Kathy Strauss

Kathy Strauss is a working artist, scientist, and mother. She, her husband, and 15 year old son live in Baltimore. She earned her degree in Art from Westminster College (Pennsylvania) and has been making and exhibiting both fiber art and works on paper for over 25 years. She has shown work in many Baltimore area venues including Maryland Art Place, the Creative Alliance, and at Baltimore's annual arts festival ArtScape. She has also exhibited work in Pittsburgh, Washington, DC and New York. Her work has been included in various publications such as Link, A Critical Journal on the Arts in Baltimore and the World and she has worked with the staff at the Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, and the Textile Museum in Washington, DC demonstrating and lecturing on fiber art techniques.

Additionally, Kathy Strauss has published an article as first author in Clinical Biochemistry on analysis of transferrin in human serum.

Artist Statement

Working in both science and art as I do (and have done for 25 years), I have a continuous urge to peer beneath the surface of things. Quilts I've made in previous years imposed grid-like patterns on natural images, almost classifying or quantitating. My work of the past six years, however, has been constructing batik sculptures of silk gauze layers. The work was best described by Jed Dodds, Visual Arts Director of the Creative Alliance (Baltimore MD) for the "Subsurface" exhibit, October 2002:

"The urge to peer below the surface of things is at the root of all intellectual inquiry. We look under the hood, dig deep, peer within – all our attempts to understand the nature of things. Artists understand this, as do scientists….When one lift the veils, one must be prepared to see what's beneath….Kathy Strauss constructs diaphanous batik sculptures which begin with the idea of scientific inquiry, but raise the emotional ante….Searching for clues, the viewer plays the role of archeologist, digging below the surface to confront not just the abstract story of an ancient culture or complex organism, but of individuals who stood the same ground as they."

FIBER ART

Kathy Strauss' fiber work is often indirectly informed by her work in the laboratory. Starting with organisms and images seen during the course of her work and reading, she abstracts and personalizes these, creating batik sculptures on layers of silk gauze. These pieces are done using tradition batik methods as well as direct dyeing techniques, and are suspended from wooden battens.

click images to enlarge

 

Works On Paper

Kathy Strauss' most recent work on paper focuses primarily on monoprints of images from space along with calculus and other mathematical calculations that are related to the printed images. In many of these calculations, Strauss formulates her own problem and solves it; in others she explores the work of pioneers such as Henrietta Swan Leavitt and Edwin Hubble and presents their work and solves related problems under her printed images.

Previous work presents images of trees. Some drawings explore the revelation of tree roots after Hurricane Isabel sent a storm surge over the terrain at the Patapsco State Park in Maryland. Other drawings are of local trees that are of historical interest and that explore family and historical roots.

click image to enlarge

Kathy Strauss

Kathy Strauss earned her degree in Art from Westminster College (Pennsylvania) and has been making and exhibiting both fiber art and works on paper for 25 years. She has shown work in many Baltimore area venues including Maryland Art Place, the Creative Alliance, and at Baltimore's annual arts festival ArtScape. She has also exhibited work in Pittsburgh, Washington, DC and New York. Her work has been included in various publications such as Link, A Critical Journal on the Arts in Baltimore and the World and she has worked with the staff at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC demonstrating and lecturing on fiber art techniques.

