Original Art Canvas by Britta Kathmeyer Titled: Receiving 2023 24'' x 18''

Title:  RECEIVING  Acrylic on Canvas. 2023

24'' x 18''

Artist Statement:  BOWL STILL LIFES
I started the series of vessel paintings in early 2017 when the shape of a vessel had repeatedly emerged in abstract ink paintings I was working on at the time. I became intrigued by a bowl’s minimalist shape while simultaneously evoking humanity’s history of making objects. Clay vessels are the oldest manifestations of the human capacity for art, design, and beauty. Also, the shape of a bowl is quintessential female, and its function is associated with giving and receiving, holding, healing, and nurturing, qualities that are desperately needed in our often competitive and aggressive world. I therefore consider the process of painting a bowl a form of quiet protest and counteraction to the violent nature of our times. The process of painting these still lifes is a meditative practice for me: it invites contemplation of the philosophical concept of Yin and Yang, which describes the complementary principle of opposing forces in nature, and it helps me to stay centered as the changes and crises we are facing are accumulating.