“Paying attention to what’s outside, beyond walls, fences and myths of the modern world, my painting process inspires me to become more aware, attuned and present,” says painter, illustrator, printmaker and ceramicist Kat Kinnick. “My art creates a world where animals are reflections of our inner landscape and intimate friends. Nature offers solitude and quiet; a place where you can reset and ground and the loudness and chaos of the world quiets.”
Illustrating wildlife and the wilderness of the high desert of New Mexico, Kinnick works to inspire a culture of connectedness to nature. Drawing on the magic and inexplicable qualities of childhood, her work celebrates the region’s unique ecology and abundant diversity. “Kat’s work uses animals and nature as metaphors for the human world, deeply connected to the environment and other species,” says Hecho a Mano’s owner, Frank Rose. “Through beauty and cuteness, predation and vulnerability, her paintings are not representations of animals as much as they are a mirror to ourselves. They have the ability to disarm the viewer and if one is open enough, recognize their own nature.”
The concept for her forthcoming solo exhibition, Flowering Animals, grew organically from an artist residency Kinnick attended in Oaxaca, Mexico. “The most striking thing about Oaxaca is how warm and kind the people are,” the artist says. “There’s a colorful vitality to the city that’s steeped in reciprocity, craftsmanship, culture, food and art. I wanted to bring this sensation of life into this body of work.”
Opening Friday May 1, 5–7pm,
Artist talk Sunday May 3, 12–1:30
