ARTIST STATEMENT
My artwork, which includes art quilts, paintings on cloth, and paintings on wood panel, is inspired by my interest in natural history, geology, maps, patterning, and concern for the environment. This work is also informed by my experience as an avid birdwatcher and by my past experience as a volunteer for the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago). The works on cloth are created by hand-painting detailed images, patterns and backgrounds with acrylic paint thinned to a dye-like consistency.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Donna June Katz, trained in painting and printmaking at Antioch College (Ohio) and Rutgers University (New Jersey), creates art quilts, paintings on cloth and paintings on wood panel in her Chicago studio.
Her work has been widely exhibited in venues such as “Intersect Chicago/SOFA”, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the Minnesota Marine Museum, the South Bend (IN) Regional Museum of Art, Dittmar Gallery (Northwestern University–IL) and the Maryland Federation of Art. Her work can also be seen in several publications including “Art Quilts of the Midwest” and “Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World”, and will soon be seen in a book about bird imagery in fiber art (Schiffer Publishing). She is the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Artists Fellowship and two State of Illinois awards for excellence in craft. Working in the Gallery 37 program with Chicago public high school students, she facilitated the creation of large-scale collaborative quilts.
© Donna June Katz