Description
ARTIST STATEMENT
My studio practice is rooted in contemporary representational painting and shaped by my love of classical portraiture. Working primarily in oil and watercolor, I paint Native women and powwow communities of the American West. I am drawn first to the individual—the expression of a face, the movement of a dancer, the color and detail of regalia—but I want the paintings to move beyond physical likeness. I am interested in the stories people carry and in how identity, memory, and tradition connect one generation to another.
Attending powwows and developing relationships with Native people have changed both my work and the way I think about being an artist. Listening to the people I paint has made me more aware of the responsibility that comes with portraying lives and traditions that are not my own. A question now guides my practice: **What responsibility does an artist have when representing a culture other than their own?** I do not expect painting to provide a simple answer. Instead, the question asks me to listen more carefully, learn from the people I portray, and continually examine the choices I make in the studio. My intention is not to speak for a community, but to honor the individuality and presence of the people who allow me to paint them and to invite viewers to look beyond the surface and consider the stories each person carries.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kathryn Castleton is a Utah-based painter working primarily in oil and watercolor. She came to formal art education later in life, beginning her studies at age sixty and earning a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Utah at sixty-four. Her contemporary representational practice is informed by classical portraiture and a lifelong interest in people and their stories. Castleton’s current work focuses on Native women and powwow communities of the American West. Through attending powwows, building relationships, and listening to the people she paints, her work has developed into an exploration of cultural memory, identity, belonging, and human connection. At the center of her practice is an ongoing question: What responsibility does an artist have when representing a culture other than their own? She approaches that question with humility and a willingness to listen and learn, creating portraits that seek to honor the individuality, presence, and stories of the people she paints.
© Kathy Castleton