PRESS RELEASE
Kathryn Lynch, Maine Paintings
Feb 12 – Mar 7, 2015
Kathryn Lynch
Maine Paintings, February 12 - March 7, 2015
Opening reception: Thursday February 12, 6-8pm
Sears-Peyton Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of recent paintings and works on paper by New York artist Kathryn Lynch. The works in the show are the result of Lynch visiting Vinalhaven, Maine to paint in the summer of 2014. Some of the works were done in Maine and others were painted later in her studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn, while the impression of Maine was still in her system. Lynch describes this aspect of her process in this way, “ I absorb places and then when gone for long enough they leave me, but they don’t leave when I leave. The place lingers and then fades to a point where I can no longer paint it. That is why the ones done in Maine are more descriptive than the ones done later. They are the first reaction and later comes the fading memory.”
Kathryn Lynch has strong ties to Maine. Growing up, Lynch was drawn to paintings by Milton Avery, John Marin, and Marsden Hartley. She studied with Neil Welliver at the University of Pennsylvania and while there he introduced her to the work and writings of Fairfield Porter. The University of Pennsylvania awarded Lynch a fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center. The visiting critic at the time was Wolf Kahn. In 1991, Lynch was invited to Skowhegan where she studied with Per Kirkeby and Gregory Amenoff. From that time on Lynch has been drawn to and captivated by the light and mood of Maine.
Kathryn Lynch becomes deeply immersed in one series at a time. Each series has it’s own birth, life, and death. “In the beginning of a series it is based on something that inspires me, then I absorb it, paint it, remember it, and eventually it goes away as subject matter and something else comes in and inspires and I shift my focus. The paint and even the paint handling change according to how I need to capture that which I am responding to, redefining, inventing, or remembering. The process is analogous to all of life’s experience - it sizzles, it fades, it turns into memory and then it goes away.”
Kathryn Lynch (b. 1961, Philadelphia, PA) is a graduate of William Smith College (BA) and The University of Pennsylvania (MFA). She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions with galleries and institutions across the US. Lynch has received numerous grants and awards including residencies at Yaddo, the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation, Skowhegan, The Millay Colony, Joya Art + Ecologia, and The Vermont Studio Center. Her work is held in public collections such as The University of California Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA; The Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA; The Progressive Corporation, Cleveland, OH; and Johnson &Johnson, Princeton, NJ. Lynch's work has been covered in numerous publications including ARTnews Magazine, Elle Décor Magazine, New York Magazine, and the New York Times. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.