Catherine
Gillian Catherine - Artist
Gillian Catherine is a Massachusetts based visual artist who explores themes of environmentalism and personal identity.
Her work primarily includes collage, mixed media, and found objects. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Arts Management and Art with a concentration in Design from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Gillian’s work has been exhibited in North Adams, MA at Express Gallery, and in Pittsfield, MA at MCLA Pittsfield, Williams Patterson University in Wayne, NJ, the Santa Fe Community College Art Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, and Gallery 303, Brigham Young, Provo, UT. In 2019 she participated in a highly competitive Place/Lab fellowship in Iceland, where she responded to ideas of place within the unique landscape, alongside twenty-two other artists. She has also been selected to participate in travel fellowships to Utah and Venice, Italy.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I create politically motivated works of art utilizing collage, single-use plastic, and found materials in combination with painting, printmaking, and fiber arts techniques. The plastic materials that I collect are manipulated through the processes of weaving, fusing, embroidery, and crochet. These processes serve as a metaphor for the coming together, and actions needed to protect our natural environment. I believe in the importance of connecting the material to the concept.
The act of collecting is an action toward cleaning the planet, as well as interacting and engaging with the natural world. It is a meditation and practice in being eco-conscious. The use of color in my work intends to evoke an overall positive response leaving one with a sense of relief.
My work is intended to facilitate dialogue between viewers about sustainability, the relationship between humans and our planet, and our relationships with each other. As we live in a time of uncertainty, it is now more than ever that we need to come together and take action, but this is easier said than done. My art creates a space to reflect, converse, and offer solutions.
Education
2016-2020
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA)
Bachelors of Art: Arts Management, and Art: Design Concentration
Awards
2019
2019
2017
MCLA Travel Fellowship, Venice Biennale
Place/Lab Fellowship, Iceland
MCLA Travel Fellowship, Land & Identity, Southern Utah
Exhibitions
Solo
2019
For Three Years, MCLA Pittsfield, Pittsfield, MA
Group
2020
And So It Goes, Virtual, https://www.mclaseniorartmajors.com/
2019
Odd Nature, Santa Fe Community College Fine Art Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2018
Ink, Press, Repeat: National Juried Printmaking/Book Art Exhibition, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ
2017
Bee in Her Bonnet: Clothing Reform & the Suffragist Movement, Gallery 303, Brigham Young, Provo, UT