Kathleen Kvern is an abstract painter based in Minneapolis, MN where she has a studio behind her 1920’s bungalow. She works primarily in encaustic and mixed media and her work has been juried into exhibitions at the Nicolet College Art Gallery, Northfield Art Gallery, Artistry at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, and at the Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Exhibition among others. She has been featured in Wax Fusion, a digital publication of International Encaustic Artists (IEA), and she was the recipient of the 2019 Emerging Artists Grant from the IEA. She teaches encaustic workshops at the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, her work is for sale, and she ships locally, nationally, and around the world.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My encaustic paintings, often done in series, are an exploration of the layered meanings of personal narrative and the intersections between my spiritual/recovery practice and the creative process as methods to mapping more meaningful connections with myself and others. Altered by fire, both in form and texture, encaustic is the perfect medium to explore the concept of transformation. The process of encaustic painting is meditative. Scraping away, revealing what is underneath and then building back in a repetitive manner. Altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form, the finished paintings are palimpsests of my own successive creations. My work emphasizes the qualities of translucency, luminosity, vulnerability, and durability specific to the encaustic medium that I work in. My work, while referencing the natural world, has been a way for me to interpret and make sense of my internal geography which is grounded in my recovery from addiction.

I hope you enjoy my work. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing anything you see on my website or to discuss a commission.

Exhibitions

2024 The Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson WI.

2023 “Way of Seeing the Natural World” Two-Person Exhibition in the Reedy Gallery at the MN Landscape Arboretum

2023 “Chromatic Dialogue” Two-Person Juried Exhibition in the Inez Greenberg Gallery at the Bloomington Art Center

2023 “Abstractions” Juried Exhibition at The Bridgewater Lofts

2023 Minnesota Waterfalls Exhibition at the Minneapolis Airport

2023 Annual Members Juried Art Exhibition in the Inez Greenberg Gallery at the Bloomington Art Center

2022 “5-FOOT SHOW” at Gallery 360

2022 “Layer of Being” 3-person exhibition in ArtReach St. Croix Gallery

2021 45th Annual Members Juried Art Exhibition in the Inez Greenberg Gallery at the Bloomington Art Center

2021 “Metamorphosis” Juried Exhibition. Tubac Center of the Arts in partnership with the International Encaustic Artists

2021 “Landscapes in the Abstract” Juried Exhibition. Northfield Arts Guild Gallery

2020 “Coordinated Message” Juried Group Exhibition. Art At The Bridgewater Gallery

2020 Follow The Muse Gallery

2019 International Encaustic Artists Emerging Artists Grant Award

2019 National Juried Exhibition, Northern National Art Competition, “Patron Award” Nicolet College Art Gallery, Rhinelander, WI

2019 Honorable Mention, Group Show, Manito Art Show, Manitowish Waters, WI

2018 MN State Fair Juried Fine Art Exhibition

2018 Honorable Mention, Group Show, Manito Art Show, Manitowish Waters, WI

2018 Solo Exhibition, Common Ground Gallery, Mpls MN

2017  National Juried Exhibition, Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College Art Gallery, Rhinelander, WI

2017  Solo Exhibition Collection of Works, Common Ground Gallery, Mpls, MN

2017  3-Artist Show “Under the Influence”, Howard Young Gallery, Minoqua, WI

2017 Group Show, Red Hot Art Market, Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN

2017 Group Show, Manito Art Show, Manitowish Waters, WI

2016 Group Show, Manito Art Show, Manitowish Waters, WI

 Education and Experience

The University of Minnesota, Bachelor of Arts, 1980

Artist ToolBox Marketing Workshop, Lac du Flambeau, WI July 2009

Encaustic Painting Workshop, Mentor Artist: Jodi Reeb

September 2017; January 2018; June 2019

Encaustic Painting Workshop Jeffery Hirst June 2019

Artists Master Mind 2019; 2020