ARTIST STATEMENT
My recent semi-abstract paintings draw inspiration from objects and images that embody the passage of time. These might include a photograph of a found landscape, glimpsed in the abstract interplay of shadows and orange spray paint on a city sidewalk, a fragmented and reassembled photograph of an urban wall, or the fossilized remains of a sea creature that went extinct 65 million years ago. These objects serve as points of connection, reminding me of the ephemeral and ever-shifting nature of our world.
The process begins with an exploration of these images through tactile materials: the stained covering of my work table, corroded photographic prints, or translucent glazes of oil-based enamel. The surface of each piece becomes a site of transformation, where layers of pigment, texture, and gesture coalesce. Through scraping back and excavating earlier passages, I unearth traces of what lies beneath, mirroring the way memory and time leave imprints on the physical world. Guided by a process-based and responsive approach, I let the medium lead as much as I shape it, creating works that explore chance and the impermanence of our surroundings.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Katherine Lampert is an artist based in Chicago, IL. She received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Northwestern University. She has exhibited widely, with a recent solo show at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago. Katherine has been a Community Artist in Residence at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago, an Artist In Residence at the Cooper Union, and received two fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center. She received a Full University Fellowship and a Teaching Fellowship from the Graduate School at Northwestern University, a City of Chicago Community Arts Assistance Program Grant, and a pARTners of Jackson Hole Grant. Her work has been featured in a number of publications, including the Chicago Tribune, Hyperallergic, and Michigan Avenue Magazine, among others.
© Katherine Lampert