Caitlin T. McCormack
Contact Information
Studio & Gallery
1901 S. 9th St 504-G Philadelphia, PA 19148
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.
Fiber Art/Sculpture & 3D
Artist's Biography
Caitlin McCormackis a Philadelphia-based fiber artist who works primarily with crocheted cotton thread that is dredged in a mixture of glues, stiffened, and positioned in the form of animal and humanoid skeletons, which are showcased in velvet-lined shadow boxes and under glass display domes. She earned a BFA in Illustration from The University of the Arts in 2010, and originally pursued illustration as a career, but has found her footing, and a sense of fulfillment, in the creation of these sculptures, which convey her thoughts regarding memory, and how the authenticity of a recollection becomes distorted over time.
Caitlin's body of work, which originates as sketches drawn from memory after observing osteological specimens, transforms throughout theprocess of its construction, and becomes a hybrid of recognizable, skeletal forms, and the artist's own visual biases. She has taken part in gallery and museum exhibitions across the US, as well as in Japan, the UK, Germany, Australia, and The Netherlands, and receives representation from Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia.
Artist's Statement
The act of stiffening intricately crocheted cotton string with glue produces material that is structurally similar to delicate bone tissue. The string utilized in this process can be viewed as the basic cellular unit of fabrication, and by utilizing media and practices inherited from my deceased relatives, I aim to generate emblems of my diminishing bloodline, embodied by each organism's skeletal remains.
With a majority of my work, I employ pseudoscientific principles and antiquated methods to generate material, in an attempt to impart a visual indication that something has transpired in a fabricated reality. I aim to construct the likenesses of creatures suspended in a state of perpetual dormancy, by way of crocheting - a practice that is based upon active proliferation. Little by little, this process permits me to construct a very personal taxonomy of creatures symbolizing my memories and experiences.
The material out of which my work is composed acts as an alchemical conduit between the garment and the clothesline; it acknowledges the latter as a symbol of the ancestry and familial bonds which have greatly informed my work. I wish to give the impression that a garment has disintegrated and reformed itself, warped by the passing of time, in the image of a tenacious animal's remains, a reflection on both the persistence of memory and the significance of cloth and thread in the realm of human experience.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo and Two-Person
2019
Granny<, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
See You All in There, Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2018
Changing Death (Lazarus Taxa), Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
Antibeast, Last Rites Gallery, New York, NY
2017
Tracing the Remains, The Thomson Hall Gallery at the Mütter Museum, Philadelphia, PA
With Sabrina Small
Lazarus Taxa, Paradigm Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Home, Again, Antler Gallery, Portland, OR
2016
Immemorial, Antler Gallery, Portland, OR
With Jason Borders
Lostwithall, Lu Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Mnemosyne, Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2014
Darktide, Antler Gallery, Portland, OR
Interhaven, Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2012
As We Vanish, Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Philadelphia, PA
With Jason Chen
Group
2020
Here and Now, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
InBreak, SPRING/BREAK Art Fair, New York, NY
Room for One, NAPOLEON, Philadelphia, PA
Structures, Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
New Now III, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Microdose, Booth Gallery, New York, NY
2019
No Cure For Mourning, Stockton University Art Gallery, Galloway, NJ
Re-Beginning, Thinkspace, Los Angeles, CA
Ruin, The Royal Society of American Art, Brooklyn, NY
National Prize Exhibition, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA
Saga, Paintguide, Hong Kong, China
2018
Here/Now, Lawrence Art Gallery, London, UK
Scope Art Fair, with Red Truck Gallery, Miami, FL
Juxtapoz Clubhouse, with Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Miami, FL
Psycho Salon, Superchief Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2017
AltRealities, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ
Tangled - Fiber Art Now, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
Delusional, Jonathan LeVine Projects, Jersey City, NJ
Don't Wake Daddy XII, Feinkunst Krüger, Hamburg, Germany
2016
Wolves, Magic Mirrors, and Spinning Wheels - The Anatomy of Fairy Tales, Everhart Museum, Scranton, PA
A Curious Nature, The Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
Methods of Collection, Esther Klein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Aestheticism, Vanilla Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
The Thread of Art, Stanek Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2015
Exquisite Echoes, Gray Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Opus Hypnagogia, The Morbid Anatomy Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Into the Wild, Joseph Gross Gallery, New York, NY
Rijswijk Textile Biennial, Museum Rijswijk, Rijswijk, Netherlands
Wild, Cornell Art Museum, Delray Beach, FL
Exquisite Form, Allen's Lane Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
2014
Impossible Books, Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, Philadelphia, PA
The Clothesline Muse, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
Art Inspiring Art, Sundance Channel Headquarters, New York, NY
2013
Cell Mates, Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ
Industrialism, The Art Factory, Paterson, NJ
The Sublime Revisited, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY
2012
Art From Found Objects, The Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ
Animal Show, Pterodactyl, Philadelphia, PA
Hung, Little Berlin, Philadelphia, PA
Artist's Bibliography
2019
Fox, Lyndsie, "The Delicate Macabre: An Interview with Caitlin McCormack." Juxtapoz, October 1.
