Kathleen Patricia's profile
I have lived most my life in Baltimore, MD and studied painting at Maryland Institute College of Art. Though much of my work is still influenced by my painting language, my current work is also very affected by my desire to explore and expand my materials use and my visual vocabulary.
My artwork is a collection of large installations and small intimate pieces designed to both overwhelm and seduce the viewer. The artwork is confessional, humorous, and often relational. I use my experiences from my time as a naturalist and park ranger to influence many of my natural image choices.
Most of my recent work is composed of paper, paint, canvas, and collage. My goal with these mediums is to stretch them to their limits as two-dimensional materials. In “Native Invasives” the paper was stressed and shredded using sandpaper, power tools, and water. The color in the piece was created with acrylic paint and oil pastel. Turpentine was used to scrub and excavate areas of the painting.
I have chosen the images in my work for their accessibility. By using images such as the eyes and fur in “144 Monsters,” the deer and dandelions in “Native Invasives,” the roses in “Dear Mario” and “Big Rose,” I am contrasting these sickeningly sweet or even banal images with sincere (albeit sometimes embarrassingly sincere) narratives. The results are usually both heartbreaking and humorous. “Dear Mario” is one of these pieces. The three books in “Dear Mario” began as one volume and were composed with the viewer’s eye in mind as I began and ended a romantic relationship. The roses, flowers, and animals were chosen as superficial references to romance but repeated to the extent, that they no longer referenced romance, rather fecundity and chaos.
My artwork is influenced by artists who express a similar sincerity (and mild humor) with delicate material manipulation. Artists like Kiki Smith and Didier Williams will subvert serious subject matter within coy and mystical imagery. And I have drawn inspiration to challenge my own color pallet from Didier’s paintings. Though most of my work is not performative (with the exception of “Dear Mario”), I draw influence in my language and presentation from the art of Ingrid Burrington and Miranda July.
My artwork is a collection of large installations and small intimate pieces designed to both overwhelm and seduce the viewer. The artwork is confessional, humorous, and often relational. I use my experiences from my time as a naturalist and park ranger to influence many of my natural image choices.
Most of my recent work is composed of paper, paint, canvas, and collage. My goal with these mediums is to stretch them to their limits as two-dimensional materials. In “Native Invasives” the paper was stressed and shredded using sandpaper, power tools, and water. The color in the piece was created with acrylic paint and oil pastel. Turpentine was used to scrub and excavate areas of the painting.
I have chosen the images in my work for their accessibility. By using images such as the eyes and fur in “144 Monsters,” the deer and dandelions in “Native Invasives,” the roses in “Dear Mario” and “Big Rose,” I am contrasting these sickeningly sweet or even banal images with sincere (albeit sometimes embarrassingly sincere) narratives. The results are usually both heartbreaking and humorous. “Dear Mario” is one of these pieces. The three books in “Dear Mario” began as one volume and were composed with the viewer’s eye in mind as I began and ended a romantic relationship. The roses, flowers, and animals were chosen as superficial references to romance but repeated to the extent, that they no longer referenced romance, rather fecundity and chaos.
My artwork is influenced by artists who express a similar sincerity (and mild humor) with delicate material manipulation. Artists like Kiki Smith and Didier Williams will subvert serious subject matter within coy and mystical imagery. And I have drawn inspiration to challenge my own color pallet from Didier’s paintings. Though most of my work is not performative (with the exception of “Dear Mario”), I draw influence in my language and presentation from the art of Ingrid Burrington and Miranda July.
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