Stream of Consciousness—Recent Paintings by Kate E. Black
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (PRWEB) July 31, 2018 -- Local artist Kate E. Black is mounting a solo show titled Stream of Consciousness at Backstreet Studios in the South of A Street (SOFA) arts district of downtown Santa Rosa. In a departure from past shows which have included glass pieces, she now shifts the attention to her paintings. The exhibition runs Sept. 1 – 29. An artist reception will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Since retiring from a career as an anesthesiologist, Black has been able to focus on her art full-time. All the pieces in Stream of Consciousness were created in 2018, and they reflect a new energy drawn from the surrounding natural beauty, travel, aquatic themes, and the North Bay wildfires. Featuring vibrant colors characteristic of her artwork, Black’s paintings also have a rhythmic quality—bursting from some and swaying through others. This lilting flow likely has roots in the artist’s requisite need for music to nourish her creativity.
“I cannot produce art without music,” says Black. “I usually listen to jazz because it is soothing to my soul; however, sometimes I will play hip-hop, rap, and rock as well.”
Music is not simply a source of inspiration. It blurs that line, becoming a more primal craving for her state of well-being than almost anything else. Songs by jazz vocalists like Billie Holiday, Etta Jones, Etta James, Abbey Lincoln, and Chet Baker; and classics by John Coltrane and Miles Davis top her list of go-to music. That said, she is quick to note that everything from Beyoncé and Jay Z to The Cranberries can be found on her playlists.
Fuse this musical thirst with her early exposure to modern artists such as Emil Nolde and Oskar Kokoschka, and the influence is visible in her color choice. While her approach and style are consistently free-form, she typically begins with application of a background color. Reds and blues are her favorite palettes, and the colors that follow emerge as she layers everything else over that initial palette. She mixes colors that resonate with the background, and adds them in layers that grow with textures and new patterns.
“There is an African, textile, aboriginal style to my work that comes from someplace within me that craves the redundant form of circles and squares,” said Black. “Since it is a stream of consciousness, I am not sure where it originates. It must satisfy some semblance of order after such an abstract, explosive process.”
As the piece comes into focus, she may not like what she sees. If that is the case, she lets it dry and then starts another piece right on top of it. It is not atypical for her to work on two to three pieces at the same time; one might be on wood, another on canvas. This allows her to move from a wet surface to an entirely new piece.
Each brushstroke, element, and resulting layer is an expression of what she experiences in that specific moment. She describes the process as meditative and all-consuming. Black’s new work is a manifestation of this stream of consciousness in a cathartic experiment which is repeated until she determines the experience is complete.
Exhibition
Sept. 1 – 29, 2018
Artist Reception
Sat., Sept. 15, 2018
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Refreshments will be served
Live music by the Gary Zellerbach Jazz Quartet
Location
Backstreet Studios, Studio D
312 South A Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Hours
Saturdays, Sept. 1, 8, and 29
11 a.m. – 2 p.m., and by appointment
Nicole Cruz, +1 510-734-6317, [email protected]
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