Katie Batten

Some of my favorite work in our inaugural exhibition, “From This Point Forward,” is that of Katie Batten. She’s a 2012 MIAD Painting alum, and one of seventeen artists featured in the exhibition. Her paintings and ceramic daggers are adorned with a delicate, floral touch. As they’re displayed right by our wall of windows, the naturalistic sensitivity and graces exuding from each place almost glows underneath the sunlight, which warms my heart when I come to work in the morning.

I’m most drawn to her piece, Cicada Days (2023), which faces me when I sit at the Gallery at the Ave desk. Her use of bright and vibrant colors immediately catches my eye. Graphic floral shapes contrast softly rendered petals and stems which sit in the center of the work. Her subject matter of choice is the small bits of nature that are often lost in the mass of a wide field, or off a dirt path, like a dandelion, or a clover. As she frames these flora, they become playful, reverent beings. This work, along with her stoneware, are on display now until July 6th. Stop in to take a look!

By Lee Judilla, Gallery Assistant