Kerstin Brätsch

Kerstin Brätsch (born 1979) is a German contemporary visual artist known primarily as a painter and for her collaborative work with Adele Röder in DAS INSTITUT and with Debo Eilers in KAYA.

Born in Hamburg, Germany, she earned her MFA from Columbia University in New York City, where she now lives and works. Brätsch creates large-scale, highly abstract works using diverse media, often displayed unconventionally—such as being hung by magnets, draped, or framed between sheets of glass—blurring the lines between exhibition and performance. DAS INSTITUT, formed in 2007 with Röder, explores image dissemination and production through a mix of Brätsch’s paintings and Röder’s digital projections and posters, often involving other collaborators.

As KAYA, Brätsch and Eilers collaborate with their muse, Kaya, a teenage artist encouraged to develop her own practice. Brätsch’s rapid production of work has earned her significant recognition, including the August Macke Prize in 2014 and the Edvard Munch Art Award in 2017, which included a solo exhibition at the Munch Museum. Represented by Gladstone Gallery, Gió Marconi, and previously by Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, Brätsch’s work has been featured in major exhibitions, including The Forever Now at MoMA and a solo show at Museum Brandhorst.

In 2024, she was among 18 artists selected to create installations for JFK Airport’s new Terminal 6, opening in 2026.