Katherine Steichen Rosing

Lives and works in Madison, WI, USA

Artist statement

My practice includes painting and immersive installations informed by experiences in the wilderness, ecological literature, and studio experimentation. Forests are my lens to climate, atmosphere, and the hydrologic cycles. The paintings express the heightened awareness and euphoria often felt in natural environments, while the more somber tone of the monochrome installations expresses the anxiety I feel about the climate crisis. My abstract paintings envision intricate relationships between forest ecosystems and their watersheds. I often draw or write in wet paint, implanting inscriptions in many layers of saturated color that reference invisible processes and life forms while creating a complex surface that is important to me. The installations are physically immersive, incorporating suspended sculptures—virtual forests made with fabric and other materials. The translucent fabric sculptures, beaded and embroidered with symbolic patterns and sometimes made with community participation, suggest the fragility of forest ecosystems. Recently, I have been working with India ink, a symbol of carbon sequestered by trees, on linen gauze and silk organza. I burn holes in the cloth as a meditation on forests burning due to changing environmental conditions. I am developing a new installation exploring connections between atmospheric rivers, forests, and climate.

Artwork