Katherine Howard Rogers received her MFA and BFA in painting from Bard College and Pratt Institute. She lives Illinois.

Her work uses a phenomenological approach to express the nonmaterial aspect of our

relationship to place and self.

The work begins at the water's edge, stepping in, the touch of water, air and light-warmth as

they move and are felt across the body. Watching as the elements intersect and weave,

creating, growing and dispersing form and patterned gesture. The movement and ever-changing

gesture of the elements give shape to the place we inhabit. This process seeks a way to know

the character of a place and to form a relationship with it through participating with these forces.

Back in the studio the work begins with the wood panel on the floor in the same orientation as

the initial experience. A person standing amidst a horizontal field. The paint is applied in thick

layers. Building up, the gestures change and adapt to mimic the character and elemental

movements. The necessary opposing action of breaking apart, wearing down, carving away

happens with the use of a heat gun, power sander, and palette knife. Pulling together and

fracturing apart work rhythmically to embody the lived experience.

For her current work, Rogers explores new color techniques and painting methods to describe

and represent the ever-mobile elements of water, earth, air, and fire that defy all manner of

capture.