ABOUT THE ARTIST
CATHERINE CARTER is an abstract artist inspired by complex linear patterns, particularly calligraphic marks and textile weaves. A native of Massachusetts, she began her career in the fashion industry, receiving a degree in fashion illustration and working for renowned couturier Alfred Fiandaca. When she visited a contemporary art exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, her love of painting was awakened, and she went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
During her 25 years as a professional artist, Catherine has exhibited her work at multiple venues including the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, and the U.S. Embassies in Oman and Cameroon. Her shows have been reviewed in the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Providence Journal, and Art New England. Her paintings, prints and collages are held in a number of public, corporate, hospitality, and private collections. The recipient of artist grants from the St. Botolph Club Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, she currently works from her studio in New Bedford.
During her 25 years as a professional artist, Catherine has exhibited her work at multiple venues including the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, and the U.S. Embassies in Oman and Cameroon. Her shows have been reviewed in the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Providence Journal, and Art New England. Her paintings, prints and collages are held in a number of public, corporate, hospitality, and private collections. The recipient of artist grants from the St. Botolph Club Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, she currently works from her studio in New Bedford.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I first discovered my love of line as an art school undergraduate in figure drawing class, when the assignment was to loosen up with gestural sketches in response to quick, dramatic poses by the model. As I drew flowing marks across the page, using my whole arm to follow the major directions of each pose, I was thrilled by the way the active lines in these studies captured the essential energy of the body's fleeting motion. I soon found similar inspirational sources in the descriptive lines of everyday life: hand-written text from formal calligraphy to casual doodles; textured fabrics like lace and brocade; and the systems of Nature such as branches, roots, and vines. As my artistic journey progressed from observed realism to pure abstraction, the element of line became the exclusive focus of my vocabulary.
I express my lines using acrylic paint and a variety of application methods in three ongoing collections. My STRIPES series involves drawing gestural loops across a sheet of paper by extruding fluid acrylic through a squeeze bottle. I then place another sheet against the wet paint and roll over it with a brayer to flatten and soften the original lines. Finally I tear the pages into strips and collage them in rows onto stretched canvas. The SPHERES series is a similar process on sheer white fabric, which I then cut into circles and collage onto canvas. My FRAGMENTS paintings are acrylic-on-canvas translations of the Stripes, in which I zoom in on the spontaneous patterns made by the squeeze bottles and place them inside interlocking blocks of different sizes. Thus my work combines the techniques of drawing, painting, printmaking, and collage.
I express my lines using acrylic paint and a variety of application methods in three ongoing collections. My STRIPES series involves drawing gestural loops across a sheet of paper by extruding fluid acrylic through a squeeze bottle. I then place another sheet against the wet paint and roll over it with a brayer to flatten and soften the original lines. Finally I tear the pages into strips and collage them in rows onto stretched canvas. The SPHERES series is a similar process on sheer white fabric, which I then cut into circles and collage onto canvas. My FRAGMENTS paintings are acrylic-on-canvas translations of the Stripes, in which I zoom in on the spontaneous patterns made by the squeeze bottles and place them inside interlocking blocks of different sizes. Thus my work combines the techniques of drawing, painting, printmaking, and collage.
