Katie Grinell

Right when you walk through the doors of MIAD’s Gallery at the Ave, look immediately to your right to see the work of Katie Grinell, a MIAD 2021 New Studio Practice alumni. She is one of the seventeen artists featured in our “From This Point Forward” exhibition, and the latest MIAD alum to be featured in the exhibition. Her work blurs the boundary between digital and traditional ways of making with a bold, colorful touch, and three of her pieces are on display until July 6th.

Grinell combines digital image transfers on wood with hand-painted elements, which is most effective and intriguing in her piece, There’s a Mess on the Kitchen Floor (2021). RGB artifacts of the image transfer– the yummy leftovers from the digital manipulation process– vibrate against a carefully painted black and white checkerboard grid. These two elements conceal and reveal each other and intrigue my eye that’s on a constant hunt for a definitive answer. In addition to her visual art, Grinell also has work featured in our consignment area. I really enjoy these works in addition to what’s on display in the exhibition. As she plays with our own perceptions of what’s digital and traditional, her zines call into question our interactions with the digital world, and ask us to give our eyes a rest from blue light.

By Lee Judilla, Gallery Assistant