Selected Exhibits

Time/Space/Matter (SoloShow); Minas Gallery, Baltimore MD (2012)
Visiting Artist (Invitational);BromoSeltzer Tower; Baltimore MD (2011)
Untitled Show (Invitational); Institute for Genome Sciences; Baltimore MD (2009)
National Print and Drawing Show, (Juried); Baltimore MD (2008) Winner of Purchase Prize
Roots (Invitational); SoWeBo Arts, Baltimore MD (2007)
PieceWork (Invitational); Minas Gallery, Baltimore MD (2006)
ArtScape (Juried); Theatre Project; Baltimore MD (2006)
Nat’l Juried Bead and Fiber Exhibit (Juried); Delaplaine Visual Arts Ctr, Frederick MD (2005)
Global International Competition (Juried); Gallery International, Baltimore MD (2004)
Material World (Juried); Target Gallery; Alexandria VA (2004)
ArtScape (Juried); Maryland Art Place; Baltimore MD (2003, 2004)
FoodScape (Invitational); Baltimore MD (2003, 2004)
Evolutionary Threads (Three Person Showl); Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts; Annapolis MD (2002)
SubSurface (Three Person Show); Creative Alliance; Baltimore MD (2002)
Two Views of the Forest (Two Person Show); Space Telescope Science Institute; Baltimore MD (2000)
Big Show (Group); Creative Alliance; Baltimore MD (1995 – 2008)
Fiber/Art/Science (Two Person Show); Space Telescope Science Institute; Baltimore MD (1999)
Knot as They Seam (Invitational); Maryland Art Place; Baltimore MD (1998)
And the Cloth Makes Me Sing (Invitational); Adler Gallery; Baltimore MD (1996)
Diane Kuthy / Kathy Strauss (Two Person Show); Creative Alliance; Baltimore MD (1996)
Beyond, Within (Solo Show); Space Telescope Science Institute; Baltimore MD (1996)
Beneath the Surface (Solo Show); Park School; Baltimore MD (1995)
Above and Below (Juried); Baltimore Life Gallery; Baltimore MD (1995)
Arts & Crafts (Juried); Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts; Annapolis MD (1994 and 1995)
Eastern Shore Invitational (Invitational); Academy of the Arts; Easton MD (1993)
Curious Creatures (Solo Show); Dorchester Arts Center; Cambridge MD (1991)
Perception / Presence/Progression (Three Person Show); Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts; Annapolis MD (1991)
FiberArts '89 International (Juried); FiberArts Guild of Pgh; Pittsburgh PA (1989)
Kathy Strauss and Tzu-Wen Kwok (Two Person Show); Frank Katz Gallery; Baltimore MD (1989)
A Different View of the Sea (Solo Show); Corner Gallery; New York NY (1988)
Maryland's Best 1987 (Juried); Howard Co. Center for the Arts; Ellicott City MD (1987)
Kathy Strauss (Solo Show); American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science; Washington DC (1987)
Alumni Show (Invitational); Westminster College; New Wilmington PA (1985)
Untitled Show (Two Person Show); Tuttle Memorial Gallery; Baltimore MD (1985)

 

Art Included In

Permanent collection, Institute for Genome Sciences
Permanent collection, College of Notre Dame
Issue 7 of Link, A Critical Journal on the Arts in Baltimore and the World (2001)
Textile Museum, Celebration of Textiles (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008)
Baltimore Museum of Art, Textile Day (2009, 2011)

 

Education

Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA, BA in Art, 1978
Sea Education Association, Woods Hole, MA, Scientific Art, 1978
Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC, 1980
Science Applications International Corp., Wildlife International, Ltd., and University of Maryland, 1978-Present as a Chemist

 

Personal Statement

Working in both science and art as I do (and have done for 30 years) I have a continuous urge to peer beneath the surface of things. Quilts I've made in previous years imposed grid-like patterns on natural images, almost classifying or quantitating. My work of recent years, however, has been constructing batik sculptures of silk gauze layers, and creating layered monoprints that include solved calculus problems that relate to the printed image(s). The work was best described by Jed Dodds, Visual Arts Director of the Creative Alliance (Baltimore MD) for the "Subsurface" exhibit, October 2002:

"The urge to peer below the surface of things is at the root of all intellectual inquiry. We look under the hood, dig deep, peer within – all our attempts to understand the nature of things. Artists understand this, as do scientists….When one lift the veils, one must be prepared to see what's beneath….Kathy Strauss constructs diaphanous batik sculptures which begin with the idea of scientific inquiry, but raise the emotional ante….Searching for clues, the viewer plays the role of archeologist, digging below the surface to confront not just the abstract story of an ancient culture or complex organism, but of individuals who stood the same ground as they."