For mixed media paper collage artist Katherine Horst, communication and the expression of beauty can transcend the impediments of different languages and culture. Well-versed in a variety of mediums, the August artist is bringing forth a feast of abstract landscapes assembled from various shapes and textures with paper, paint and pencil. For the first time in eight years, and unique to this upcoming solo exhibition, Horst will be showing a body of new oil landscapes alongside her collage work. This exhilarating dialogue between the mediums will be on display for an entire month at the Lebanon Picture Frame and Fine Art Gallery. The Artist’s Reception will be held on First Friday, August 3rd, from 5 to 8PM.
Raised in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, the Manheim-based artist often found inspiration from the farms and woodlands of Lancaster and Lebanon counties. Horst is especially intrigued by the shapes and structures that contrast the organic beauty of the natural world with the man-made objects found in it. The artist has exhibited her work in many notable galleries and museums near and far, including La Ciagle, Red Raven Art Company, Lancaster Museum of Art, and the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, Texas.
A graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Horst received her BFA in the Spring of 2009. There she was trained in the traditional techniques of drawing, oil painting and printmaking. Aside from her in-class education, Horst traveled to major cities and found her creative voice when she was exposed to art museums and the diversity of the working art world. The most transforming experience occurred in Takamatsu, Japan, where she was moved by the beauty she experienced there. The idea of beauty that transcends the barrier of language thus became a major theme in her work. “I loved that you can use the shapes made by lettering from any culture and turn them into something beautiful without needing to ‘read’ them,” said Horst; “this idea of the written form is still evident in my current work.”