artist's statement
While
working on a much neglected two-hundred-year-old
farmhouse, I found myself haunted by an item the previous owners had
left
behind: a large, mahogany-framed mirror, its silver backing flaking and
tarnished, its massive face murky and scratched.
As
I worked on the house, peeling
back layers of
wallpaper and uncovering walls constructed within walls, the mirror
seemed my
only companion. At times it reflected
tattered shreds of former splendor, while at other times it showed only
my own
dust-streaked face. Where the mirror’s
silvering had eroded completely, the surface was merely - and mutely -
transparent.
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These
collages reflect this multi-purposed looking glass:
they both witness and obscure. I am
interested in exploring women’s historical roles in small, tightly
packed
images, which recall black-framed daguerreotypes. In
the pieces, I synthesize aesthetic styles that
women developed almost exclusively, such as pressed flower herbariums,
millinery,
and hand-stitched samplers. |
I
hope that
you will find that looking at the past provides a new way of seeing our
own
time.
about the artist
Kathryn Kosto's BA and MA are in the history of art and
history. She has worked in paper conservation of 17th to
19th century prints, engravings, and maps. She has also worked as
a museum curator of fine art, manuscripts, and historic furnishing
collections at several historic sites, including the home of Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow (Cambridge MA).
She is a member of the Bennington
Arts Guild (VT), and has shown her work in juried shows at local
and regional arts centers, libraries, and museums. Her work is
held in personal collections throughout the United States and in
England, and she has also worked in graphic design.
Kathryn resides in a 1793 farmhouse in Schodack (NY), and is at work
restoring the orchards and gardens. She is a member
of an organic foods co-op. |
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