ARTIST STATEMENT
My current body of work highlights the intuitive process of collage accompanied by traditional printmaking methods such as monotype, serigraphy, and relief. Awarded with a variety of textures, colors, and lines as a result of these methods, I can then lay out the experimental work and observe how each print begins to communicate with another. Sometimes a single print solidifies itself in the composition with little adjustments while others require a great deal of cutting, pasting, and reconfiguring in order to participate in the conversation. Inspired by a memory with my grandmother, this project is fueled by conversations with my childhood self in an act to heal from traumas in my adult life. This process has connected with me much like how I connect with memory. Where some memories are clear and uncorrupted, others are vague and inaccurate. Reflecting on these characteristics of memory, each piece can continuously be reconfigured to generate alternative experiences for each audience. In the past, my work has functioned to communicate literal images of the body, architecture, and landscapes, however, this body of work is motivated by the experiences generated through abstraction. Using a combination of playful lines, contrasting colors, and unexplained textures, I aim to provoke a memory and provide space for imaginative thinking.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kayla Haugen is a Minnesota-based artist. Originally studying graphic design, Haugen discovered the media of printmaking and has never looked back. The flexibility to adapt and change through the making of plates and the simple act of pressing materials into each other reflects Haugen’s own creative process. Haugen begins by immersing herself in subject matter — researching and engaging with the community in which she is studying, reading, and learning myriad perspectives and experiences, and identifying the systems that work to control and direct human experiences and identity. She then unifies these experiences into layers, building her works in several media and often seamlessly integrating her print approaches with paint and sculpture. Haugen’s prints are physical and tactile reflections of her research that embody a community of voices, including her own.
© Kayla Haugen