ARTIST STATEMENT
Through her vaguely unsettling, whimsical, and suggestive narratives, Kathy address aspects of climate change, geoengineering, and the rights and histories of women. The artist believes these issues are interrelated, and her work explores changing natural habitats as subject, as she considers histories of the land.
Kathy’s work is process and materially oriented. She combines abstraction and representation—often with manipulated imagery and layers of acrylic, spray paint, color pencil, collage, and assemblage—ranging from small and jewel-like to more significant in size. She uses myriad techniques, from wiping, cutting, stencil and rubbing, to ink jet copying, and direct painting and drawing.
Photographs and traditional landscape compositions are altered, and Kathy’s elements are layered, both translucent and opaque, mimicking memory and transformation. Her compositions are haunting in their proximity to something close to truth.
Kathy has many influences from her 25 years as a curator, including modernist composition, Surrealism, decorative arts and craft, photography, and the relationship between landscape/memory and the female artist-body.
Biography
In late 2017, Kathy left her 20-year curatorial position to make art full-time. Her successful exhibition and sales record includes solo and group exhibitions in Chicago, Provincetown, and Denver, among others. In 2022-23, Kathy received a grant from the Iowa Arts Council for a catalogue of her work. Although she has a wonderful studio in Iowa, Kathy recently completed two residencies at Edgewood Farm (Castle Hill, Truro, MA) and Grand Marais Art Center, MN. Her work is in the collection of University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, and many private collections.
From 1998 to 2018, Kathy was a curator at University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. From 1989 to 1998 she was director of The Print Center in Philadelphia. Her graduate degree is from The University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Kathy has received many grants for her curatorial work from the National Endowment for the Arts to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Her writing is published extensively. Upon leaving the UISMA, Kathy and her husband established the Kathleen Edwards Purchase Fund for Contemporary Art by American Women.