ARTIST'S STATEMENT
Using color, form and line, I explore an ever-evolving language of abstraction. Overlapping layers of color reveal and conceal, creating movement and depth. Forms are deconstructed and reconstructed. Brushstrokes, palette knife marks and lines energize and intersect the space, orchestrating a painterly rhythm and flow of expression.
My language of abstraction is a creative dialogue or visual conversation. It builds and expands through a process of statement and response, action and reaction. An initial, expressive action, like a gestural line or brushstroke sets in motion a series of inspired, creative reactions: rich and textured, loose and free, linear and sweeping marks. I work instinctively, using observation, knowledge and experimentation, reacting to the last mark made.
Working with oil and egg emulsion allows me to create the kinds of marks that I find most expressive. With a smooth, buttery consistency the paint holds brushstrokes and can be scraped thinly or layered thickly with a palette knife. The pencil lines glide through the paint freely, without constraint, at times carving and revealing layers of color. By combining drawing and painting and sometimes the sensation of sculpting, I can best capture my creative impulse.
© Catherine Birchard 2011
Using color, form and line, I explore an ever-evolving language of abstraction. Overlapping layers of color reveal and conceal, creating movement and depth. Forms are deconstructed and reconstructed. Brushstrokes, palette knife marks and lines energize and intersect the space, orchestrating a painterly rhythm and flow of expression.
My language of abstraction is a creative dialogue or visual conversation. It builds and expands through a process of statement and response, action and reaction. An initial, expressive action, like a gestural line or brushstroke sets in motion a series of inspired, creative reactions: rich and textured, loose and free, linear and sweeping marks. I work instinctively, using observation, knowledge and experimentation, reacting to the last mark made.
Working with oil and egg emulsion allows me to create the kinds of marks that I find most expressive. With a smooth, buttery consistency the paint holds brushstrokes and can be scraped thinly or layered thickly with a palette knife. The pencil lines glide through the paint freely, without constraint, at times carving and revealing layers of color. By combining drawing and painting and sometimes the sensation of sculpting, I can best capture my creative impulse.
© Catherine Birchard 2011
RESUME
EDUCATION
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Bachelor of Arts, History of Art, 1985
Westchester Art Workshop, White Plains, NY, Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Ceramics, Sculpture
Center for Book Arts, New York, NY, Bookbinding, Book Restoration, Box Construction
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2011 Reaction, Westchester Community College Center for the Arts, White Plains, NY
2008 Heads: Recent Paintings, Westchester Art Workshop Gallery, White Plains, NY
1997 Paintings and Monotypes, Westchester Art Workshop Gallery, White Plains, NY
1996 Painterly Prints, Greenburgh Public Library, Elmsford, NY (juried)
1996 Monotypes, Westchester Art Workshop Gallery, White Plains, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012 Art to the Point: Tri-State Juried Exhibition, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY (juried)
2011 Color and Light, Mamaroneck Artists' Guild Gallery, Larchmont, NY
2011 Juried Exhibition, Greenburgh Public Library Gallery, Elmsford, NY (juried)
2010 Painting, Westchester Community College Center for the Arts, White Plains, NY
2010 In Focus, Mamaroneck Artists' Guild Gallery, Larchmont, NY
2009 Painting, Westchester Community College Center for the Arts, White Plains, NY
2007 Waterworks 2007, Iona College Arts Center, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY (juried)
2007 Printmaking, Westchester Community College, Valhalla, NY (juried)
2006 Dynamic Synthesis, Iona College Arts Center, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY (juried)
2006 40 Years of Painting, JCC of Mid-Westchester Gallery, Scarsdale, NY (juried)
2005 Cornucopia, Mamaroneck Artists' Guild Gallery, Larchmont, NY
2004 New Rochelle Art Association Juried Show, New Rochelle, NY (juried)
2004 Kaleidoscope, Mamaroneck Artists' Guild Gallery, Larchmont, NY
2003 Celebrating MAG at 50, Larchmont Art, Larchmont, NY (juried)
2003 Waterworks 2003, Iona College Arts Center, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY (juried)
2003 Prelude to Spring, The Gallery at Macy Pavilion, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY (juried)
2002 2002 National Juried Exhibition, Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY (juried)
2002 The Human Presence: Interpretations, The Arts Exchange Gallery, White Plains, NY (juried)
2002 Loosely Landscaped, Pelham Arts Center, Pelham, NY (juried)
2001 Fall Harvest, Mamaroneck Artists' Guild Gallery, Larchmont, NY
2001 Point & Shoot, The Gallery on the Hudson, Irvington, NY
2000 Y2K‑aotic: Uncensored All‑Media Salon Show, The Art Club Gallery, New York, NY
2000 The Critic's Choice, New York Law School, New York, NY (juried)
1999 People, Places, and Things, Harrison Public Library, Harrison, NY (juried)
1999 Winter Interlude, The Gallery at Macy Pavilion, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY (juried)
1998 22nd National Print Biennial 1998, Silvermine Guild Galleries, New Canaan, CT (juried)
1998 Media Madness, Westbeth Gallery, New York, NY (juried)
1998 Juried Exhibition, Westchester Community College, Valhalla, NY (juried)
1998 The Portrait: Beyond Representation, College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY (juried)
1998 1998 Westchester Biennial, Castle Gallery, College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY (juried)
1998 Self, Gallery 402, New York, NY (juried)
1998 1998 Women in the Visual Arts, Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT (juried)
RELATED EXPERIENCE
1998 - 2009 Juror (2007 - 2009, 2002 - 2004), Director of Publicity (2001 - 2004), Director of Programs
(1998 - 2001), Newsletter Editor (1998 - 1999), Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild, Larchmont, NY
1984 - 1985 Curatorial Intern, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
1981 Education Intern, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/HONORS/PUBLICATIONS
2011 Studio Visit, Volume 16, The Open Studios Press, 2011
2002 - Present Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who of American Women, Biographee
2002 - Present ArtsWestchester, White Plains, NY, Artist Member/Artist Directory
1997 - Present Mamaroneck Artists' Guild, Larchmont, NY, Artist Member, Board of Directors (1998 - 2004)
1997 - 2004 Organization of Independent Artists, New York, NY, Artist Member
1993 - 2004 Center for Book Arts, New York, NY, Member
© Catherine Birchard 2011