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The Evidence of Time
Artist Kathy Kissik Captures What So Many Would Like to Forget
By Angie Hargot
It’s not clear how many artists creating in South Florida can boast the resume that mixed media artist Kathy Kissik can.
But really — it isn’t that important. It’s Kissik’s work that grabs you.
When the Art Center South Florida (where Kissik is a resident artist) opened the doors to the public for a Wynwood-style art walk, the response was overwhelmingly positive. But there were a handful of studios you found yourself going back to again and again. Maybe it was earlier in the day and you peered through the glass doors… Perhaps you stood inside, sipping wine and reeling at the work. Maybe you eavesdropped on someone else’s meandering critique. Always though, comes the memories.
And Kissik’s mixed-media creations span decades of coveted creative forces as easily as they do walls. Her first degree, a Master’s in design in 1988 from Chamberlayne Junior College, in Boston, (she would go on to obtain several more degrees from Tufts, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and The University of New South Wales) only set the pace for an industrious art career. It was one that eventually led to dozens of exhibitions, awards and fellowships including Paul Fleck Fellowship, and the Pollock-Krasner Fellowship – each twice over.
Her work follows less of a ‘theme’ than a stage of existence. Time, and the effects of time, whether through decay or simple movement are prevalent concepts — and stand as a “metaphor for the human condition.”
She uses various subjects of plaster, wood, metal and found objects as canvases for photography, both film and digital as well as the combination of the two, encrusted with muted tones to form the different stages of shadow and light — the simplest pieces of evidence of the very existence of time.
How did it all start?
I graduated when I was 19 with an AAS in Ad Design. I was hired by a top firm in Boston a week out of school. Two months later, with numerous agency hours under my belt, I decided that I better go back to school or risk being sentenced to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. work days. I enrolled in the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston and Tufts University. After earning a diploma and BFA I decided to do a post grad degree. I was fortunate to win a Fifth Year Traveling Scholarship upon my graduation and subsequently was signed, out of school, with the most well-established gallery in Boston, Alpha Gallery. My first show there was completely bought out by a Canadian art patron named Mr. James Fleck. I really owe my career to him because after that show I was able to work as a full-time artist.
Describe your artistic vision.
My vision has always been to evoke how a place feels. The interpretation of time, space, and subtle nuances associated with the experience of a subject. I approach each piece with the intention of making artwork that I would want to look at, want to live with.
You work with scenes from a wide array of forests, cities and landscapes – where do you draw your imagery from? And tell us about “Better Living Through Chemicals.”
I tackle a wide array of subject matters inspired by my travels. Architecture is my great passion. Currently I am working on a series of factories across America. Eventually this body of work will include Canadian, South American, and European factories.
You’re soon to return to the Banff Centre through the endowment of a Paul D. Fleck fellowship. What will you work on?
I will be working on a collaborative project with a photographer and environmental artist out of Glasgow, as well as two writers from Canada. We are called The Holy Springs Collective. My work will focus on the interpretation of the constellation Orion. It will be an installation with text.
The most flattering comment you’ve ever received about your work?
The art critic and scholar Mary Lynne Katz told me that some of my work out- Rauschenberged Rauschenburg. I was blown away with this statement.
The most insulting?
An art gallery owner in Sydney named Ray Hughes told me that my work had been done before. We went on to debate the point over wine and subsequently he has inspired me to only create masterpieces.
How does art change people?
Art brings people together. When a person can look at a piece and feel, the distance created through differences in mankind is lessened.
This year Kissik’s work at the Banff Centre collective will feature painting, photography, sculpture, stories, poems, verse, music and movement. The show is scheduled to tour Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2011.
See more of her work at alphagallery.com and elainefleckgallery.com.
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