Kim McCarty, "2021"

About

For the exhibition 2021, Kim McCarty continues her practice of working wet-on-wet with watercolor on paper. Her translucent medium co-exists with her subjects in an evolving dialogue of nature and the human form. In a new series of female silhouettes, McCarty layers her past and present, as ancestors recede and new family members emerge. Elsewhere, dragonflies and botanical forms rise from the page as McCarty embraces the physicality of wet paper, creating a sculptural effect of vibrant resiliency and renewal.

McCarty’s digital animation Empatio begins with wet droplets converging to reveal an isolated figure, who is slowly introduced to other figures. The sounds of bird calls and nature recede as the group expands and the chatter of highways and the city take over. Bird calls resume as the individual slowly returns to nature and diffuses back into elemental watercolor splashes. Empatio looks at what re-entering society will feel like after such a languid year, edging back towards a new normal.

Kim McCarty (b. 1956 Los Angeles, CA) received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and her Master in Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her work is included in the collections of the Hammer Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY and the Honolulu Academy of Art. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles.