Katie Maratta
Katie Maratta - Pumpjacks and Weather (detail)
Artist Statement
My subject matter is the Texas horizon. My pieces are typically 1 inch high and 4 feet long. This format allows me to mirror the reality. Because the pieces can not be seen all at once, the viewer has to “travel” the work.
What I like about these pieces: they should feel cramped and crowded, but they manage to convey a surprising sense of space. They should be corny because they include elements such as windmills and cows and pumpjacks, but in this small scale the cliché becomes fresh again. They allow me to play with the notion of beginning, middle, and end in new ways. They are, in fact, a Basic Geometry lesson with the verticality of the viewer complementing the line, squares, and basic shapes of the horizon and the pictorial elements strung along it. They are powerful without being intimidating. They are satisfying to do and satisfying to look at. They share a quality with Chinese porcelain of the complete world that one can hold in one’s hand.
Katie Maratta uses a combination of graphite, ink, and image transfer to create each unique, signed and dated piece.
My subject matter is the Texas horizon. My pieces are typically 1 inch high and 4 feet long. This format allows me to mirror the reality. Because the pieces can not be seen all at once, the viewer has to “travel” the work.
What I like about these pieces: they should feel cramped and crowded, but they manage to convey a surprising sense of space. They should be corny because they include elements such as windmills and cows and pumpjacks, but in this small scale the cliché becomes fresh again. They allow me to play with the notion of beginning, middle, and end in new ways. They are, in fact, a Basic Geometry lesson with the verticality of the viewer complementing the line, squares, and basic shapes of the horizon and the pictorial elements strung along it. They are powerful without being intimidating. They are satisfying to do and satisfying to look at. They share a quality with Chinese porcelain of the complete world that one can hold in one’s hand.
Katie Maratta uses a combination of graphite, ink, and image transfer to create each unique, signed and dated piece.
