Photo of Michael by Brock Brake

Michael Olivo nominated the painter, sculptor and animator Kate Klingbeil:

Coming from a more illustration-based background, the first quality I noticed about Kate Klingbeil’s work was its consideration for texture and its reverence for process. The texture is palpable, the process is evident yet clever. In an age where many artist's studios consist of a computer and a drawing tablet, walking into Kate’s studio is a reminder of the sensory impact a studio should have. Her studio is a world, and although clique, it’s a portal into the artist’s mind, not behind a screen or glass, but physically surrounding you. This sensation of a private sanctuary is mirrored in the work, the viewer wants to enter the work, does so, and stays there. They don’t glimpse the flat meaningless canvas and move on to the next, instead they find themselves in the luscious paintings and they recover their lost romantic moments or discover their next erotic reveries. It’s a guilt-free viewing made with a guilt-free process, cutting through shame to find the stolen sweetness within. Her work is charged with an energy that is undeniable.

Ultimately I’m inspired by artists that need to be artists. Not those who chose it as a lifestyle, or an alternative, but those on an unavoidable and singular path. I believe Kate’s work speaks to that inevitability…all the other bullshit is here today and gone tomorrow…

Work by Kate Klingbeil: