KATE BARBEE | DEBUT EXHIBITION 'FERAL FLORA' OPENING AT KOHN GALLERY
BY JOSHEN MANTAI
Los Angeles based artist Kate Barbee is not afraid to unabashedly explore the intimate escapism associated with the trials and tribulations of young adulthood in her work. Her vivid large-scale paintings play with an expansive color palette that delineate abstract dreamy figures amidst the presence of mixed media like waxes, scraps of quilts, and other textiles. The ingenious result is a collection of art that is contemporary and universally relatable, beautifully portraying the range of human desire and struggle. Barbee will be hosting a solo show titled Feral Flora at Kohn Gallery in LA today, February 5th, that features works crafted almost entirely during the 2020 pandemic. The works in the show thoughtfully draw the spectator in to view poignant and vulnerable representations of millennial urban life, in all of its messy complexities and interdependence.
Flaunt had the opportunity to talk to Barbee about the source of inspiration behind her exhibition, her challenges in the art industry, and hopes for the future of her career.
When did you first know that art was what you wanted to pursue as a career?
I’ve always been a painter and painting is something I will always need. And like any other artist, I was fueled by spite when told repeatedly I wouldn't make a living from this. I will be painting whether you’re watching or not.
How has quarantine helped/hindered your creative process?
My work is mostly fueled by life experiences with other people. In the early and more fearful stage of quarantine, I became more in tune with my surroundings. I was forced to find inspiration in the mundane everyday life and I started to pay more attention to the smaller details, which gave me a lifeline to connect me to everyone else. The unique mix of local flora, plastic water bottles, furniture, plants, and human vices were particularly interesting. I must say that this wasn't an overnight venture, the solitude led to further research on the things that excite me as well. Quarantine has been hard, but I think it proved to me that there are infinite places to take inspiration from.
What kind of messages do you hope spectators will garner from your art?
My work is so much about trying to understand my own emotions, wants, and triggers. Sometimes I’m in a fog as I map everything out on a canvas, hoping to find answers and messages about my exact feelings. But instead, emerging from the fog becomes a grounding force, one that brings peace and clarity above succinct conclusion. All I can offer a spectator is a slice of my own solace, but I can’t begin to figure out what parts they might connect to.
What has been the most challenging part of having a career in the art industry?
I feel like the most challenging part of having a career in the art industry is compartmentalizing all the feedback that is being received from people of the art world and just by random people on the internet. I don’t think I ever considered the different type of attention I was going to get whenever I was dreaming about getting picked up by a gallery, but now I am learning. Let’s just say, people have a lot of opinions about female artists.
What kinds of themes can we expect from your solo show at Kohn Gallery?
This show explores a range of power struggles, dream landscapes, fantasies, delights, lust, and budding new romance. At its core is a spiritual emergence. Instead of emerging into the art world and next steps of my life in a way that I had imagined, I have dug inward and processed intensity with paintbrush and needles in hand. It comes down to something I struggle with: bravery in softness.
What is your favorite piece that will be exhibited in the solo show and why?
‘The Sunroom’ painting, because it captures this sweet, gentle hesitance that comes with the beginning of every new love. I decided to add the moonflowers as a symbol of opening up, unfurling—along with other small details, like a tiny arrow as an exploration of the risk of uncertainty (its delights and perils).
For Feral Flora, where did the fascination stem from to capture the emotions surrounding millennial urban life?
It wasn't an intentional fascination, but more of a way of communicating my everyday life to the world. I captured genuine interactions with lovers and friends, as well as capturing different environments I see myself in. I happen to be a millennial in a city, used to enjoying the high energy of city living and winding down into the new circumstances. I write a lot in a journal nearly everyday, and take a lot of reference photos from my walks, from my friends’ houses, from my own house. I feel like I am just collecting the beautiful bits of my world and storing them in my work.
What do you want to explore in the future of your career?
I really hope that there is room for me to grow past just painting, to create a huge museum exhibition one day. I want to utilize my eye in other mediums like sculpture and film. I also hope that one day I can be granted the opportunity to teach. The future is still wide open. I look forward to new ideas and evolutions to explore.