Kathy Kemp Reception – “Held in Relation”

Artist Statement

I work with salvaged wood, metal, architectural fragments, and other objects that carry evidence of their previous lives. I’m drawn to worn surfaces, unexpected shapes, and materials altered by use, time, and circumstance.

My process is intuitive. I don’t begin with a fixed idea of what a piece will become. I begin with objects that interest me and explore how they might relate to one another—through balance, tension, repetition, interruption, or simply the space between them. Meaning develops through arranging, removing, shifting, and reconsidering.

Before turning to art full time, I spent many years working in geriatric care, an experience that shaped my awareness of adaptation, resilience, and the ways value can persist as circumstances change. Those ideas continue to resonate in my attraction to materials that have outlived their original purposes.

I’m interested in giving familiar materials a different context without erasing where they came from. My assemblages are non-representational, but leave room for recognition and association, inviting viewers to bring their own experiences to what they see.