Artist's Statement
Kristen George Kavanagh was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. In her early life she was fortunate enough to travel widely to Asia, the Middle East, South America, Western Europe and North Africa. Her work reflects memories and experiences of these places, in addition to her love of the urban landscape and the sheer human industry it evokes.
She has recently moved to Santa Fe with her family after many visits and thoughts of settling here, being so inspired by the landscape and beauty of New Mexico.
Educated at U. C. Berkeley and the California College of the Arts, she spent the majority of her career dividing time between print design and web design. Since moving to Santa Fe, NM her artwork is primarily large-scale collage pieces, lino cuts and monoprints.
Kristen sees herself as a colorist. She is inspired by the mid-century Bay Area Figurative School with its subjects of rural and urban landscapes. She seeks the beauty found in daily objects as well as in local and imagined landscapes.
Kristen also lived in Matsue Japan as a young child and attended the local school for kindergarten and first grade. These early visual experiences have made a lasting impact on the design and color of her work.
Kristen's collage works consist of archival board, archival glues, mulberry paper, watercolor paper, and pages from old and new Japanese texts and other found papers. She incorporates many layers of paper to achieve the depth of color and richness for which she strives.
"I hope that in my work, by sharing these pieces, I can evoke in others a familiar atmosphere; light, heat, smell and a visual memory of the places I have represented."
Recent and upcoming shows:
Art Reception and Show of more recent works
A Prism Gallery presentation at the Gruet Winery Tasting Room
St Francis Hotel, downtown Santa Fe, NM
Thursday December 14th 7-9pm
Art Reception and Show of recent works
Prism Gallery Studio 1300 Luisa Street, Santa Fe, NM
Friday September 1st 4-6pm
-Kristen George Kavanagh
[email protected]