In this in-conversation piece with contemporary artist Kathryn Dolby, we explore her latest exhibition, Feeling into Form, which marks a shift from a methodical to a more intuitive and emotive approach in her painting practice. Kathryn discusses how balancing motherhood with her art has led to a newfound spontaneity and depth in her work. She reflects on how her paintings, blending detail with abstraction, capture personal and emotional landscapes. Ultimately, Kathryn aims to evoke a sense of wonder and introspection, inviting viewers to engage deeply with the layers of her creative process.
OTOMYS: Your upcoming art exhibition, Feeling into Form, expresses a shift from the cerebral to the visceral in your creative process. How do you navigate this transition?
KATHRYN DOLBY: My work has shifted over the years as I navigate the journey of painting while also mothering my two daughters. In the years where the girls were babies, I had to become very methodical with my process, out of necessity. I had much thinking time and much less studio time. It was here that there was pre planning, very specific colour choices and frameworks to steady the artwork process.
This year my littlest is older and I have more time in the studio again, where I have the time to be patient, to reconnect with a fundamental creative impulse. I make work through feel, in a more emotive and responsive process; allowing the paintings to deviate from initial ideas and leaning in to where the energy is. I find this is where the most exciting paintings are, outside the realm of control. it's a slower and more playful/experimental approach. If I overthink a painting, I'll generally end up painting over it, allowing the materials to guide where the work wants to be.
OTOMYS: In your statement, you mention that your paintings are "inner landscapes" that evolve through layers of paint. Could you describe how this process reflects the themes of searching and questioning that you explore in this exhibition?
KATHRYN DOLBY: Ultimately I'm searching to refine my own visual language, something that is clearly idiosyncratic. I have influences from various art movements but through trusting and leaning in to my intuition, I'm hoping to tap into an authentic, relevant voice. This is also a process of searching for meaning & hidden truths. I find that if you're being honest and vulnerable in the studio, the outcome of the paintings can be very revealing.
OTOMYS: Your work often contrasts the simplicity of forms with a complex emotional depth, echoing influences from both historical and modern masters. How do you balance these elements in your current body of work?
KATHRYN DOLBY: This is truly by feel. I'm always looking for an interesting tension between the various elements. For instance when I hone in on lightness and darkness in a painting, they resonate for me both in a literal sense of light and shadow, day and night, but also metaphorically too, in a sense of chaos, beauty, intensity and playfulness.
I've always been captivated by the dramatic lighting & structure of renaissance paintings, which often highlight detail and let the periphery slip out of focus. My intention is to utilise elements of detail to pull the eye in and then release it through thin washes of colour and spaciousness. The approach is like a dance of balancing forms & gestures.
OTOMYS: The exhibition explores both detail and abstraction, drawing from your surroundings while allowing remembered scenes to evolve. How do you decide which elements to retain and which to let dissolve into abstraction, and what does this process reveal about your relationship with the landscape?
KATHRYN DOLBY: I'm really looking to capture an essence or energy and the landscape holds this together. I'll often be struck by something when I'm out in nature or in the studio, it's usually the charge of a colour, an outline or a particular shape. I jot these down in my memory and pull them out in an intuitive way in the studio. I'm never really sure how these moments will later materialise, but that's the fun part & the exciting mystery of the process when you're in a flow state. Often I'll decide on an element by chance, for instance the children's blocks that appear in 'Little Anchors' were sitting in the studio after my daughter had built towers with them. I was trying to resolve a painting and I saw the blocks in my periphery. There was an 'aha' moment where I saw the two coming together in the painting. There are alot of moments where I think 'what if I did this? ' .
I thrive when I have an open & playful approach in the studio. I have a relationship of wonder with the landscape, its subblime in its ability to both be a destructive force and also give life. The landscape is also a complex network of hidden systems, and I feel I am merely connecting with the edges of it. I think this process reveals my paintings as mere traces of a time and place.
OTOMYS: Your paintings are described as vessels that hold experiences and emotions. How do you hope viewers will engage with these works? What kind of dialogue or emotional response are you aiming to evoke through the exhibition?
KATHRYN DOLBY: I usually have an element of geometry in all of my paintings, but for this exhibition I intentionally wanted to push against the edges of the rectangular boards, which offer that geometric structure. I view them as containers to fill, to leave traces in.
I'm ultimately looking to evoke a mood & also a lightness. They're offerings and a kind of prayer; a call to slow down, to be still, to weather the storms & return to a childlike spirit.
September 10, 2024
