Kathryn McGovern
Kathryn McGovern is a Brisbane based art working predominately with ink, gouache and watercolours. Kathryn has completed a Masters in Visual Arts (MVA) through Monash University GCAD, Victoria. Kathryn has been a finalist in numerous Art Awards and prizes and continues to exhibit works across Australia.
Artist Statement
“My practice focuses on traditional materials used in a manner to convey drawing and painting as a conceptual process. I explore meaningful mark-making as well as a state of reverie when creating. My work responds to and represents the passage of time through the layering of materials and meticulous detail.
The subject matter of my works can be light-hearted and even humorous but other times may offer comments advocating for social change.
When I work I try to see and represent forms as if discovering them for the first time. I use my imagination and play with metaphor and illusion to create surrealist imagery. I’m interested in looking for shared patterns across different natural forms and mixing imagery together. Intricate multi-media drawings and large scale paintings are slow-paced re-enactments of what is seen in a photograph, observed or experienced.
I often create anthropomorphic, hybrid, characters that offer an insight into my interest in the wonder and brutality of human nature, folklore and superstition. Figures emerge by layering marks with ink, watercolour and gouache producing different patterns and textures.” – Kathryn McGovern