Infinite Discord
By Kristen Evangelista
The collaborative duo Kate Eric (Kate Tedman and Eric Siemens) engender new perspectives on conflict, aggression, and violence in their most recent body of work, Bug War Over Two Blue Mountain. This group of dynamic and highly charged paintings illustrates that conflict is a constant condition of our universe. In these works, the principles of cause and effect lead entities to collide and destruction to occur on a molecular and cosmic scale. Kate Eric have coined a term to define this micro/macro phenomenon: "molecular sociology," or the dynamics of how entities interact. In doing so, they reveal that their inspiration derives in part from their academic backgrounds in science and philosophy. Kate Eric draw a parallel between natural and human interactions, and suggest that similar forces could be at play in both scenarios. Their work proposes a thought-provoking and somewhat unsettling notion: it may in fact be futile to seek order and harmony in our universe. From this holistic point of view, today's headlines of protagonists and antagonists become more like a saga that will continue indefinitely in some constantly changing shape or form.
Bug War Over Two Blue Mountain transports us to an otherworldly universe where we are confronted by microscopic cellular warfare amidst the awe-inspiring backdrop of cosmic collision. Kate Eric's paintings combine one-point perspective with a bird's eye view, so the viewer is magically able to experience two scenes at once. This visual effect is the result of their unique painting approach; the artists first apply broad sweeping washes of pigment to create an ambiguous landscape evocative of sand storms, brooding seas, or dark galaxies. Then, they use syringes and tiny brushes to meticulously embellish the scene with organisms, vegetation, and mountains. Kate Eric rely on a confined color palette of orange, pink, and white as a means to unify their compositional elements and guide the viewer's eye through the panorama's dynamic action. Primordial hybrids of beetles, jellyfish, snakes, and chickens populate their paintings. In Study for Mal Hollows II (2010), the main protagonist is perhaps an underwater being whose beaded wispy tendrils call to mind the exquisite illustrations of nineteenth-century German biologist Ernst Haeckel. Much like Haeckel, Kate Eric investigate the morphology of organic forms and portray organisms mutating in front of our eyes. Lush vegetation spews primordial ooze, and nests serve as sanctuaries for new life forms.
Kate Eric's paintings, with their jewel-tone colors, diaphanous floating forms, and ornamental vegetation, seduce us. Yet beneath this surface lies an exploration of violence. Kate Eric present amalgamated creatures engaged in all-encompassing conflict, the harrowing nature of which is elaborated upon in many of the painting's titles. Terror of the Pink features two ethereal forms dueling in an ominous setting. Yet, it remains unclear whether the encroaching chicken-headed beings are combat reinforcements or another clashing faction. In Melon of the 20 Thieves, an army of feathery fiends endures a blazing explosion while a menacing chicken head lurks nearby. Kate Eric's battle scenes are often enigmatic about what is at stake: territory, food, or other limited resources?
The culmination of Kate Eric's new body of work is the substantial painting, Bug War Over Two Blue Mountain (2010). Measuring approximately fifteen by eight feet, the vast canvas builds upon familiar imagery from previous works, including the gauzy membranes seen in Frenzy (2010) and the blue peaks in Ambush at Mal Hollows II (2010). A swirl of turmoil dominates Bug War's core, and similar chaos ensues at the perimeter. Beneath the contested diaphanous mountains lies a vibrantly colored nest that, coupled with the flourishing coral and algae, could offer signs of a viable and enduring life system.
This epic composition, and the dozen accompanying paintings on canvas and on paper, represent a dramatic new direction for the artists, who have been collaborating for a decade. Although Kate Eric remain focused on recounting grim narratives, these new tales are more open ended than their 2007 series, "Stories for Bad Children," which included a nightmarish scene of a precious infant being consumed by a malevolent serpent. Their latest work is intentionally devoid of human presence, as a means to distance itself from literal interpretation or political commentary. Kate Eric endeavor to strip away the "who" and focus on the "what" or "why."
Moreover, Kate Eric transcend the constraints of a specific time and place by conjuring a supernatural realm that is physically tangible but geographically and temporally elusive. In some ways, their visions recall the Surrealist landscapes of Max Ernst, who meticulously rendered hallucinatory scenes of desolation and destruction. Through a delicate use of paint and an extraordinary imagination, Kate Eric invoke macrocosms, microcosms, and the space in between. Within this expansive terrain, the artists construct stunning visual allegories to explore discord in its most abstract and universal sense.
Kristen Evangelista is Associate Curator at the San Jose Museum of Art. Since joining the Museum in May 2006, she has curated exhibitions including: Alexander Calder: Color in Motion, Process as Paradigm: Works from the Permanent Collection, This End Up: The Art of Cardboard, Road Trip, and It's a Small World: Scale in Contemporary Photography. She has previously worked at various non-profit arts organizations including Southern Exposure (San Francisco) and the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. She received a B.A. in Art History and Women's Studies from Wesleyan University and an M.A. from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.
