Kate Nielsen lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Her day to day studio practice is a meditation, beginning with a process that involves building up layers of acrylic paint that are then peeled, cut, and reincorporated into a new forms. While she oscillates between figurative and abstracted subject matter, what connects all of her work is technique, layering and collaging mats of peeled acrylic paint. Her descent into abstraction is inspired by recent trips to the desert, the rock formations, the lakes, and the landscape of the Western United States, where she was born and raised. Her work has been described as being rooted in an abstract environmentalism, the physical structure and subject matter is organic. The underlying thread is a vibration of energy, an agitation. Cuts, rips, and scrapes that result in the creation of new forms. The slow build up of seemingly disparate layers of paint, come together to form autonomous structures, that don’t require a foundation or canvas backdrop to adhere to. Kate was born and raised in Reno NV and received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.
