BIOGRAPHY
Catherine Baumhauer was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA) and CalArts (MFA). Her background in painting, sculpture, animation, film and her life as a mother influences her current work. She’s shown at Under the Bridge at Bridge Red Studios, Miami, Florida, Girls Club, Miami, Florida, CICA Museum, Seoul, South Korea, Stand Gallery, Asheville NC, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, Los Angeles, and Hawthorne Art Complex, CA.
Baumhauer lives and works in Los Angeles.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I grew up on the set of Mr Roger’s Neighborhood, an experience that influences the way I make art. My exposure to so many art forms at an early age, influences my interest and experimentation in different mediums today. The land of make believe, the many guests on the show, the puppetry, the travel, all created experiences that now slide in and out of the work.
My illustrations blur the lines between make believe and reality. Playful, whimsical, at times satirical, these characters address the foibles and absurdities of being human and female in a modern world. Initially, I used them as a way of dealing with the stress of motherhood and the pandemic, but they are meant to provide comfort beyond the immediate demands of the present. They provide levity and moments for escape.
My paintings fuse the traditional art mediums of oil and acrylic paint with unconventional found and domestic materials such as wallpaper, cardboard, kids homework and bits of plastic. This mixed-media approach creates textured layers with a color-saturated, rich-hued palette and thick impasto paint. Abstracted marks, representational forms and figures, and their placement establish connections to my surrounding environment. These explorations generate binary relationships between representational imagery and abstraction, whereby such figures and forms emerge that represent oppositional forces—pastoral versus industrial, domestic versus feral, or masculine versus feminine. Fragmented realities and narratives within my work reflect the multiple roles I have as mother, wife, daughter, sister, self and artist. My work addresses a tension of opposites and forges a new space between these dualities.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2004 MFA in Experimental Animation, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
1999 BFA in Painting, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
1997 Ecole des Beaux Arts a Paris (Painting) Paris, France
EXHIBITIONS
2021
Thick, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach,
Intergalactic 2, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA
2020
Irregularly Scheduled, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA
Mixed Media, Core Art Space, Denver, CO
Abstract Mind, CICA Museum, South Korea
Small Works, (solo show) Pursue Gallery, Redondo Beach, CA
Intergalactic, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA
Group Painting Show, University of Southern Mississippi, MI
2019
Art Basel (Pop Up) SAIC Alumni group show, Bridge Red Studios, Miami, FL
Open Studios, Hawthorne Arts Complex, Hawthorne, CA
New School Abstract, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA
Open Studios, Hawthorne Arts Complex, Hawthorne, CA
Modern Painting, South Mississippi Museum of Art, MI
El Segundo Art Walk, El Segundo, CA
The Other Half of the Sky, Girls Club, Miami, FL
Solo Works, Hawthorne Arts Complex, Hawthorne, CA
Group Show, Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Open Studios, Hawthorne Arts Complex, Hawthorne, CA
Water and Wood, Resin Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA
New Wave (solo show), Pursue Gallery, Redondo Beach, CA
2018
Open Studios, Hawthorne Arts Complex, Hawthorne, CA
Indivisible, Resin Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA
Catherine Baumhauer + Karen Marie, The Stand Gallery, Asheville, NC
Metamorphosis, The Stand Gallery, Asheville, NC
Catherine Baumhauer (solo works), Ananda Gallery, Asheville, NC