Kate MacKinnon

About the Artist

Born 1958 / Worcester MA, Kate MacKinnon received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art in 1992 and her Masters of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2003. During her graduate studies, she began to experiment with materials and paint application. These explorations led to an innovative and unique process that she continues to develop today. Working mainly in oil on canvas, her most recent paintings are high gloss abstractions that explore formal issues of color and surface. Her work was featured in New American Paintings issue No. 63. Kate's paintings have been widely exhibited in the mid-Atlantic region and across the United States, and are in the collections of Maryland General Hospital, The Cordish Family Collection, The Bozzuto Group, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Aspen Insurance Holdings LTD, as well as numerous private collections.    

Artist's Statement

My work is primarily focused on nature and our stewardship of the planet. My earliest paintings were in an expressive representational style that eventually evolved to abstraction. During my graduate studies I began experimenting with paint application and materials, creating a technique that I continue to develop today. I build my paintings out of layers of transparent glaze. This meditative process creates luminous color and a richness of surface that references industrial finishes. These experiments with oil paint application have become essential to my practice. Through interaction and intervention with my materials I try to capture the spirit of the observed world. In my most recent paintings and drawings I explore the physical evidence of climate change, while simultaneously continuing to test the limitations of the materials I am working with. It is my hope that these aesthetically pleasing images lead the viewer to contemplate the dire circumstances that inspired them.