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Left: Gestural study from undergraduate figure drawing class, 1994; Center: Detail of "Undersea," Collection of Berkshire Partners, 2010; Right: Detail of "Cobalt Checkerboard," Collection of Cross Harbor Capital, 2015.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Filigree, Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA, 2019 (solo)
Otherworldly, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 2018 (curator and participating artist)
Ornamental, The School of Fashion Design, Boston, MA, 2017 (solo)
Lines of Communication, Fountain Street Fine Art, Boston, MA, 2017 (three person)
Show of Hands: Gestural Works on Paper, Fort Point Arts Community Gallery, Boston, MA, 2017 (curator and participating artist)
Contemporary Women Artists, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI, 2016
Actions/Reactions, Framingham State University, Framingham, MA, 2013 (three person)
Exponential: Four Artists Explore Infinity, Mount Ida College, Newton, MA, 2013 (curator and participating artist)
Painting NOW, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 2010
Art In Embassies Program, U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Oman, 2010-12
Art In Embassies Program, U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon, 2008-10
Natural Wonders, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA, 2009 (three person)
Women of the Cloth, Bunker Hill Community College, Boston, MA, 2008
Inviting Response, New Bedford Art Museum, New Bedford, MA, 2006
Sky, Stem, Stream, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA, 2005 (solo)
CON/TEXT, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 2004 (three person)
Interlacings, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, 2004 (solo)
New Paintings, Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, MA, 2003 (solo)
Drawings, Objects, Ceramics, Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, MA, 2002 (three person)
New Paintings, Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, MA, 2001 (solo)
Abstraction in the Year 2000, Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, MA, 2000 (three person)
Otherworldly, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 2018 (curator and participating artist)
Ornamental, The School of Fashion Design, Boston, MA, 2017 (solo)
Lines of Communication, Fountain Street Fine Art, Boston, MA, 2017 (three person)
Show of Hands: Gestural Works on Paper, Fort Point Arts Community Gallery, Boston, MA, 2017 (curator and participating artist)
Contemporary Women Artists, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI, 2016
Actions/Reactions, Framingham State University, Framingham, MA, 2013 (three person)
Exponential: Four Artists Explore Infinity, Mount Ida College, Newton, MA, 2013 (curator and participating artist)
Painting NOW, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 2010
Art In Embassies Program, U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Oman, 2010-12
Art In Embassies Program, U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon, 2008-10
Natural Wonders, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA, 2009 (three person)
Women of the Cloth, Bunker Hill Community College, Boston, MA, 2008
Inviting Response, New Bedford Art Museum, New Bedford, MA, 2006
Sky, Stem, Stream, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA, 2005 (solo)
CON/TEXT, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 2004 (three person)
Interlacings, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, 2004 (solo)
New Paintings, Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, MA, 2003 (solo)
Drawings, Objects, Ceramics, Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, MA, 2002 (three person)
New Paintings, Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, MA, 2001 (solo)
Abstraction in the Year 2000, Genovese/Sullivan Gallery, Boston, MA, 2000 (three person)
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Bain Capital, Boston, MA
Berkshire Partners, Boston MA
Bessemer Trust, Stuart, FL
Boston Public Library, Boston, MA
Boston Ronald McDonald House, Brookline, MA
Columbus Lofts, Boston, MA
Cornerstone Research, Boston, MA
Cross Harbor Capital, Chicago, IL
Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, MA
Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa, Destin, FL
Hyatt Place Hotel, New York, NY
Massasoit Community College, Brockton, MA
Meditech Information Technology, Fall River, MA
MGM National Harbor Spa, Oxon Hill, MD
San Juan Intercontinental Hotel, San Juan, PR
Verenium Corporation, Cambridge, MA
Westin Sarasota Hotel, Sarasota, FL
Westport AC Hotel, Kansas City, MO
Private collections throughout the United States and in New Zealand
Berkshire Partners, Boston MA
Bessemer Trust, Stuart, FL
Boston Public Library, Boston, MA
Boston Ronald McDonald House, Brookline, MA
Columbus Lofts, Boston, MA
Cornerstone Research, Boston, MA
Cross Harbor Capital, Chicago, IL
Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, MA
Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa, Destin, FL
Hyatt Place Hotel, New York, NY
Massasoit Community College, Brockton, MA
Meditech Information Technology, Fall River, MA
MGM National Harbor Spa, Oxon Hill, MD
San Juan Intercontinental Hotel, San Juan, PR
Verenium Corporation, Cambridge, MA
Westin Sarasota Hotel, Sarasota, FL
Westport AC Hotel, Kansas City, MO
Private collections throughout the United States and in New Zealand
SELECTED REVIEWS
"Carter's contribution to the show is a series of paintings made from acrylic applied to sheer white fabric that's been cut up and reorganized in rows of small circles. The resulting forms, although from a single cloth, become their own unique compositions, existing next to one another like small globes exploded from the same star." -- Liz Lee, Art New England, March/April 2018
"Catherine Carter's rhythmic squiggles take their inspiration from nature, from branches and spider webs, roots and vines. They are well made, with a wonderful sense of line that Carter suggests blends calligraphic forms and gestural drawing. Carter squirts paint from squeeze bottles onto the paper, and in some cases blots it to soften the edges and create crinkled surfaces that look like they were made by a kiss." -- Channing Gray, Providence Journal, 8/17/16
"The essential images in Catherine Carter's paintings resemble a mix between loops of Silly String and hieroglyphs from an ancient language." -- Chris Bergeron, Metrowest Daily News, 9/22/13
"In the playful pair of works by Catherine Carter, the artist's lines follow infinite permutations within a finite space." -- Janet Garvey, U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon, Exhibition Catalog, 2008
"The paintings pop off the wall, thanks to the sheer tension of her gestures and thanks to the contrast: All the paintings are either black-on-white or white-on-black. Carter displays a handful of different recipes. Many of the 'Coil' paintings bring to mind the joyful wagging of a dog's tail. Two larger works, 'Curve' and 'Swirl,' sport colliding loop-the-loops, like a Slinky gone horribly awry. The white-on-black pieces are sexier, provoking an Op Art kind of retinal buzz. ... 'Swirl' shows those aggressive black curlicues careening over the canvas as white hazes over their sharp edges and obscures occasional lines, imbuing the painting with spaciousness." -- Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, 12/19/03
"Patterning and technique are consistent, but the paintings vary widely in tone. ... Ethereal purple rings play tag with the squares, shifting from foreground the background, making a pleasing counterpoint between solidity and haze, reality and imagination. ... Carter's formula for making art generates work both pleasing and harrowing, and that's good." -- Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, 12/22/01
"Catherine Carter's rhythmic squiggles take their inspiration from nature, from branches and spider webs, roots and vines. They are well made, with a wonderful sense of line that Carter suggests blends calligraphic forms and gestural drawing. Carter squirts paint from squeeze bottles onto the paper, and in some cases blots it to soften the edges and create crinkled surfaces that look like they were made by a kiss." -- Channing Gray, Providence Journal, 8/17/16
"The essential images in Catherine Carter's paintings resemble a mix between loops of Silly String and hieroglyphs from an ancient language." -- Chris Bergeron, Metrowest Daily News, 9/22/13
"In the playful pair of works by Catherine Carter, the artist's lines follow infinite permutations within a finite space." -- Janet Garvey, U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon, Exhibition Catalog, 2008
"The paintings pop off the wall, thanks to the sheer tension of her gestures and thanks to the contrast: All the paintings are either black-on-white or white-on-black. Carter displays a handful of different recipes. Many of the 'Coil' paintings bring to mind the joyful wagging of a dog's tail. Two larger works, 'Curve' and 'Swirl,' sport colliding loop-the-loops, like a Slinky gone horribly awry. The white-on-black pieces are sexier, provoking an Op Art kind of retinal buzz. ... 'Swirl' shows those aggressive black curlicues careening over the canvas as white hazes over their sharp edges and obscures occasional lines, imbuing the painting with spaciousness." -- Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, 12/19/03
"Patterning and technique are consistent, but the paintings vary widely in tone. ... Ethereal purple rings play tag with the squares, shifting from foreground the background, making a pleasing counterpoint between solidity and haze, reality and imagination. ... Carter's formula for making art generates work both pleasing and harrowing, and that's good." -- Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, 12/22/01
REPRESENTATION
Elise Moore Fine Art, Cambridge, MA
Erdreich-White Fine Art, Boston, MA
Erdreich-White Fine Art, Boston, MA