ABOUT THE ARTIST
CATHERINE CARTER is an abstract painter inspired by the element of line. The intricate designs in her large-scale acrylic works on canvas echo the complex patterns of calligraphic forms, textile weaves, and the linear systems found in Nature.
In a professional career that spans 25 years, Catherine has exhibited her work at museums and galleries across the United States as well as internationally, including the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, and the U.S. Embassies in Oman and Cameroon. Her shows have garnered reviews in such publications as the Boston Globe, the Providence Journal, and Art New England.
Catherine's paintings are held in a number of public, corporate, hospitality, and private collections. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, as well as degrees from Lesley University and the School of Fashion Design. 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.
In a professional career that spans 25 years, Catherine has exhibited her work at museums and galleries across the United States as well as internationally, including the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, and the U.S. Embassies in Oman and Cameroon. Her shows have garnered reviews in such publications as the Boston Globe, the Providence Journal, and Art New England.
Catherine's paintings are held in a number of public, corporate, hospitality, and private collections. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, as well as degrees from Lesley University and the School of Fashion Design. 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
Line has been my constant inspiration for decades. I never tire of its energy, versatility, and potential for abstract narrative. I have explored line through a variety of materials and techniques over the years, from spray-painted fabric collages to squeeze-bottle monotypes. My latest series, titled "Fragments," re-interprets the line-oriented configurations of my previous works, this time in streamlined closeup views contained in interlocking vertical and horizontal boxes.
Each "Fragment" begins as a small study drawn on paper, where I work out the designs and colors with sprinkles of inspiration from Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse, and Ellsworth Kelly. Once I'm satisfied with the drawing, I expand its scale using acrylic paint on stretched canvas. It's exciting to me, this process of transforming the gestures of my past paintings into a new format! It brings fresh life to my studio practice and moves my vision forward.
Each "Fragment" begins as a small study drawn on paper, where I work out the designs and colors with sprinkles of inspiration from Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse, and Ellsworth Kelly. Once I'm satisfied with the drawing, I expand its scale using acrylic paint on stretched canvas. It's exciting to me, this process of transforming the gestures of my past paintings into a new format! It brings fresh life to my studio practice and moves my vision forward.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Filigree, Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA, 2019 (solo)
Otherworldly, Grimshaw-Gudewicz Gallery, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 2018 (curator and participant)
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 participant)
Contemporary Women Artists, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI, 2016
Exponential: Four Artists Explore Infinity, Gallery at Mount Ida College, Newton, MA, 2013 (curator and participant)
Painting NOW, Grimshaw-Gudewicz Gallery, 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
Sky, Stem, Stream, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA, 2005 (solo)
Otherworldly, Grimshaw-Gudewicz Gallery, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 2018 (curator and participant)
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 participant)
Contemporary Women Artists, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI, 2016
Exponential: Four Artists Explore Infinity, Gallery at Mount Ida College, Newton, MA, 2013 (curator and participant)
Painting NOW, Grimshaw-Gudewicz Gallery, 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
Sky, Stem, Stream, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA, 2005 (solo)
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
"By her own admission, 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
"By her own admission, 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