Katie Neece (b. 1989 in South Bend, IN)
Using traditional oil painting techniques that rely on nuanced physical touch and demanding material execution, my work incorporates imagery from computer graphics software programs and related digital ephemera. I create an artificial pictorial space using gradients, drop shadows, and flat areas to construct an illusionistic environment within the conventions of the screen and digital manifestations of space. Choosing to paint the digital constructions draws attention to both advancements in technology and the advancements in the historical trajectory of painting.
I use the pictorial language of geometric abstraction among the early 20th-century European avant-garde, while simultaneously focusing on 90’s American mall aesthetic, pop culture, and design aesthetic as a site to incorporate these forms as a reference to an inherent optimism in a utopian future that has continually failed to materialize. This re-contextualization is an attempt to illustrate that the past continually reminds us of the future’s failure in the form of haunting.