Kathleen Shaver

Lives and works in Stone Ridge, NY, USA

Artist statement

My art investigates an embodied experience of the world. The sensory perceptions of our lived bodies, unmediated by reflective thought, can reveal to us a kind of primordial awareness, an attunement characterized by wonder and discovery. Grounded in the materiality of pigment, plaster, wood, or charcoal, my work explores a sensuous, pre-conceptual, state of being. This attunement to our lived bodies and our intertwinement with the physical world opens my art to discovery, to the surprise of re-composition, transformation and metamorphosis. PAINTINGS Although I work within the tradition of paint on canvas, I am constantly shifting my approach in pursuit of the unexpected. To apply the paint, I use a variety of spatulas, palette knives, rollers, and misshapen old brushes as well as my hands. A dynamic of contrasts is present in my work: bold brushwork and calligraphic lines broach softened or smudged areas; a thick paint build up abuts thinly washed or scraped and scratched passages; bright primary colors compete with murky darks. Gesture works with shape to evoke movement and evolution. These contrasting elements combine to create an active field animated by ambiguous forms. Often, there is the suggestion of a central figure with branching arms, legs, and feet. Leaf or flower shapes, hands, fingers, animal-like paws or tails might appear. Calligraphic marks and paint dribbles suggest sprouting roots. Phallic protuberances and invaginations evoke couplings or intersections....

Artwork