Madara, Melissa, "Creation, Time, and the Authenticity of Memory: A Conversation with Caitlin McCormack." Venefica Magazine, Vol. 4, pg. 54-59.
Popova, Ekaterina, "Caitlin McCormack." Create! Magazine, Issue 15, pg. 50-53.
Sierzputowski, Kate, "Crocheted Skeletal Figures Preserved Behind Glass by Caitlin McCormack." ThisisColossal.com, February 20.
2018
Smith, Beth, "On the Dark Side." Fiber Art Now, Vol. 8, pg. 29-30.
Morrow, Justine, "Ossified Forms, Forest Whispers." Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Issue 022, pg. 68-71.
2017
Velez, Janai, "Selvedge: Designer Edge." Homespun Magazine, No. 175, pg. 18-19.
Meier, Allison, "Responding to Human Remains with Crocheted Skeletons and Beaded Organs." Hyperallergic.com, February 15.
2016
Billock, Jennifer, "Don't Miss These 11 New Museum Exhibitions This Winter." Smithsonianmag.con, December 2.
"Caitlin T. McCormack." Hey! Magazine, Issue No. 25, pg. 36-39.
Martin, Lisa, "An Interview with Macabre Crocheter Caitlin McCormack." Makezine.com, April 15.
2015
Nagle, Aubrey, "Caitlin McCormack's Creepy Crochet Creatures Weave a Touching Tale." PhillyVoice.com, October 26.
Buerrman, Caro, "Caitlin McCormack's Delicate Crocheted Animal Skeletons." Hi-Fructose.com, October 21.
"Painting Glance." image credited to artist, Bust Magazine, October/November, pg. 96.
Erickson, Christine, "Artist's Creepy Crochet Is Actually Sweet Tribute to Grandparents." Yahoo.com, August 4.
Yeung, Peter, "Creepy Crochets - In Pictures." TheGuardian.com, August 1.
Sierzputowski, Kate, "Decaying Animal Skeletons Crocheted From String by Artist Caitlin McCormack." ThisisColossal.com, July 17.
Mier, Victoria, "Philadelphia Artist Experiments With the Threads of Memory." The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, May 22, pg. 1: Home and Design.
2014
Starreveld, Marjolein, "Cehaakte Leegte." Textiel Plus Magazine, Alkmaar, Netherlands, Issue 230, pg. 26-28.
Awards and Honors
2010
Thornton Oakley Medal
Ted Carey Award Nominee
2006
Presidential Scholarship, University of the Arts
Teaching Experience
2018
Hussian College, Philadelphia, PA
Undergraduate Illustration Professor
2017 - 2018
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Department of Illustration Guest Lecturer
Commissions
2011
Album cover and disc tray illustration, The Minor Arcana, Emotional Alchemy
Publications
2012
"Featured Artist," CRED Magazine Issue Two, May 2012, pgs. 26, 64, 65 and 67
2011
322 Review: Issue No. 9 Rowan University, Summer 2011
Edge Magazine, alumni spotlight with photograph, Philadelphia PA, Winter 2011, pg. 34
Education
2010
University of the Arts, Philadelphia PA
BFA, Illustration
Recipient of the Thornton Oakley Medal for Achievement in Creative Arts
Recent Artist Member Mentions on InLiquid
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Philly’s Freedom
Diverse Voices. One City. How do we define “liberty”? What does it mean to be “free”? These are questions and … See Full Post
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Sculpture in the Glen II
For the second year in a row, InLiquid has successfully curated our incredible one of a kind sculpture garden titled … See Full Post
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Members Explore Freedom at National Liberty Museum
Caitlin T. McCormack, E. Sherman Hayman, Eva E. Glassworks, Gary Grissom, Jean Broden, and Lyn Godley all have work in the National Liberty Museum’s exhibition Philly’s Freedom. The exhibition runs from October 16 through February 13 and explores what freedom and liberty mean to 50+ Philadelphia artists.
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Sculpture in the Glen II
InLiquid celebrates 21 years with a month-long exhibition in collaboration with the Burch Family, Sculpture in the Glen II. This … See Full Post
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Members Win Philadelphia Sculptors’ Grant
Constance McBride, Caitlin McCormack, and Hanna Vogel are recipients of Philadelphia Sculptors’ “P.S. We Love Our Members” grant! The grant has helped them sustain their careers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Congrats!
