Katherine Gagnon

About

American, b. 1988   —   Katherine Gagnon has exhibited her work up and down the east coast over the last ten years. She holds a BA from Colby College and an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art’s LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting. Notable shows include exhibitions with the June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, ME (2012), and the Lazy Susan Gallery, New York, NY (2017). Residencies include the Edward Albee Foundation, Montauk, NY (2017), Art Farm, Marquette, NB (2014), and being the first Maryland Institute College of Art-St. Mary’s College of Maryland Artist House Teaching Fellow in Residence in 2014. I paint landscapes that move me or that I am drawn to mimic. I see the works as a way to hold onto that which is precious and the present moment. For me, there is solace and a spiritual connection to being in nature. Capturing an image through painting is a way to grasp, reach, and linger in that which is finite—the beauty of life. My work uses a combination of oil pastel and watercolor on paper and I also work with chalk pastels. In these mediums, I convey a specific time and place by working through various light conditions. I am fascinated by the moment when mark-making takes on meaning in the building of a painting. The paintings are poetry and lived experience. CURRENT: TRAVEL JOURNAL A selection of paintings from the desert, Arizona January 2022