Kathy Helper

Henry Waiting

Porcelain

24 x 18 x 1.5 inches

More Info:

Inspired by my son waiting in the dark winter night for the family to leave the house for dinner. I loved the light that was present.

Bio:

Kathy Halper (1958, Chicago, IL) has been a working artist for over 30 years creating narrative work in a multitude of mediums. She has been a Hudson Valley resident for less than two. As such, her work has become increasingly more focused on the land while retaining an eye towards storytelling. Halper has created and exhibited work at George Billis LA, Muriel Guepin Gallery in New York, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans, and Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago, among others. She was selected by Lucy Lippard for “From the Center: Now!” and Kendall College of Art & Design as part of ArtPrize and has participated in Terrain Biennial. She has been shown at Context/Miami Art Week, SOFA Chicago and has been featured in HuffPost, Art Voices and Surface Design Journal. The artist lives with her husband and dog in Saugerties, New York.

Statement:

Like many before me, I moved to the country (from the suburbs of Chicago) and I am transformed. I am compelled to capture my Hudson Valley surroundings. For a narrative painter, this presents a quandary. How to tell a story when you want to paint trees? The question has opened up my work in a way I could not have foreseen. Emerson wrote, “In the woods, is perpetual youth.” I’ll be honest, I was not prepared for the youthful exuberance I feel in my new home. I have been telling people back in the Midwest that I am living my childhood fantasy of life in a magical forest without even knowing Emerson got there first. And so how can I not explore this in my painting, as well as interior spaces that hold meaning for me? My view is intimate. I start by referencing personal images from hiking, walking the dog, resting at home. I consider the composition and values. Colors are chosen by emotional content, I play with thin layers of colors, adding and removing, darkening and brightening, letting abstract forms remain. I look for graphic elements to weight the work, a tree branch, a rock, a person. Figures are not the lead actors in these stories, though. They may be part of the landscape or a side plot. The main character is the feeling of space. Painting such a universal theme as nature seemed very daunting to me when I first considered it. Artists have been channeling the Hudson Valley since the 1800’s. What would I say that hasn’t been said before? I now have faith that the power of this landscape is so vast that there will always be room for a voice with a unique story to tell.