me most … broadening the canon … so it’s a win win all round.
Thanks so much for your time, Kathleen. Finally, If you had one piece of advice for any artists entering the competition, what would it be?
Just to be honest with what you submit, don’t try and second guess what the judges are after, be true to yourself and your practice and it.
Be sure to follow Kathleen on her Instagram
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