Bio

Kathy Brennan received a B.A. (equiv.) in Fine Arts, and a B.S. in Mathematics, both from the University of New Orleans. She has resided in New Orleans for most of her life. She has worked as a computer programmer and is a website designer and WordPress developer. Her paintings have been exhibited in group exhibitions locally, nationally and abroad. She has served on the Visual Arts Committee of the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, and has been active in fundraising for local humane organizations.

Artist Statement

My paintings are pictorial systems composed of elements that are abstract, representational or neither, and employ a conscious strategy designed to erode the boundaries between abstraction and figuration. Pre-existing images that were created using traditional representation and illusionistic stylistic conventions are just as eligible for inclusion as the gestural brushstroke or the carefully reproduced paint splatter.

Elements included as arbitrary fragments outside of their original context are free to become part of defining a new context within a particular painting. That new context is deliberately left undefined and ambiguous, creating an opportunity for the viewer to provide their own context for the unexpected juxtapositions, interactions and relationships between seemingly unrelated elements.

Education

BA Fine Art (equiv.), University of New Orleans
BS Mathematics, University of New Orleans

Exhibitions

2009 “20x20x20 Compact Competition”, Louisiana State University Union Gallery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2008 “Hybrids and Other Sorts”, BECA Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana
2008 “Gulf South Regional Contemporary Art Exhibit”, BECA Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana
2006 “Surviving the Hurricane”, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
2006 “Katrina Exposed”, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
2002 “Post Suburbia: the New Utopia”, The Pickery, New Orleans, Louisiana
2001 “Irene Rosenzweig Exhibition”, The Arts & Science Center, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
2001 “Mixed Media Juried Competition 2001”, Slidell Cultural Center, Slidell, Louisiana
2000 “10 Promising New Artists”, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana
2000 Three person exhibition, Gallerie Mim Andechshof, Innsbruck, Austria
2000 “No Dead Artists”, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana
1998 “Architecture in Art”, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
1996 Juried group drawing exhibition, University of New Orleans Fine Arts Gallery

Received the Achievement in Studio Art Award (senior thesis award) from the Department of Fine Arts at the University of New Orleans in 2000.

Publications

“Studio Visit Magazine”, The Open Studios Press, Fall 2008, Boston, MA
“Katrina Exposed, A Photographic Reckoning”, Steven Maklansky, 2006, New Orleans Museum of Art.

Public Collections

Permanent Collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, Katrina Memorial Photograph Portfolio.
Goodwin-Proctor, Boston, Mass.