Angels and Constructions
New Image Collages and Found Constructions by Katinka Hartmetz

Exhibit Dates: March 12 - April 13, 2003

	Angels in the Architecture, 4'x 2', Acrylic on canvas with collage.
©Katinka Hartmetz

Redwood City, CA - Sometimes the creative process yields themes that surprised even the artist. Such is the case for Katinka Hartmetz in her new show "Angels and Constructions,"which will be held at The Main Gallery in Redwood City, running from Mar. 12 to April 13. A reception for the artist will be held at the gallery on Saturday, March 15 from 4-7 p.m. Having predominantly used mixed medias with acrylics on canvas, Hartmetz has spent the past year blending collages into her paintings; her new show is the culmination of that effort. But Hartmetz admits she was surprised when the recurring theme of "Angels" began appearing in her new works. "As I painted, the outline of wings emerged in the brush strokes around the people,"says Hartmetz, "resulting in a spontaneous incorporation of angelic forms in the artwork." In one work titled "Angel From Montgomery" a likeness of her grandmother became an angelic figure gazing at the viewer through a door, to which Hartmetz added even more impact by using a real door from Czechoslovakia to frame the work. "Constructions," which are smaller works made from found items, provide a counterpoint to Hartmetz's large canvasses (Angel From Montgomery is 2.5 x 8"). In one construction, Hartmetz takes old wooden molds and incorporates images drawn on "Shrinkydinks" (remember Shrinkydinks from your childhood?) that are suspended inside the molds. Katinka Hartmetz is a fourth generation artist, following the lead of her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, who were all painters. Surrounded by artistic women, Hartmetz began painting at age 5 when her grandmother would put an old shirt on her and then setup an easel so Hartmetz could paint along side the other students in her grandmother's studio. More formal training came later training at the California College of Art and Crafts in 1980 (the same school her grandmother attended in 1908). Hartmetz's work has been shown in numerous public venues, as well as in private collections in California. When asked which audience is the most responsive to her work, Hartmetz replied, "Women often have an emotional response to the colors in my paintings. The dramatic colors act like an emotional trigger and their reactions are not unlike the emotions I felt released when I applied the colors."