Kate Green

MA Fine Art

I am a multi-disciplinary artist creating colourful, quirky artwork with a sense of life. Biological yet alien, playful with a hint of menace. Pursuing a vibrant juxtaposition between order and chaos through a combination of gestural freedom and patterned precision. These ideas are shown through contrasts between what’s hidden and what’s exposed, the surface versus what lies beneath. I explore this distinction through an unusual marriage of materials, decoration, finishes and layering. Taking my inspiration from the natural world, using examples of emerging life and hidden potential such as body cells, DNA or seed pods, I stylise and supersize to create impact with a sense of fun.

My research has unearthed a newfound passion for sculpture and fascination with installation environments. Studying and experiencing the work of Barbara Hepworth, Annie Morris, Heather Phillipson, Phyllida Barlow and Yayoi Kusama has especially impacted me in my pursuit of creating the weird and wonderful.

Unseen potential and unique value lies beneath the surface of each one of us, each person an individual, handcrafted, weird and wonderful creation. Circumstances can threaten to suffocate the colours and life within us. Inspired by seed pods this piece is called Emerge, and speaks of a surfacing, an arising, an overcoming, a birthing. Of diamonds formed under pressure, of seeds growing in darkness, beauty from ashes and life breaking through. Combining contradictory media is vital
to this narrative, creating contrasts of material and finish that distinguish between the exterior and what lies beneath, between what’s dying and what’s coming alive.

Inspired by a visit to Heather Phillipson’s 2021 installation (Tate Britain) where the space itself was the art, I include sound, light and an element of interaction in this work looking to create an experience to visit rather than mere objects to observe.

Beyond my MA I intend to tour this installation as part of an artist residency that discusses the themes explored, offering this to schools, community groups and events nation-wide. Read more details of this work on my website.