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Kathleen King |
Bio-Logic II
Essay by Gregg Hertzlieb
Kathleen King’s latest body of work offers a fascinating glimpse into the artist’s fertile imagination and diverse working methods. These pieces, grouped together under the exhibition title Bio Logic II, present King’s reflection on the process of artistic creation and the substance of matter, as well as the variety of pictorial effects she is able to achieve through her use of oil paint, acrylic, acrylic transfer, and ink-jet transfer.
In earlier work, King used a water-soluble monotype method to produce works on paper, the surfaces of which seemed to shimmer with delicate, watery strokes. These individual gestures blended visually to depict her chosen subjects, ranging from still lifes to self portraits to mythological figures. For these monotypes, King painted on mylar sheets with water-based media and then carefully transferred these water-based paintings on mylar to sheets of fine printing paper. The resulting prints are truly remarkable because they present a surprising visual texture; while the surfaces of the prints are completely uniform and flat, the brushstrokes that constitute the image range widely from transparent to opaque. A viewer cannot help but wonder how these complex forms, spontaneous in feel and confident in execution, could rest so lightly and microscopically thin on the paper’s surface.
The work in Bio Logic II seems to arise out of King’s own thoughts on the monotype technique she has perfected. Her new works on canvas and paper demonstrate a fascination with the beautiful poolings that can be found not only in her individual gestures, but also in the various substances that exist in the natural world. The title Bio Logic II sums up King’s meditations on the order and rhythm that flows through life, exemplified by her balanced compositions of large and small abstract forms that strongly resemble cells and protozoa seen under a microscope. Cloisonné-like patterns that may have in her earlier work decorated a still life object or architectural fragment are now celebrated on their own, as intricate patterns which seem to exist in chaos but do in fact have a unifying logic that is wondrous to behold.
King invites viewers to look deeper and deeper into her pictures and into the world around them. An abstract, expressive painting is actually a composite of many levels of abstraction; magnified, a brushstroke explodes into countless abstractions that dance in a multitude of shapes, particles, and densities. King uses this almost infinite range of depth as her field of operations, her canvas. The richness of the underlying structure of nature becomes a place where she can invent with color and experiment with texture. Curly Whirl and Bio-Bits Mosaic, for example, sparkle with a multitude of paint applications, ranging from tiny spots to more broad strokes that in themselves seem to flow silently and slowly with their inner complexity. The forms in these works are liquid; although they have distinct edges and exist separately from one another, they each possess a unique character. Collectively, the forms add up to a coloristic unity and design. Thus, the warm Bio-Bits Mosaic is packed and stationary, while the cooler Curly Whirl has more of a figure-ground relationship with the central form seeming to twist and undulate. King’s artistic touch, her gestural application of paint, is unsuppressed to mirror the viscous qualities of fluids and tissues. Tints of color are deep and transparent, further reinforcing the liquidity of the surfaces that draws the eye into an appreciation of all areas of the overall composition. The word mosaic is useful in thinking about King’s paintings, as these works often do remind one of Byzantine mosaics with their jewel-like areas of color. Those paintings which are somewhat more geometric, such as Little Incubators and Polypetalous with Other Parts, have an Eastern feel which reminds one of Persian miniatures or manuscript illuminations. In general, the works in Bio Logic II, with their whimsical and enigmatic titles (such as Cellular Motif, Electric Blue Floaters, and Ooze Pink), illustrate well the artist’s interest in pictorial metaphor. More than just appealing arrangements of pigments, King’s paintings and works on paper are representations of a seldom seen world, an uncanny playground made up of elements that constitute all things organic and inorganic. The fluid marks that King makes with her brush are equivalents for the building blocks of matter, which in turn become the basis and inspiration for scintillating abstractions that record the ebb and flow of creative thought.
The word experiment mentioned earlier is significant to a discussion of King’s art. First, images in the various works resemble very much the forms one sees on a glass microscope slide when conducting a scientific experiment of some kind. Second, the artist has employed for this series a number of different artistic media. While oil and acrylic are more traditional, acrylic transfer and computer-generated elements can be considered more experimental in nature. King, in capturing a subject matter that can only be apprehended through close observation of an inner world, must turn to a wider realm of materials. Her multi-media paintings reflect an interest in finding new tools to depict both the minute workings of nature and the many facets of her imagination. The notion of the experiment lends power to these works, because King is in effect undergoing a somewhat scientific enterprise. Each painting, each creative effort, is an attempt to see and understand; as viewers move from work to work, they gain appreciation for King’s artistic goals. Additionally, both King and the viewers of her work are moved to continue questioning and investigating their environment.
Kathleen King has brought years of experience and thought to the works that make up Bio Logic II. The powerful fusion of subject matter and means of expression seen in these paintings and prints is the product of a most sophisticated, mature artist. Viewers can find much to enjoy and ponder in these beautiful works by this internationally known artist which present the currents and patterns that make life and art endlessly fascinating.
Gregg Hertzlieb, Director/ Curator
Brauer Museum of Art
Valparaiso University
September 10, 2001
©All images copyright of Kathleen King
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