Gillian Catherine
visual artist and graphic designer
Gillian Catherine is a Massachusetts based visual artist who explores themes of environmentalism and personal identity. Her work primarily includes printmaking, mixed media collage, and found object. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Arts Management and Art with a concentration in Design from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
​
Gillian’s work has been exhibited in North Adams, MA at Express Gallery, and in Pittsfield, MA at MCLA Pittsfield, Williams Patterson University in Wayne, NJ, the Santa Fe Community College Art Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, and Gallery 303, Brigham Young, Provo, UT. In 2019 she participated in a highly competitive Place/Lab residency in Iceland, where she responded to ideas of place within the unique landscape, alongside twenty-two other artists. She has also been selected to participate in travel fellowships to Utah and Venice, Italy.
​
Artist Statement
I create politically motivated works of art utilizing single-use plastic in combination with painting, printmaking, and typography. The plastic materials that I collect are manipulated through the processes of weaving and fusing. These processes serve as a metaphor for the coming together, and actions needed to protect our natural environment. I believe in the importance of connecting the material to the concept.
​
The plastic used in my work has been collected through collaborators and community members, as well as found in the environment in locations significant to me. The act of collecting is an action toward cleaning the planet, engaging with the natural world, and connecting with it. It is a meditation and practice in being eco-conscious. The use of scale in my work evokes a sense of anxiety, while the use of color evokes an overall positive response leaving one with a sense of relief.
​
My work is intended to facilitate dialogue between viewers about sustainability and the relationship between humans and our planet. As we live in a time of environmental uncertainty, it is now more than ever that we need to come together and take action, but this is easier said than done. My art creates a space to reflect, converse, and offer solutions.
top right photo: Crysta Cheverie
​