Katerina Lanfranco

What I'm Doing Now!

2012-01-12T01:02:00.008-05:00

As the artist-in-residence at UCSC in 2012, I will be making a large-scale cut-out art installation at the Sesnon Art Gallery. Please check out the project's blog http://naturalselectionartshow.blogspot.com

Tokyo - Landing

2010-11-11T22:19:00.013-05:00

Arriving in Tokyo via the Narita Airport, losing a day because of time zones, adds an extra bit of the surreal to the beginning of a 6-month journey of living in Japan and studying traditional Japanese arts and crafts. With the previous 6-months being consumed with planning and imagining how it will be; suddenly there is a shift - a conflation of what will be and what is.

At the International House in Roppongi, I felt immediately welcomed by the hospitality of the staff and by the kind handling of our Japan-US Friendship Commission (JUSFC) contacts Christopher and Manami.
Never having been to Japan before, I was impressed by the meticulously tended Japanese Garden with blossoming plum and cherry trees, the rice paper sliding screens and the space-aged bathroom.

The most delicious and anticipated breakfast I've ever tasted.

Japan-United States Friendship Commission Fellowship

2010-11-11T22:17:00.005-05:00

National Endowment for the Arts
JUSFC Creative Arts Fellow 2010 - in Visual Arts

Established in 1975, the Japan-US Friendship Commission awards 5 fellowships a year to US scholars in the arts to learn about, study and be inspired by Japanese arts (architecture, dance, literature, poetry, theater, music, and visual arts).

The purpose of the Commission's programs is defined in the Japan-United States Friendship Act as "aid to education and culture at the highest level in order to enhance reciprocal people-to-people understanding and to support the close friendship and mutuality of interests between the United States and Japan." This is important because as stated in the Act,"the continuation of close United States-Japan friendship and cooperation will make a vital contribution to the prospects for peace, prosperity and security in Asia and the world."

Katerina Lanfranco, Visual arts, March 8 - August 31, 2010

Katerina plans to visit Japan to study isekatagami (paper cut-outs), ikebana (flower arranging) and ukiyo-e (a genre of woodblock prints). Since 2006, she has explored the use of paper cut-outs. Her interest in them stems from their physical directness, compositional detail and complexity. Likewise, in her works she often references floral motifs and plant forms, which she sees as having a similarity to ikebana: an art form in created response to the inherent beauty, symmetry and formal patterns found in plants. As her paintings are a result of the investigation into the creation of other worldly landscapes, inspired by the ukiyo-e tradition, she feels she would benefit from further study into that genre as well.
www.katerinalanfranco.com

http://www.i-house.or.jp/en/ProgramActivities/arts/ArtistsProfile.htm
in Japanese http://kyotokaterina.blogspot.com/

Hawaii! Kauai!!

2010-11-11T22:16:00.022-05:00

Kauai, Hawaii 2010

National Tropical Botanical Gardens - Beautiful and inspiring plants.

After visiting the Botanical Gardens, I craved some fresh island fruit and lady luck took me there: Farmer's Market

Chico fruit, apple bananas, butter apples, sugar cane, mangoes etc...

Snorkling along the Napali Coast

On the boat trip along the Napali Coast I spotted sea turtles, humpback whales, and a pod of 50 dolphins.

Waimea Canyon - Kauai is a small island, only 33 miles across. This canyon is huge and breathtaking.

REAL(ist) Show

2010-11-11T22:13:00.012-05:00

REAL(ist) Group Show with color catalogue and essay
Selby Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.
2009-2010 Curated by Kevin Dean

After driving the entire way down to Florida from NYC, I installed "Below a Sea of Stars" a mixed media cut-out installation at the Selby Gallery. Tackling 3 display cases, a video component, and the gallery foyer - the artwork was given its own life in Sarasota. Challenging but fun.

Arctic Book Club - Group Show

2009-09-26T12:13:00.016-04:00

Installation view of "Midnight Sun" and "Glacial Specimens"

"Midnight Sun", 2009, hand-cut paper, height 80 inches.
(From the catalogue) Midnight Sun is a cut-out of a large isolated iceberg in silhouetted form. The shape is constructed from a complex of positive and negative spaces and shapes. The piece was made in response to the extreme climate and light conditions of Greenland. The form, like the island itself, drifts alone in the ocean and exists partially above and below water. The piece's contrast of dark and light are symbolic of the region's Polar Night (total darkness) and Midnight Sun (total light). The epic landscape form, only partially explosed above water, can also be thought of as a metaphor for epic journey that is described in the book.

