The 7 x 7 Group @ 425 Market and 45 Fremont, San Francisco
Exhibition by Casey and Associates, January 2- March 14, 2005
The 7 x 7 Group
425 Market
45 Fremont
Artist Statement: Kathryn Arnold
January 2005
The paintings are a result of intuitive nonobjective processes and contain my search for visual "magic". The sense of touch and chaotic energy of color and marks play an important role in building up layers that function to create and encompassing, enveloping field and bewildering space. The grid at times becomes a reference point and the intrinsic relating of parts form poetry; an interplay between subjective and objective realities.
"If the doors of perception are cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite."
William Blake
These paintings are a result of intuitive nonobjective processes and contain my search for a clear, precise moment of visual "magic". At this place where everything comes together, an integration occurs. Perhaps this is the magic - the moment is ordinary yet contains this indefinable occurence of integration - of which each is new and previously unseen. There is no end to this continual process.
The sense of physical touch is used layer after layer; the physical is defining a nonphysical experience.
My work shares connections with the abstractions of the German painters: Gerhard Richter for his lushly painted surfaces and energy-producing seemingly spontaneous vivid relationships of colors and movement, Sigmar Polke for his all-over organic material physical qualities, and Anselm Kiefer with his romanticist fields of texture where the physical remains meaningful.
I use the tangible qualities of mark-making and surfaces to evoke or possibly create romanticist spirit and presence. Then, following through to speak to these particular pieces that I have chosen to present, spirit and matter intertwine. This arena, that defies definition, connects to the poetry I use for titles.
This group of ten paintings incorporate a sense of space and atmosphere. Colors are used to convey a sense of personality, a sense of feeling. These paintings explore the nature of physicality and spirit, often using a grid. The grid is a see-through grid, creating boundaries that enable containment and definition of that play of visual energy which is enhanced through the use of color.
The enigmatic number 7 forms the exterior boundaries of these fields of color. The number 7, a viable part of Medieval numerology is a symbolic representation of spirit and matter. That sense of magic as experienced in the Middle Ages and read about in Tolkein's texts and brought to the popular imagination by Peter Jackson is an important part of the process in creating these pieces.
(I have always been a Tolkein fan; I love how Middle Earth conveys that magical sense of the Middle Ages.)
*"2.Any mysterious, seemingly inexplicable power or influence; as, the "magic" of love." (webster)
These 6 paintings are located at the 425 Market Building, enter on Fremont or from the courtyard entrance. Each of them are 7' x 7'.
"i never saw the sky so bright" (g. bradley) echoes of remembering or remembering of echoes
elusive material spring: a pause between the lotus blossoms
winter: winter's wind summer: summer's lover
The following 4 pieces are located at 45 Fremont. I do not have an image of passage. Each of these are 7' x 7'.
one dance passage
fish and dragon in the sierras with manzanita trees
On a side note, this smaller piece called path will be located in the office of 425 Market. It is 30" x 30".
Kathryn Arnold
Brief Bio:
Kathryn studied at the Kansas City Art Institute for three years and completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at the University of Kansas, Lawrence in 1991 with a Phi Kappa Phi honor. She completed her Master of Fine Arts in Art with Honors in May, 1993. (Lawrence , Kansas is where William Burroughs resided the last section of his life and Alan Ginsberg a frequent visitor to the area while both were alive. A bit of the “beat” poets' and writers' influence is seen in Kathryn's work.)
Kathryn Arnold has shown her work on a national scale, from New York City to Hawaii, from Los Angeles to Chicago and Kansas City and St Louis in commercial galleries, university galleries, and non-profit community art spaces and is a NEA Regional Fellowship recipient. She has received other fellowships, grants and awards as well. She has been written about by Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune and Raphael Rubenstein of Art in America along with many others. An image of her work was displayed in the New York Times . Her work is included in numerous public and private collections.
Kathryn works in her studio in San Francisco when she is not teaching in the Bay area. It is a large space with a skywell that keeps track of the time. Her work contains two intertwining veins. One is filled with large, colorful oils on canvas. The other vein includes drawings that are black and white mixed media works on paper. Both display the density and layered mark-making that points to artistic process and content.
KATHRYN ARNOLD
http://www.8thstreetstudio.org
301 8 th Street, #245
San Francisco , CA 94103
(Studio)
(415) 863-8531
(415) 336- 3180
ka@kathrynarnold.com