Spectral Type
Spectral Type offers creative writing and strategy for art, music, and design practitioners and businesses.
I work collaboratively with clients on a wide range of projects, drawing on more than a decade of experience writing for publications, galleries and artists.
From biographies and exhibition texts to brand copywriting, album write-ups, research, and editing, Spectral Type offers a personalized approach, crafting the words that represent artists and their creations in the world.
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About Me
My name is Kayla Guthrie (they/them). Apart from being a writer, I’m an artist and musician, and these practices frequently mingle. I’ve been publishing in various forms since 2007 and my work swims within and between the realms of contemporary art and underground or avant-garde culture.
I’ve published two books of poetry (Sunsets Working, Bodega, 2015; Book of Shadows, Young Art, 2014) and released music as Kayla Guthrie (Falling Star, Wild Flesh, 2018; Blue, Mixed Media, 2015) and Reliquary V (CLAIRVOYANCE, AmbrosiA NYC, 2020), as well as an album of electronic poetry, Dematerialize (Soap Library, 2021).
As an artist, I’ve performed and/or exhibited at venues including Real Fine Arts, Greene Naftali, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Massimo de Carlo, MINI Goethe Institut Curatorial Residency, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Bodega, JTT, Contemporary Art Daily, The New York Art Book Fair, SIGNAL, Off Vendome, Basilica Hudson, Karma International, SADE, Deli Gallery, and Audio Visual Arts (AVA).
I hold a BFA from Emily Carr University (2007) and studied writing in courses at the New School and workshops with Bruce Benderson. I trained in performance art in workshops with the Meredith Monk Ensemble and Kembra Pfahler.
I was formerly based in New York City* for over a decade, and I recently relocated to Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal after a stint in Vancouver**.
*Unceded Lenape territory. **Unceded Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam territory.
About My Writing
I do articles and columns for publications and various writing commissions for the art and music communities. As a freelance copywriter and editor, my clients include galleries, artists, labels, brands, and publishers.
Exhibition Texts:
DEPT. WITHIN for "DEPT. WITHIN" by Aaron Aujla at C L E A R I N G, Brooklyn, November 17 - December 22, 2012 Materialism Parts 1 and 2 text for "Materialism" at Real Fine Arts, Brooklyn, June 13 - July 12, 2009 160 km / West Coast Edition for "160 km" at Kidd Yellin, Brooklyn, October 8 - November 6, 2009 Press release for "Metal Paintings" by Erik Lindman at Almine Rech, London, September 12 - November 5, 2016 Articles: Art in America, “First Look” column: Caleb Considine (Nov 2012), Helen Marten (Dec 2012), Tyler Dobson (Jan 2013), Adriana Lara (Feb 2013), Sergei Tcherepnin (April 2013) Art in America website: Q&As with Bernadette Corporation (2012), Karl Holmqvist (2012), Chris Kraus (2011), Eileen Myles (2010), Bjarne Melgaard (2010) “Portfolio,” prose poem for Dossier magazine Issue 10 (2012) Artforum: “Preview: Rita Ackermann” (Jan 2012), “Preview: Oh, Canada” (May 2012) Interview website: Q&As with Kim Gordon (2010), Swans (2010)
Books:
Sunsets Working, Bodega, New York (2015) Book of Shadows, Young Art, Los Angeles (2014) Rotting Porch, Sister LA, Los Angeles (2009) Umbrellas and Dropcloths, essay for Hanna Liden and Nate Lowman's Cats & Dogs, Maccarone, New York/Massimo de Carlo, London (2014) Ghost Town, short fiction for Hanna Liden's Ghost Town, Karma, New York (2013) Nate Lowman biography for Empire State: New York Art Now, edited by Alex Gartenfeld and Norman Rosenthal, Skira (2013) Feel the Fear and do it Anyway: Artists, Anxiety, and Writing, afterword for Robin Cameron's The Book That Makes Itself, self-published artist book (2011) NADA, nothing, essay for Available Works, Real Fine Arts, NADA Miami Beach (2010)
Selected freelance clients:
Studio 26 Artist Services (Audain Prize) Killer Dentist/Other Subjects Chloe Alexandra Thompson Kerry McGuire/Wish Lash Michelle Cieloszczyk Twenty First Gallery OBSKUR Records Trevor McFedries Alexander Muret no peak hours Noah Venezia KING DADDY Steff Juniper Overland