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www.artsy.net/artwork/kathleen-king-internal-difference-number-1-1Internal Difference 1
2023
Wall-mounted assemblage, 16H x 12W x 2D in
BUY
2023
Wall-mounted assemblage, 16H x 12W x 2D in
BUY
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Kathleen King
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Kathleen King’s exhibition of wall-mounted assemblages, WOOD VIBRATIONS, is composed of salvaged wood sourced from urban construction sites. Emphasizing the natural features of the material such as grain, knots, and cracks, alongside marks of human use like scratches, holes, stains, and patinas, these works trace the journey of wood from living trees to commodified resources that are eventually discarded.
Rooted in the tradition of geometric abstraction yet intentionally disrupting its order and certainty, King’s compositions are deliberately unsettled. Like the natural world they reference, they are inherently unstable—handcrafted and imprecise, resisting easy classification. They emerge from a creative process that balances intention with improvisation. WOOD VIBRATIONS explores the fragility of our shared existence with trees, acknowledging the deep interdependence between humans and the natural world. It is both a meditation on ecological loss and a gesture of resistance. Through these works, King proposes acts of connection and transformation as strategies for environmental survival. Defend the Forest. “Today I’m thinking about trees and how beautiful they are. And how important they are.” —David Lynch Kathleen King is a San Francisco Bay Area–based artist working in sculpture, assemblage, and installation, using materials gathered from the waste stream. Her practice draws from the ethos of urban streets—from construction sites to encampments—reflecting states of coexistence, contingency, and control. By repurposing what has been discarded, King agitates new meanings from the remnants of contemporary life. This work challenges viewers to consider abandonment as both a material and spiritual condition, and to reflect on the pursuit of satisfaction—its entanglement with consumption and its link to global climate catastrophe. Kathleen King has been exhibiting her work since 2000. She is a founding member of artist-run Mercury 20 Gallery in Oakland, CA where she exhibited from 2006-2023. King has also exhibited at the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, CA; Your Mood Gallery in San Francisco, CA; The Compound Gallery, Mills College and Pro Arts Commons in Oakland, CA; the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art in Novato, CA; and the City of Berkeley’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Building and Berkeley Art Center in Berkeley, CA. Kathleen King was born in Oakland, CA. |