Cate Pasquarelli

Lives and works in New York, NY

Artist statement

My sculptures depict desolate environments that take on the qualities of their inhabitants: their traditions, nostalgias, and unease toward the future. Steepled churches, colonial-style houses, and white picket fences – the loaded imagery we associate with pastoral American life – becomes distorted and deformed in my work. My recent project, “The Museum of Embellished History,” is a traveling museum dedicated to preserving the memory of small towns. Pulling from true stories, old wives’ tales, and my own imagination, the exhibitions form a distorted narrative within the accepted framework of an institutional museum. The works reflect on how collaborative memory and a pervasive herd mentality can stretch our version of the truth to create impossible histories.

Artwork

• Barbara's House, 2025. Wood, paper, foam, turf, mylar, LED light, acrylic paint
• Circus Hall, 2026. Wood, rice paper, string, nails, LED light, acrylic paint
• Center For Modern Worship, 2025. Wood, paper, wire, resin, LED light, acrylic paint
• Downtime, 2025. Glass cloche, resin, wood, plexiglass, sandpaper, wire, cotton fabric, monofilament, acrylic paint
• Box Trap, 2026. Glass cloche, wood, foam, turf, paper, twig, string, aluminum, sandpaper, acrylic and enamel paint
• The Museum of Embellished History Presents Wassaic, 2024. Wood, foam, turf, linoleum, wire, thread, cotton, twigs, paper, plastic, acrylic and enamel paint (plexiglass, wood panelling)
• We Used to Live Here, 2025. Glass cloche, wood, foam, turf, wire, paper, acrylic and enamel paint
• Duplex, 2026. Glass cloche, wood, foam, turf, static grass, dirt, sandpaper, aluminum, acrylic and enamel paint
• Neighbors, 2025. Glass cloche, wood, foam, wire, acrylic and enamel paint
• Movers, 2026. Glass cloche, resin, wood, wire, sandpaper, acrylic and enamel paint
• Barbara's Window, 2026. Oil on canvas over panel
• Michael's Window, 2026. Oil on canvas over panel
• Neighbors, 2026. Oil on canvas over panel