Katie Metz
Seattle, WA
"Life itself is the heart of my artistic exploration. I paint my own unique vision of life’s inner and outer landscape."
MessageMetz’s work has garnered strong praise from both collectors and critics. Her paintings have been featured in numerous exhibitions, including shows with GF Contemporary in Santa Fe and in Seattle at Friesen Gallery, Abmeyer Wood, and Patricia Rovzar Gallery. She has exhibited widely throughout Seattle in both solo and group shows, and her work has appeared in print and online publications. Today, Metz’s original pieces are held in public and private collections across the globe.
Statement
Cityscapes in Motion: An Ongoing Exploration
The urban environment has always captivated me with its sense of awe and wonder. Each anonymous cityscape tells countless stories, unfolding simultaneously in every corner of my vision as I move through its spaces. This dynamic subject offers endless challenges and opportunities, fueling my artistic exploration and vision.
I am drawn to examining cities from diverse angles, striving to convey the essence of these stories through my work. Whether manipulating perspective and line, exaggerating details, or simplifying forms, I have developed a range of styles that reflect my evolving artistic voice. Across these varied approaches, my distinct perspective remains a constant thread, tying my work together.
In my studio in Seattle, I quietly nurture my creative spirit, exploring new subjects while inevitably returning to the cityscape. Each revisit offers fresh inspiration and a chance to refine my ever-growing artistic practice. The city, with its vibrant energy and endless layers, will always call me back to interpret it anew.
Material Worlds Sentient Beings
When I look into an open closet, I see more than clothing—I see a material world of color, pattern, and barely contained chaos. A clothing-scape of disguises. These are not merely clothes, but traces of lives in pause—fragments of identity, desire, and forgetting. A tangle of stories and truths. Closets have always intrigued me, but now they captivate me. I find myself drawn into their small, secret worlds—examining the human shells that hang silently, the untold stories, the hidden stashes of self. In these crowded corners where garments gather, where clutter lounges or hides, I sense the dreams and hopes, regrets and promises of lives waiting, longing to be seen.
This series was created during the 2020 pandemic—a time when public gatherings were restricted and cities across the country were alive with protest. I chose to paint scenes of crowds at various events, exploring the contrast between the sudden isolation we faced and the once-unquestioned act of gathering. These works serve as a visual reflection, capturing the energy and emotion of people coming together—something that felt so ordinary until the pandemic changed everything.