PARALLEL FORM    

THE SIT DOWN
02: KATHRYN ARMITAGE
 
Originally from Yorkshire, although having now spent the past eleven years in London, Kathryn graduated from the RCA last year.

Her artistic journey is one of intrigue: from giving up painting during her BA at Camberwell due to a lack confidence — and deciding instead to focus on photography — to now, producing great canvases that not only pose pertinent questions around gender power dynamics, but also absorb you through their technical brilliance and colour.

Living between Amsterdam and London means many things, one in particular: spending time in the one of the finest artistic institutions in the world, the Rijksmuseum. From her time looking at some of the greats of the Old Masters and Dutch Golden Age, not only is she influenced by smaller details such as great collars, but also to more pertinent and abstract themes like power dynamics and tropes of femininity.

Her paintings often invert the typical positioning of genders, with the focus instead on women (often herself) in the foreground, with more historical figures in the background. The amalgamation of art historical nuance with the colours and styles of modernity make for undeniably pleasing aesthetics.

Kathryn’s style has shifted over the years, from canvases whose bright and densely laden colour palettes wouldn’t look too out of place at a fauvist exhibition, to now: a more paired back approach on colour that goes hand in hand with her quick yet considered style of painting.












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