Artist's Statement
I am both painter and sculptor, 2 very different processes that I find ever challenging and endless with possibility!My work sort of defies category, as it combines painting and sculpture and is mostly hung on a wall. My language is clear, I am very shape oriented. Most of my forms give reference to nature and language itself – pods, seeds, flora, speech bubbles etc.
The work is built using layers of wood that are laminated, and then painted with oil. The paint is also applied in layers so that color is built up and the end product seems to breath light from within. Color solidifies the work and adds mood and character.
Negative space is very important. The interplay of connected shapes is very much alive and even the shadows they cast feels charged with energy. My sculptural work asks questions, speaks to the viewer and, hopefully, invites conversation.
I always embrace new possibilities and seek to create work a that is living construction, drawings in space, and meditations on moving choreography that radiate positive energy from within.
Artist's Biography
Kathleen Spicer attended Philadelphia College of Art, (now the University of the Arts), and received her BFA from Parsons School of Design in New York. After more than 30 years living in New York, she returned to the Philadelphia area and continue to actively create artwork. She has been fortunate to receive several art awards and 8 public art commissions. Spicer is in collections nationally and internationally, and is a member of ARTsisters, Artists Equity and MCGOPA. She showed with the Sande Webster Gallery from the mid 80’s until its closure.
Education
1985
Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
BFA
1983
Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1981
Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Awards & Honors
2018
Philadelphia Tri-State Artists Equity
Juror's Prize
2015
Friends of Artists Equity
Juror's Prize
2012
Friends of Artists Equity Award
The Professional Artist 6, MCGOPA, Conshohocken, PA
Second Place
2001
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
Artist's Bibliography
2019
Binghaman, Brian, "Artists takes the Borough", Ticket Magazine, January
2018
Swartz, Maryanne, "Area Artists Showcase", Ticket Magazine, April 27
Featured Artist, The PAUL review (Philadelphia Art and Literary Review), Issue 6, Spring 2018
2016
Philadelphia Stories, Winter Edition
2008
ARTSLETTER, Volume XXXIII, Number 5, DVAA, September/October Issue
2007
ARTSLETTER, Volume XXXL, Number 3, DVAA, May/June Issue
2005
Hankanson Colby, Joyce, “Contemporary Sculptors..”, The Detroit News, Detroit, MI
2002
Israel, Stephen, "Art is Thriving...", Times Herald Record, Middletown, NY
Gref, Barbara, "In Brief", Towne Crier, Sullivan County, NY
2001
Johnson, Kenneth, "Art Guide", New York Times, New York, NY
Sozanski, Edward, "Botanical Plowshares," Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA
Select Public Collections
Temple University Fox School of Business, Philadelphia, PA
Penn State at Great Valley PA
United States Embassy in Togo, West Africa
Public School 28, Queens, NY
ARCO Chemical, Newtown, PA
Citibank NA, New York, NY
Wiley and Company, Hoboken, NJ
Cyberlogic Inc., New York, NY
Diamond State Port Corporation, Wilmington, DE
Merc Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Westpoint, PA
Phillip Morris, Inc., New York, NY
VCA/Deloitte and Touche, Elkins Park, PA
Public School 188, New York, NY
City of Chicago Police Department, Chicago IL
Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Arc Creative, Philadelphia, PA
Select Private Collections
Phoenix, AZ
Berkley, CA
San Francisco, CA
Jacksonville, FL
Melbourne, FL
Oakland Park, FL
Orlando, FL
West Palm Beach, FL
Atlanta, GA
Fairburn, GA
Chicago, IL
Detroit, MI
Concord, NH
Cherry Hill, NJ
Princeton, NJ
Teaneck, NJ
Brooklyn, NY
Ellenville, NY
Kerhonksen, NY
Narrowburg, NY
New York, NY
North Branch, NY
Portland, OR
Bala Cynwyd, PA
Doylestown, PA
Havertown, PA
King of Prussia, PA
Media, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenixville, PA
West Chester, PA
Midlothian, VA
Commissions
2020
New Market West, 59th and Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA
5 permanent pieces in 5 locations interior and exterior
2008
Fort Shelby Hotel, Detroit, MI
Faux interpretation of plaster relief ceiling
2007
City of Chicago Police Department, Chicago, IL
3 large wall hung relief sculptures in community room and hallway
2003
John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ
20 wall hung wood sculptures
2002
Deloitte, New York, NY
Small works to replace works destroyed in World Trade Center
2000
New York Department of Cultural Affairs and New York Board of Education, P.S. 28, Queens, NY
Series of painted aluminum wall sculptures and design for terrazzo floor design
Professional Experience
2017
Abington Friends School, Jenkintown, PA
Guest Lecturer
2016
Rydal Park, Jenkintown PA
Guest Lecturer
Member, Artists Equity Pennsylvania Chapter
Guest Lecturer, Sunshine Hall Free Library, Eldred, NY
Guest Moderator, panel discussion on Language of Abstraction, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, New York, NY
2006
Guest Lecturer, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2005
Guest Lecturer, Nassau County Community College Art Forums, Garden City, NY
2003
Guest Lecturer, Creative Center for People with Cancer, New York, NY