"Glacial Specimens" 2009, flame worked glass with clay and acrylic paint.
(From the catalogue) Glacial Specimens is a work that consists of several small mixed media glass sculptures. Each sculpture is unique, and yet relates to the others in trying to capture the ephemeral nature of snow crystals and ice forms. They are phantasmagoric in their static states. They operate as a metaphor for what is barely attainable and unknown about a foreign land.

Sam in front of the iceberg.

E.F.A. Profect Space
323 West 39th Street, NYC.
Opening Reception September 17th, 6-8pm.

Dinner with Tété-Michel Kpomassie

2009-09-26T12:13:00.010-04:00

Jean Barberis of Flux Factory hosted an artists' dinner before the night before the opening of Arctic Book Club at Flux Factory's new location in L.I.C.

Flux Factory & EFA Project Space Collaboration

2009-09-26T12:11:00.010-04:00

Curated by Jean Barberis from the Flux Factory and Michelle Levy the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, EFA Project Space.
A book club was the conceptual framework for the Arctic Book Club exhibition. Twelve artists who were invited to participate starting in the Spring of 2009 to read, discuss, and make art in response to Tété-Michel Kpomassie's 1981 book, An African in Greenland at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts studio building at 323 West 39th Street in Manhattan.

Midnight Sun - in progress at the EFA Studio for the Arctic Book Club studio residency.
The concept of the show furthered the goals of the EFA Project Space to create space for collaboration with other art and cultural organization and thus bridging gaps in the art community and expanding audiences for the arts.

tART Panel Discussion at A.I.R. Gallery

2009-09-24T20:13:00.012-04:00

Picnic Panel, Making Room, at A.I.R gallery in DUMBO, August 27th, 6pm, organized by Anna Lise Jensen. The discussion was in connection with the tART exhibition and focused on the theme of making room(s) for (and by) female artists and the definition and relevance of "feminist space."

Address: A.I.R. Gallery, 111 Front Street, #228, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Berlin Visit Summer 2009

2009-09-20T23:36:00.054-04:00

German Museum of Technology
(Deutsche Technik-museum)

World's Garden (Gärten der Welt) in Marzahn

The Balinese Garden - black orchid Tacca chantrieri

The Japanese Garden
A Berlin and Tokyo city project built by Zen priests.

The Islamic Garden

tART @ A.I.R. Gallery

2009-09-20T23:36:00.032-04:00

tART at A.I.R.
August 1 – August 29, 2009

A.I.R. Gallery
111 Front Street
Brooklyn, NY (DUMBO)

tART at AIR is an exhibition curated by Kat Griefen that includes the work of 35 artists who are part of the tART collective. tART is comprised of 46 emerging women artists nationwide, whose network facilitates dialogue, collaboration, learning and teaching, public engagement, and activism.

This exhibition is, in part, an examination of the Feminist Art Movement's influence on subsequent generations of female artists. The exhibition is presented “salon” style.

A.I.R. Gallery and the tART collective are both organizations founded by women with the intention of fostering a strong community and public presence for women in the arts. Both A.I.R. Gallery and tART function as support networks, which continue to strengthen and celebrate women’s roles in the field.

(In front of Monica Carrier's drawing.)

The exhibiting artists are: Liz Ainslie, Jill Auckenthaler, Suzanne Bennett, Monica Carrier, Sydney Chastain-Chapman, Laurie Close, Melissa Cowper-Smith, Ann deVere, Maria Dumlao, Madora Frey, Tara Giannini, Rachael Gorchov, Anna Lise Jensen, Elsie Kagan, Katherine Keltner, Selena Kimball, Essye Klempner, Katy Krantz, Katerina Lanfranco, Lisa Lindgren, Rebecca Loyche, Cybele Lyle, Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow, Sandra Mack-Valencia, Ilse Murdock, Danielle Mysliwiec, Asya Reznikov, Susan Ross, Carrie Rubinstein, Nikki Schiro, Yasmin Spiro, Melissa Staiger, Rosemary Taylor, Petra Valentova, and Julia Whitney Barnes.

http://www.tartnyc.org
Black Botanical, 2008, 14 x 11 inches, hand-cut paper

Cultural Corridor IV - Pittsfield, M.A.

2009-09-20T23:35:00.022-04:00

"Pollentia" 2009, gouache and flame worked glass, 72 x 72 inches

Selections from the Cultural Corridor IV.

