 Kathryn Dodd |
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Phone : 01559 384 008 / Mobile : 07866 365371 Other websites featuring Kathryn Dodd : |
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About the Artist
Current Exhibitions
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Born in 1962 in suburban London. Studied at Epsom School of Art and Design, Surrey; Roehampton Institute — Digby Stuart College, London and through The Society of Scribes and Illuminators Associate Scheme. Worked as a freelance calligrapher, graphic designer and calligraphy and lettering tutor, writing accredited courses for Surrey Open College Federation and Sutton College of Liberal Arts before setting up her studio in West Wales in 1995. She has exhibited throughout Britain since 1990 and has work in private collections in UK, London, New York and Spain. |
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Acts of Containment — a review of Kathryn Dodd's work by Nathan Shaw | |||
When talking about herself and her work Kathryn Dodd is reluctant to call herself a painter although she refers to the finished works as 'paintings'; she says: “I think of a 'painter' as being involved in the process of expression through the medium of paint, the material is the carrier of the process and the very physicality of the interaction with the paint is primary. The use of materials for me is really about expediency; I am looking for the most efficient way to talk about ideas. I think of myself as a hybrid between designer, painter, letterer, writer and even sculptor (in as much as some of my paintings involve the building of surface relief). My work is not really about 'expression', conversely I think of these paintings as acts of containment, they are more about defining edges and boundaries and the holding of ideas and feelings than the expression of them, at the end of the day it's an attempt to bring order to chaos and create a window of space in which to focus on, identify and describe elusive ideas. I think of art as an extension to our ordinary mode of interaction with the world, a bit of end-space, an extra dimension”.
Surface and finishing are paramount, these are beautiful objects skilfully wrought. Lovely surfaces, oil glazes, scratched lettering, sometimes plaster, gesso and gold. They have a seductive glamour, which deceives a little to draw the viewer closer to consider some of the challenging issues embedded within. They are intelligent paintings layered with ideas about self, science, psychology and spirit. There is a sense that the artist is trying to reach for something truly fundamental about being human, a core or primary matrix underlying behaviour emotions and desires. There are some correlations here with Aboriginal and tribal art as she searches for 'ancestor beings' and enquires into ideas of heredity and legacy, however these paintings are made firmly in the context of a 21st century Western environment and encompass many other personal and cultural enquiries about the nature of our lives. There is a dark undercurrent, which sometimes emerges to envelop the surface, that considers issues of loss, identity and violation but overall these are celebratory paintings about resilience and beauty. Dodd has made her home in rural West Wales coming originally from the London Suburbs although her family roots lie in the North East of Scotland and this cultural composite resonates strongly within her work. The visual impact is controlled and contained but the use of the artist's words, poetry, symbols and iconic forms, which are often incorporated into the whole, give the work an edgy romance. There is a suburban constraint disturbed and infiltrated by the deep stories, songs and languages of old, more enduring cultures and the restless discomfiture of a migrant perennially questing for identity and belonging. © Nathan Shaw 2003 |
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About the Artist Current Exhibitions Past Exhibitions Other Work Back to Top |
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Current Exhibitions Represented in MOMA Wales 'Modern Welsh Art' showcase in Machynlleth |
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About the Artist Current Exhibitions Past Exhibitions Other Work Back to Top |
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Past Exhibitions |
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About the Artist Current Exhibitions Past Exhibitions Other Work Back to Top |
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Other Work
Co-curated and organised the 'Traffic / Traffig' exhibition which travelled the work of 14 Welsh and English artists in autumn 2002. |
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Teaching :
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Graphic Design and Lettering : 1984 - 98 : Freelance for print, display and signage, also private commissions for individuals, Borough Councils and businesses. Clients include : Designer's Guild — London, Waterstones Bookshops, Penguin Books, Dulwich Picture Gallery, CB Design, HQ Perfumes — Switzerland, Ericsson. |
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Collections : Private collections in UK, London, New York and Spain. |
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About the Artist Current Exhibitions Past Exhibitions Other Work Back to Top |
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Kathryn Dodd
These paintings are first and foremost about concept and content but they are made with a keen design sensibility and the subtle graphic organisation of compositional elements reveals the artists long-term experience with design and lettering. This is an important factor in the reading of these works, she is offering a familiar language of designed space alongside the use of words and lettering with which to extrapolate and define some of the complex and evasive issues she is addressing.
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