Katy Schimert is interested in the intersections of the physical and the emotional. Her drawings, watercolors, and sculptures explore the interplay between the exterior and the interior, either by bringing the physical outside in—such as her wire and wood tree sculptures—or by depicting what is hidden inside mind or body on the surface. Inspired in part by Victorian horror novels, Schimert’s 2008 series of watercolors titled The Monster merged figuration and abstraction, evoking emotional torment. Painted primarily in a bleak palette of black, gray, and brown, the light application of color and vein-like lines reflected the fragility of the psychological states Schimert was portraying. The artist’s use of such traditionally friable sculptural materials as blown glass, cellophane, and porcelain also conveys the frailty of the mind and body.
Katy Schimert is interested in the intersections of the physical and the emotional. Her drawings, watercolors, and sculptures explore the interplay between the exterior and the interior, either by bringing the physical outside in—such as her wire and wood tree sculptures—or by depicting what is hidden inside mind or body on the surface. Inspired in part by Victorian horror novels, Schimert’s 2008 series of watercolors titled The Monster merged figuration and abstraction, evoking emotional torment. Painted primarily in a bleak palette of black, gray, and brown, the light application of color and vein-like lines reflected the fragility of the psychological states Schimert was portraying. The artist’s use of such traditionally friable sculptural materials as blown glass, cellophane, and porcelain also conveys the frailty of the mind and body.