Join us Friday September 2nd from 5 to 7pm for the opening reception of Katey Carlis’ show. The show will be at MAC through September 25

Katey Carlis - Explorations in Form and Style

My work is exploratory, so naturally forms and styles vary widely. In this collection, there are three distinct bodies of work: graphite drawings, oil paintings and mixed media pieces. 

Graphite

The graphite drawings explore the weight and power of the past. They are images that have been handed down since the Enlightenment and held up as proof of the excellence of the founding ideals of western civilization. In these images we see beauty linked to youth, divinity and power. Ancient as they are, these patterns continue to deeply inform the way we see beauty today.

Mandalas in Oil

Alongside these, are the mandala oil paintings which explore color and abstract form. The circularity of these pieces combined with the serpentine pattern is feminine: both containing and dynamic. These images invite individual interpretation while insisting upon movement toward the center. Where we locate this center within ourselves is the question at the heart of the work.

Mixed Media

Both these bodies of work inform the mixed media pieces. Like the mandalas, the emotionality of color is primary although these pieces are more recognizably grounded in shared reality. Unlike the graphite drawings, they reject the need for perfect articulation of forms. The images are more felt than seen, ambiguous, emergent and connected. They have an unknown quality and present a world that is ungrounded and mysterious but deeply connected. 

BIO

Katey graduated from Haverford College with a BA in Fine Arts, specializing in painting. During her college years, she spent a semester in Rome studying and absorbing classical and modern art. Alongside making art and being a full time parent, Katey ran a successful etsy business for 15 years, designing and making organic baby blankets. Her work has been shown in local and regional group exhibitions. She has won local juried awards as well as one national award. Katey’s work can be found in collections across the country.

Katey is a MAC Artists Collective Member. You may explore more of her work here