Featured artists: Natasha Poleshuk Navidad, Katerina Lanfranco, Ruth Hardinger, Brece Honeycutt, Sandy Winters, Renee Bouchard, and John Maziarz

June 27 - July 26, 2009.

“Selections from” is an annual exhibition curated by Peter Dudek that gathers the widest possible range of activity by artists who live and/or work in the “Cultural Corridor”. The Berkshires is a vital part of the Cultural Corridor that has been forming between New York City and southern Vermont. New artists have gathered here in recent years amplifying and broadening the artistic mix of an already culturally rich area.

Storefront Artist Project
124 Fenn Street, Pittsfield.

Byrdcliffe - Summer Artist Residency

2009-09-20T23:35:00.021-04:00

Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, NY

A one month artist residency
June 30 - July 26, 2009
Pollock Krasner Award recipient
Run by the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild the artist residency provides the opportunity for people to discover and develop their creative and artistic spirit. This year's master artist was Gregory Amenoff. They are dedicated to the preservation of the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony as an arts haven, natural environment, and historic site. Their goal is to present and foster the creative arts for the enjoyment and education of the people of Woodstock, the region, and beyond.

The Byrdcliffe gang on July 4th.

In my studio with an awesome view of the forest in Upstate New York.

In Nathania Rubin's Studio with Julie Durkin and Bob Marty.

Summer Group Show - Nancy Hoffman Gallery

2009-09-20T22:54:00.011-04:00

Tholus arcus, 2008, glass & mixed media, 11 x 12 x 11 inches.

Nancy Hoffman Gallery
520 West 27th St. NYC
June 23 - September 9, 2009

MoMA Artist Talk

2009-09-20T13:41:00.008-04:00

http://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/audios/157/1695
A special series of talks in the format of Pecha Kucha, an informal Japanese lecture style. In each session, approximately five to six artists who are represented in MoMA's collection discuss twenty slides of their work, twenty seconds per slide.

Katerina Lanfranco
Marcia Hafif
David Opdyke
Yuri Masnyj
Robert Buck
Michael Rodriguez

This series celebrates a gift by The Judith Rothschild Foundation to the Museum of works by over 650 artists.

In conjunction with the exhibition Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection

Thursday, May 14, 2009, 12:30 p.m.
MoMA artist talk
Location:
MoMA, Theater 3 (The Celeste Bartos Theater), mezzanine, The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education
Street:
4 West 54 Street
City/Town:
New York, NY

Pictures from the After Party for Below a Sea of Stars

2009-09-20T13:29:00.006-04:00

Just a few images from the after party for Below a Sea of Stars, at a Thai restaurant in Chelsea. The party room was a converted laundromat - so New York.

The Corning Museum of Glass Collection

2009-09-20T13:22:00.003-04:00

This piece, "Racemus ordo", 2008, glass & mixed media, 12 1/2 x 9 x 9 inches, from Below a Sea of Stars enters in to the permanent collection at the Corning Museum of Glass.

NATURE: Fahnemann Projects, Berlin

2009-09-20T13:17:00.003-04:00

Group show: Fahnemann Projects Berlin, Germany
February 10 - April 25, 2009

Below a Sea of Stars Jan. 8 - Feb. 21, 2009

2009-09-20T12:24:00.011-04:00

Below a Sea of Stars is the culmination of two years of research and work that explores this idea of a conflated deep sea and outer space and a single frontier.

The theme for this show is the combination of deep sea space and distant outer space. Early experiences on the West Coast at the Monterey Bay aquarium and doing astronomy observations planted deep seated admiration and curiosity about these two distant geographic frontiers. Through my work I want to explore the unknown and think about how we are motivated to conquer what is not known. As I researched for this project it occurred to me that in addition to being physical frontiers these deep spaces were also metaphysical frontiers that could be conflated as a single frontier space, since they both expressed the physical perimeter of existence and knowledge.

The show as a whole, is really about the investigation of the unknown and creating forms and images that are explorations of frontier territories that rest on the precipice between culture and nature, reality and fiction, and between what is known and can be imagined.

Below a Sea of Stars -Solo Show Opening Jan. 8, 2009

2009-04-21T14:38:00.017-04:00

Getting Ready for Upcoming Show

2008-12-19T21:54:00.003-05:00

My first big New York solo show is opening Thursday, January 8 at Nancy Hoffman Gallery.
520 West 27th St.

Below a Sea of Stars

January 8-February 21, 2009

working, working, working....

