Kyle Cottier

Lives and works in Gatlinburg, TN, USA

Artist statement

Kyle Cottier (b. Louisville, KY 1993) is a sculptor currently based in Knoxville, TN. They hold a BFA from the Art Academy of Cincinnati (2015) and attended the New York Studio Residency Program in Brooklyn (2014). A third-year graduate student in sculpture at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Kyle was previously an Artist-In-Residence at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts in the Smoky Mountains from 2021-2022. Kyle's interdisciplinary practice combines traditional basketry and woodworking techniques across sculpture, video, and performance. Their work has been featured in the International Sculpture Center's Magazine, and The Museum for Art in Wood’s exhibition, Vessel: Embodiment, Autonomy, and Ornament in Wood, in Philadelphia. Recently they participated in the group show, Modular, at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati. Kyle's work explores the intersection of the natural and constructed world, synthesizing personal and social transformations through innovative installations. I am an interdisciplinary artist making small modular units that I weave into larger forms. I am inspired by systems of connection, from cyclical patterns in nature to the pixels of our virtual landscape. As a sculptor, I prioritize the handmade object, valuing the connection between my body and the fragments of nature I use. My work is devoted to traditional craft practices like basketry, studying vessels as symbols of embodiment that combine form and thought. Vessels, a fundamental form in...

Artwork