Recently I spoke with Boston sculptor Donna Dodson about sculpture, the characters in my work and my compulsive desire to collaborate.
In addition to being a fabulous administrator of public art as the director of the Boston-based non-profit organization Now + There, Kate Gilbert is a fabulous artist. From 2009 to 2011, her abstract work in painting took a turn toward sculpture when she started cutting the canvas to access the depth beyond the surface.
Her graduate work from 2012-2013 at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston led her to explore concepts of consumerism and high fashion with one-of-a-kind wearables: wristlets, vests, dresses, hoods and jackets that allude to anxiety, fear, protection and utility.
“Sculpture is the biggest umbrella of disciplines,” Gilbert said. “It incorporates objects, performance, installation, video, interactive and social practice.”
Collaboration is a big part of her studio practice. She has worked with many notable artists and curators, including Halsey Burgund and Mary Tinti. One of her recent shows, “Interdependence,” at Connecticut College, paired her work with the artist Abigail Anne Newbold. The two artists were working with analogous concepts and materials. The challenge in showing with another artist whose work was so similar was how to see one’s own work clearly and to imagine its future direction. They brought in Tinti (currently the curator of the Fitchburg Art Museum) to curate.
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