Summer Salon Opening

2008-12-19T21:27:00.008-05:00

July 3, 2009: 5-9pm reception

tART Summer Salon Show

2008-10-31T22:41:00.004-04:00

This was a show I organized at Rabbit Hole Studio Gallery in Dumbo this summer.

SUMMER SALON SHOW
July 3rd, 2008 - August 1st, 2008
Opening reception Thursday, July 3rd, 5-9p
through August 1st

Rabbitholestudio presents Summer Salon Show, a group show that features recent work by members of the tART artist collective.

tART is an artist group based in New York City comprised of emerging artists committed to making art. It was founded in 2004 by a group of New York City based female artists whose aims were to create a community for practicing artists, as well as to serve as a post-grad school forum to facilitate a contemporary art dialogue. The tART collective has grown over the years to more than two dozen members. The group's members consist of locally and internationally showing artists. tART strives to strengthen the presence of women artists in the public sphere.

The variety of media and visual art disciplines presented in the show include painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, video, performance, mixed media and installation. The work will be hung in a traditional floor-to-ceiling Salon style to emphasize the myriad approaches and directions that make up the collective's overall spirit. The artists involved have graduated from various MFA programs which include Hunter College, Yale University, Pratt Institute, Tyler School of Art, and Brooklyn College. The collective meets monthly for studio critiques and collaborative projects.

Grizzly Proof in Toronto!

2008-07-16T10:12:00.004-04:00

Cinematheque Ontario and Flux Factory
in conjunction with TSV present at Trinity Square Video Gallery

Opening: Thursday, June 19, 2008, 5 – 8pm
Exhibition: June 20 – July 12, 2008
I created a new site specific piece called "The Chase"
(2008, adhesive vinyl cut-outs, dimensions variable)
for the Toronto show.

Artists:
Dominique Blais (France), Paul Burn (USA), Lisa Dillin (USA), Marcel Dzama (Canada), Chris Hackett (USA) & Eleanor Lovinsky (Canada), Aya Kakeda (Japan), Katerina Lanfranco (Canada), Fabienne Lasserre (Canada), Motomichi (Japan), Frank Olive and Rudy Shepherd (USA), Douglas Paulson (USA), Bruno Persat (France), and Hiroshi Shafer (Japan).

Our story begins with Troy Hurtubise who was attacked by a grizzly bear in the Rocky Mountains. Troy survived and decided to one day return to the Rockies, this time fully prepared with an impenetrable suit of armour. Director Peter Lynch documented his quest in the film Project Grizzly (1996), which has since become a cult-classic, inspiring an episode of The Simpsons and gaining fans that include other notable directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Matthew Barney. In the film, Troy has his friends "test" his suit in various violent ways (ramming trucks, flying logs, etc.) and then heads to the heart of Grizzly country for an adventure that ends, unceremoniously, in failure.

In 2007, Flux Factory, an art collective in New York City, invited artists from around the world to create their own response to Troy's body of work and life's ambition. Following the success of the exhibition in New York, curators Chen Tamir (Canada/Israel) and Jean Barbaris (France/USA) bring the exhibition to Toronto to be presented in conjunction with Cinematheque Ontario's week-long Director Spotlight with Peter Lynch.

"Generations 6" at A.I.R. Gallery, NYC

2008-02-04T19:17:00.001-05:00

I have a new work in the A.I.R. Gallery
Group/Benefit Show: "Wall Cluster", 2008, Mixed Media
incl. wood, copper wire, thread, acrylic paint, clay,
and Sculpey, 14" x6" x 6".

detail view

"Generations 6"
A.I.R. Gallery
511 West 25th Street
February 5 -March 1, 2008
Opening Reception, February 7, 2008
Small works Exhibition in collaboration with CODEPINK

www.codepink4peace.org

Six Black Botanicals Go to the Cleveland Clinic Art Collection

2008-01-21T19:38:00.000-05:00

Six new works are going to go to The Cleveland Clinic Art Program. Below is a description of the program's mission.

"The mission of The Cleveland Clinic Art Program is to enrich, inspire and enliven our patients, visitors, employees and community and to embody the core values of the institution: collaboration, quality, integrity, compassion, and commitment.

The collection evidences a commitment to supporting the national and local arts communities. An emphasis on contemporary art fosters an environment of creative excellence, encourages dialogue and challenges viewers to experience diverse points of view. The art reflects an interest in underlying concepts such as innovation, teamwork and service which are fundamental cornerstones of The Cleveland Clinic."