By Kristen Evangelista
The collaborative duo Kate Eric (Kate Tedman and Eric Siemens) engender new perspectives on conflict, aggression, and violence in their most recent body of work, Bug War Over Two Blue Mountain. This group of dynamic and highly charged paintings illustrates that conflict is a constant condition of our universe. In these works, the principles of cause and effect lead entities to collide and destruction to occur on a molecular and cosmic scale. Kate Eric have coined a term to define this micro/macro phenomenon: "molecular sociology," or the dynamics of how entities interact. In doing so, they reveal that their inspiration derives in part from their academic backgrounds in science and philosophy. Kate Eric draw a parallel between natural and human interactions, and suggest that similar forces could be at play in both scenarios. Their work proposes a thought-provoking and somewhat unsettling notion: it may in fact be futile to seek order and harmony in our universe. From this holistic point of view, today's headlines of protagonists and antagonists become more like a saga that will continue indefinitely in some constantly changing shape or form.
Bug War Over Two Blue Mountain transports us to an otherworldly universe where we are confronted by microscopic cellular warfare amidst the awe-inspiring backdrop of cosmic collision. Kate Eric's paintings combine one-point perspective with a bird's eye view, so the viewer is magically able to experience two scenes at once. This visual effect is the result of their unique painting approach; the artists first apply broad sweeping washes of pigment to create an ambiguous landscape evocative of sand storms, brooding seas, or dark galaxies. Then, they use syringes and tiny brushes to meticulously embellish the scene with organisms, vegetation, and mountains. Kate Eric rely on a confined color palette of orange, pink, and white as a means to unify their compositional elements and guide the viewer's eye through the panorama's dynamic action. Primordial hybrids of beetles, jellyfish, snakes, and chickens populate their paintings. In Study for Mal Hollows II (2010), the main protagonist is perhaps an underwater being whose beaded wispy tendrils call to mind the exquisite illustrations of nineteenth-century German biologist Ernst Haeckel. Much like Haeckel, Kate Eric investigate the morphology of organic forms and portray organisms mutating in front of our eyes. Lush vegetation spews primordial ooze, and nests serve as sanctuaries for new life forms.
Kate Eric's paintings, with their jewel-tone colors, diaphanous floating forms, and ornamental vegetation, seduce us. Yet beneath this surface lies an exploration of violence. Kate Eric present amalgamated creatures engaged in all-encompassing conflict, the harrowing nature of which is elaborated upon in many of the painting's titles. Terror of the Pink features two ethereal forms dueling in an ominous setting. Yet, it remains unclear whether the encroaching chicken-headed beings are combat reinforcements or another clashing faction. In Melon of the 20 Thieves, an army of feathery fiends endures a blazing explosion while a menacing chicken head lurks nearby. Kate Eric's battle scenes are often enigmatic about what is at stake: territory, food, or other limited resources?
The culmination of Kate Eric's new body of work is the substantial painting, Bug War Over Two Blue Mountain (2010). Measuring approximately fifteen by eight feet, the vast canvas builds upon familiar imagery from previous works, including the gauzy membranes seen in Frenzy (2010) and the blue peaks in Ambush at Mal Hollows II (2010). A swirl of turmoil dominates Bug War's core, and similar chaos ensues at the perimeter. Beneath the contested diaphanous mountains lies a vibrantly colored nest that, coupled with the flourishing coral and algae, could offer signs of a viable and enduring life system.
This epic composition, and the dozen accompanying paintings on canvas and on paper, represent a dramatic new direction for the artists, who have been collaborating for a decade. Although Kate Eric remain focused on recounting grim narratives, these new tales are more open ended than their 2007 series, "Stories for Bad Children," which included a nightmarish scene of a precious infant being consumed by a malevolent serpent. Their latest work is intentionally devoid of human presence, as a means to distance itself from literal interpretation or political commentary. Kate Eric endeavor to strip away the "who" and focus on the "what" or "why."
Moreover, Kate Eric transcend the constraints of a specific time and place by conjuring a supernatural realm that is physically tangible but geographically and temporally elusive. In some ways, their visions recall the Surrealist landscapes of Max Ernst, who meticulously rendered hallucinatory scenes of desolation and destruction. Through a delicate use of paint and an extraordinary imagination, Kate Eric invoke macrocosms, microcosms, and the space in between. Within this expansive terrain, the artists construct stunning visual allegories to explore discord in its most abstract and universal sense.
Kristen Evangelista is Associate Curator at the San Jose Museum of Art. Since joining the Museum in May 2006, she has curated exhibitions including: Alexander Calder: Color in Motion, Process as Paradigm: Works from the Permanent Collection, This End Up: The Art of Cardboard, Road Trip, and It's a Small World: Scale in Contemporary Photography. She has previously worked at various non-profit arts organizations including Southern Exposure (San Francisco) and the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. She received a B.A. in Art History and Women's Studies from Wesleyan University and an M.A. from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.
