About Katherine Gibson
Katherine Gibson (b. 1980 in Middletown, Rhode Island) is an artist and educator primarily working in painting who has been trained as a metalsmith. She studied art at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, earning her BA in Sculpture, then moved to Richmond to study metalsmithing at Virginia Commonwealth University. She brings a keen awareness of craft and labor that is influenced by her study of sociology and philosophy and her professional experience as a metalsmith. Her research is focused on meaning-making in the intersubjective landscape of media, most recently the world of visual data representation during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how it can be misinterpreted or used to misrepresent. Using textile techniques, painting, and data, she creates curtains that both obscure and conceal. In so doing, she illuminates the inability for data to capture the human cost of the pandemic. She completed her MFA in Painting at the University of Cincinnati in 2020.
Covectors is the collaboration between Kate Gibson (MFA, Painting and Printmaking, University of Cincinnati) and Emily Van Walleghen (MFA, Fine and Studio Art, University of Cincinnati; PhD, Human Nutrition, Food, and Exercise, Virginia Tech).
New Brunswick Art Salon 2020 – “The Space Between” – Women’s Caucus for Art New York City Chapter
Artist Statement
Covid-19 Curtains: Private Boundaries, a Public Health Emergency
In mid-March the United States went on lock down. Under stay at home orders, we looked out anxiously from behind our curtains, helplessly watching as the Covid-19 pandemic spread. Four months later, the epidemic intensifies as states reopen. Private boundaries, public health, and politics have interwoven, creating a national tapestry filled with tangles and tears. We explore public COVID-19 data and diagrams and how both can be misinterpreted or used to mislead. Translating numerical and visual information from each month into curtains, we propose:
- Social isolation is a privilege
- Graphs and charts obscure the human cost behind the pandemic
- We must acknowledge our interconnectedness and interdependence at both the international and community levels
January: “Not My Problem”
“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” -Donald Trump, January 22nd, 2020.
“Trump Restricts Entry Into U.S. From China” -NY Times headline, Jan 31st, 2020
In January, the US proceeded under the illusion that Covid-19 would be contained within China’s borders. The threat was perceived to be from those in China, 18% of the world’s population. The infected were kept separate from the remaining world via travel bans and racial discrimination. At the bottom of the curtain the strands intertwine, a tangled mess of transmission and miscommunication. Beaded curtains have a long history in China, going back thousands of years. Mass produced Chinese beaded curtains are ubiquitous throughout the world. Virus and capital know few boundaries.
Exhibitions
2020
- 2020 Form, Not Function: Quilt Art and the Carnegie, Jurors Amethyst Rey Beaver, Luanne Rimel, Ben Venom, Carnegie Center for Art and History, New Albany IN
- Surface Design Association Student Exhibition: Future Tense 2020, Jurors Rena Wood and Stefanie Gerber, Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Tech, Smithville TN
- DAAPworks, https://issuu.com/daapsoa/docs/mfa.maae, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH (online exhibition)
- 2020 College Invitational*, Juror Kyle Herrington, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis IN *postponed due to Covid-19
- A Long Look*, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati OH *cancelled due to Covid-19
- Homestretch, Tabula Rasa Gallery, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
- Decomposition, Robert A. Deshon and Karl J. Schlachter Library, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2019
- Aligned, 1628 ltd, Cincinnati OH
- Year Review, Reed Gallery, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2018
- Graduate Student Expo, DAAP Grand Staircase, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
- Empty Spaces, Reading Road Gallery, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2004
- Metalwork, Altria Headquarters, Richmond VA
- Architecture, Schwartzchild Jewelers, Richmond VA
2002
- Senior Juried Show, Andrews Hall, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA
Awards and Honors
2020
- Outstanding Student Award, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
- Directors’ Choice Award, DAAPworks, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
- Research Fellowship, Graduate Student Government Association, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH ($1,200 to research youth hangout culture in the Red River Gorge)
2019-2020
- Graduate Assistantship, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2019
- Mary and William Bonansinga Scholarship, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH ($1,000 for tuition)
2018-2020
- University Graduate Scholarship, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
Professional Involvement and Service
2020
- Artist Talk, Visiting Artist Lecture Series, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
- Panelist, First Year Review, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
- Assistant Instructor, Women in Modernism Collage Workshop, University of Cincinnati Clermont, Clermont OH.
2019-2020
- President, School of Art, Fine Arts, Graduate Student Government Association, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2019
- Panelist, Sophomore Review, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
- Panelist, First Year Review, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2018-2020
- Member, DAAP Equity and Inclusion Committee, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2017-2018
- Head Coach, Girls on the Run, Kilgour School, Cincinnati OH
2016-2018
- Volunteer ESL teacher for resettled refugees, Roselawn Condon School, Cincinnati OH
2017
- Soccer Instructor, Roselawn Condon School, Cincinnati OH
2015
- Teacher, Richmond County Jail System, Richmond VA
Education
2020
- Master of Fine Arts, Painting and Printmaking, University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture, Art, & Planning, Cincinnati OH
2016
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Studio School, Richmond VA – Painting
2007
- New Approach School, Virginia Beach VA – Jewelry Fabrication
2003-2005
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA – Metalsmithing
2002-2003
- Jay Sargeant Reynolds Community College, Richmond VA – Coursework in welding
2002
- Bachelor of Arts, Sculpture, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA
Artist Interview