Kathy Loev Putnam

Artist's Statement

I am interested in painting subjects that reference human experiences without presenting fully resolved narratives. My most recent work is inspired by memories of my children at play. These particular paintings engender spaces through the imaginative interpretations of children old enough to interact with the world, yet young enough to see it as a safe place, created for their exploration. I am interested in the tensions between children contentedly lost in their invented realities, and the vulnerability of their actual circumstances.

I fragment my forms to create friction between the interior lives of my subjects and their corporeal realities. Textiles, as well as paint and printmaking, allow me to manipulate surfaces in unexpected ways. Established visual hierarchies activate a chain of events, interrupted by breaks in logical forms, collisions between interiors and exteriors, and competing perspectives. Each painting is a constant negotiation between the materials and the psyche of my subject.