To read more......
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/art/
To see more......
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/art/images.asp

NY, NY, NY: December 14, 2007 – January 13, 2008

2007-12-12T11:10:00.000-05:00

I've contributed a scale model of the NY Aquarium that has been
adjusted to present
fantastical and hybrid flora and fauna incl. miniature dioramas.
Attached is a picture of the piece.

(A catalogue will be available at the end of the show.)

Opening Night: Friday, December 14, 7pm
Flux Factory presents...

New York, New York, New York
So nice we named it thrice.
Curated by Jean Barberis, Melanie Cohn, and Chen Tamir. Original concept by Jean Barberis.

"Manhattan is an accumulation of possible disasters that never happen."
--Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York (1978)

http://www.fluxfactory.org

Night of 1,000 Drawings

2007-12-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

Biodiverisity Dome,
12" x 9", gouache,watercolor, and acrylic on coldpressed rag paper, 2007

"Biodiversity Dome" will be part of the annual benefit auction at Artists Space.

NIGHT of 1,000 DRAWINGS
A Benefit for ARTISTS SPACE
38 Greene Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013
Thursday, December 13th, 5-10pm

New Works on Paper

2007-11-11T08:17:00.000-05:00

Fauna Flora series are all 16" x 12" watercolor and gouache on heavyweight handmade paper. Inspired by the history of botanical illustration that combines scientific discovery and details with visual aesthetics, these work reflect my interest in how plant biology is being changed by the introduction of animal genes.

New Topographies, 2007

2007-11-11T07:29:00.000-05:00

New Topographies #1, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 17" x 12"

These are some new paintings (New Topographies) that combine my interest in the unknown territories of the deep sea and outer space.

New Topographies #2, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 18"

New Topographies #3, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 14" x 11"

New Topographies #4, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 19" x 18"

Hunterdon Museum of Art

2007-09-10T15:27:00.000-04:00

My work is included in an upcoming show at the
Hunterdon Museum of Art.

October 3, 2007 - January 6, 2008
"Inner Child: Good and Evil in the Garden of Memories"
curated by Kristen Accola

Opening Recption
Sunday, October 7, 2007, 2-4p.m.
Gallery Talk with the curator 3pm

Hunterdon Museum of Art
7 Lower Center Street
Clinton, NJ 08809

Block Ink Print on Handmade Paper

2007-08-23T11:13:00.000-04:00

This print is called "Pressed Black Botanical" and will be part of a limited edition (40 count) series of works by artists that are part of tART, a New York based women's art collective. The tART box will include the works of around twenty artists that work in a range of 2D and 3D media. The photos here are of the actual print (11.5" x 8.5")as well as the stamp I used to make it. The stamp is made of cut foam and rubber.

Summer Show in Berlin

2007-07-23T12:21:00.000-04:00

Some of the Black Botanicals Series that will be on view as part of a summer group show at Fahnemann Galerie in Berlin. The show opens July 25th, 2007. Show runs through August 25th.

Pergamon:Berlin:Summer'07

2007-07-14T17:13:00.000-04:00

Studying the mythic animals on this Babylonian gate dedicated by King Nebuchadnezzar II to the goddess Ishtar. Built in about 575 BC, it was one of the eight gates of the inner city of Babylon. It is one of the most impressive monuments rediscovered in the ancient Near East. The Ishtar gate is decorated with glazed brick reliefs, in tiers, of dragons and young bulls.

documenta:12 Kassel, Germany

2007-07-14T17:09:00.000-04:00

Here's one of my favorite spaces from this year's documenta in Kassel. It fills the room with its linear mass but maintains a lightness by defusing and transmitting natural light. The artist is Iole de Freitas, and the work is an untitled installation (2007).

L.I.C., NYC at Socrates Sculpture Park 'til Aug. 5th

2007-07-14T11:54:00.000-04:00

In collaboration with the wonderful folks at Flux Factory, I have some small sculptural pieces (Sea Curiosities) as part of their overturned ship installation entitled Albatross.

Socrates Scultpure Park
May 6th - August 5th, 2007

Summer Group Show NYC

2007-07-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

I have 2 paintings in a summer group show
at Nancy Hoffman Gallery

"Flying the Coop",
summer group exhibition of gallery artists
July 7 - September 4, 2007

NANCY HOFFMAN GALLERY
429 WEST BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10012

The show is meant to introduce the news that Nancy Hoffman Gallery will be moving to 520 West 27th Street.

July 9th, 2007

2007-07-09T11:03:00.000-04:00

I have a website www.katerinalanfranco.com, but will be using this blog to update my calendar and upcoming events more often.