Katherine Hart
Color, texture, shadows. These things immediately stand out when looking at my paintings. I have been working with low relief in my paintings for four years now and still the possibilities seem endless. There have been many different subjects, including sunsets and underwater scenes, although lately the pictures have been moving towards total abstraction. The paintings have many vibrant and intense colors juxtaposed to create areas of high contrast and areas of similarity. These colors are painted and blended over weather stripping clay which is also textured to create contrast or similarity. The interplay between the colors and underlying structure of clay is very interesting to me. My pictures usually reference nature, although in some of the abstract pieces these forms remain unrecognizable. In addition to acting like paintings hung on the wall, my work also functions like sculpture in that the angle of viewing changes what forms, colors and shadows are seen. From different angles, new patterns and color combinations appear. The angle of lighting also can create interesting shadow effects. I really enjoy all of this variation as it allows much more to play and experiment with than a two dimensional flat surface.
The materials I use are very important to me. I know that painting and sculpture each have long traditions and that to mix the two sometimes is frowned upon, even today in our very open-to-new-possibilities art world. I am not concerned with breaking traditions and my materials are not meant to comment on anything. I attach weather stripping clay to stretched canvas or canvas board and paint over it with acrylic or oil paints solely for the tactile quality that results. I love working with my hands and sculpting. I also enjoy the way the paint flows, blends, spreads, and the painting mediums that change the consistency and interplay between paints. My paintings encompass what I feel is the perfect mix between the two media. When I get out a new canvas I am always excited about all the possibilities and I thoroughly enjoy the way the clay and paint layers build up to make the finished product.
One influence on my art has been working at the Weisman Art Museum. From working there I have gotten lots of exposure to the arts community by attending openings, gallery talks, art auctions, fundraisers, and other events. It has been very interesting to see how a museum operates, collects and displays artwork; as has attending events all around the Twin Cities. These experiences have all influenced my artwork by giving me exposure to many artists I would never have seen. I have spent hours looking at the contemporary art the museum owns, and during some events I get to see art by practicing local artists. This exposure constantly gives me new ideas to try out in my artwork. Three shows specifically have had a big impact on my art: Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, Mir Iskusstva: Russia’s Age of Elegance, and Charles Biederman: (1906-2004) In Memorium. All three of these shows had very big, colorful paintings that I absolutely loved looking at. I especially am influenced by the Charles Biederman painted aluminum works. They are hung on the wall like paintings but geometric and abstract forms stick out from the flat panel in relief. They are painted in bright colors, with shadows that change depending on the location of the light source. I try to do all of these things in my art, although mine are painted in a more painterly fashion than the flat colors on the Biedermans.
Another influence on my art has been scuba diving. I was certified three years ago and have gone on diving trips to the Bahamas, the Mediterranean Sea, Lake Superior, and numerous to Minnesota lakes. I always have a waterproof camera with me and I take pictures of everything. I use these pictures to generate the forms I put into my abstract paintings. The coral forms and reef structures are almost abstract by themselves, and I use them as a starting point. I also am intrigued by the number of bright colors that occur naturally underwater in the coral and fish; I try to use these memories when deciding on my color choices. In the way I apply paint in blended layers I think of the distortion of objects underwater, and the way water looks over different colors and forms. There are endless possibilities for exploration in the ocean and I draw on this every time I come up with a new painting.
I really enjoy the reaction I get from the viewer. Usually people stop next to one of my paintings and ask “whoa, what is that?� People are not expecting to see a painting hanging on the wall with this level of relief. Instead of being a flat surface like most paintings, it is a painting that is no longer flat; it breaks out a little into the viewer’s space. When looking at sculpture, people expect this, but when looking at a painting on the wall it is very fascinating. In my classes, usually other students enjoy this juxtaposition. I have had frustration with the teachers though. Some painting teachers have told me its not actual painting because I’m not moving the paint around enough, and some sculpture teachers have told me its not sculpture because its not freestanding and too much time was spent painting rather than constructing. Even though this was frustrating to hear, I still enjoy that reaction because it means that some people still have boundaries in their thinking about art that I can push. I am making these paintings solely because I enjoy the mix of sculpture and painting, but if I can expand some people’s thinking about the relationships between the two media at the same time, I will definitely enjoy that as a nice side effect.