Katharine Kuharic
Taking stock pictures–"unsolicited images" from junk mail, newspapers, magazines and other sources–Kuharic meticulously re-collages images to create reconfigured histories. Her paintings are multi-layered, hyper-real, and highly keyed to an almost hallucinogenic pallet making them overwrought, sensual, and alluring. Her works highlight investigations into American celebrity, pop and suburban culture as well as her personal angst.
In her ongoing series Pound of Flesh Kuharic tracks her weight loss and gain through repeated symbols and motifs. The years accumulate in yellow eggs laid across the bottom of the painting and her corresponding weight is recorded in red balloons above. In the center of the painting is a tangle of hollyhocks, the symbol of female ambition. In addition to the measure of weight, these paintings also show the lost possibility of fertility and represent all that is fecund. Flora and fauna are depicted throughout as well as graphics of the Weight Watchers frozen dinners. This contrast of nourishment and hollow, empty food is the key metaphor for the painting.
Kuharic has had solo exhibitions at Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, South Bend Regional Art Museum, and St. Louis’ Contemporary Art Museum. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at institutions such as …
Taking stock pictures–"unsolicited images" from junk mail, newspapers, magazines and other sources–Kuharic meticulously re-collages images to create reconfigured histories. Her paintings are multi-layered, hyper-real, and highly keyed to an almost hallucinogenic pallet making them overwrought, sensual, and alluring. Her works highlight investigations into American celebrity, pop and suburban culture as well as her personal angst.
In her ongoing series Pound of Flesh Kuharic tracks her weight loss and gain through repeated symbols and motifs. The years accumulate in yellow eggs laid across the bottom of the painting and her corresponding weight is recorded in red balloons above. In the center of the painting is a tangle of hollyhocks, the symbol of female ambition. In addition to the measure of weight, these paintings also show the lost possibility of fertility and represent all that is fecund. Flora and fauna are depicted throughout as well as graphics of the Weight Watchers frozen dinners. This contrast of nourishment and hollow, empty food is the key metaphor for the painting.
Kuharic has had solo exhibitions at Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, South Bend Regional Art Museum, and St. Louis’ Contemporary Art Museum. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at institutions such as Contemporary Art Museum of Houston, Portsmouth Museum of Fine Art, and Bowling Green Museum.
Courtesy of P.P.O.W.
