Kate Morgan is this issue’s cover artist. She is a contemporary female figurative artist from Ohio who works in mixed media. She is inspired by iconography, folklore and fashion. Her art is primarily painting over original drawings and collage elements. This layered artwork depicts figural explorations, portraits, and animals in expressionist color palettes and a surreal style. Her work is featured in domestic and international collections, as well as museum exhibits. She also travels around the nation to show her original artwork at galleries and art fairs.
Kate says she is inspired by folklore, mythology, and the human form, adding, “I use figural subjects to evoke a mysterious familiarity and a haunting interpretation of beauty.” To create this effect she uses layers of antique and vintage paper collage, mixed with her original ink-washed drawings. This creates visual depth on wooden panels. By incorporating historical references through her use of collage, this creates topical and textural details.
She says, “Thematically, I incorporate my love of the spirit as well as the strength of the feminine. I address symbolic, cultural, historical and spiritual themes with purposeful vagueness, allowing them to be familiar and curious to a variety of audiences. I want my work to be the beginning of a dialogue, not a confrontation.”
She describes her style as an amalgamation of artists spanning time and place since antiquity. The most obvious reference is of Byzantine origin, by way of gold leaf halos. Her work constantly shifts and moves while referencing stylistic and cultural symbols ranging from Sumerian, Assyrian, Persian, Egyptian, German Expressionism, Surrealism, Pre-Renaissance/Renaissance, Outsider art, Graffiti, and Folk Art to name a few.
“The materials I use could stand alone,” Kate says. “Paper, watercolor, ink, or colored pencil. However individually they don’t display the depth and mystery I desire. By layering them over and over each other it feels like the more I do it, the more stories they have to tell. I enjoy the process to the point of being hypnotized by it.”
More of her work can be seen on www.KateMorganArt.com, on social media at https://www.facebook.com/katemorganart/, and https://www.instagram.com/katemorgankmid/.