Passage and Pattern : New Work by Cat Collier Martinez

SEWN TO THE SKY PRESENTS: PASSAGE AND PATTERN - NEW WORK BY CAT COLLIER MARTINEZ

You are invited to Sewn to the Sky for an Opening Reception for Cat Collier Martinez on Thursday November 21, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. New art work, holiday shopping and refreshments for all!

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Chattanooga native Cat Collier Martinez has spent the last 10+ years creating a large "forest" of trees. A decade of painting comprised of 70 or more tree paintings, has been what her followers have come to know her for. In July, she left her corporate day job as a Furniture, Fixture and Equipment Buyer for a national restaurant group, to pursue a full-time art career. Now painting a new body of work inspired by the word "Passage", her paintings are of abstract, geometric looking plants, with a focus on pattern (and succulents). Cat's work is a personal interpretation of the natural/organic plant life that she loves, specifically influenced by color. The color reminiscent of childhood, the color vibrant in graffiti, the color of light, the color of urban stuff and the color of monochrome. There is nothing extrinsically symbolic in Cat’s paintings. You will not find political or religious messages, and if found they were unintentional. What is intentional are the seemingly visible mistakes. Though changing focus, the techniques remain the same, varying only in the pattern of tissue paper background, splatter painting or addition of vintage/found paper. Brightly colored paper versus neutral toned paint, with a graphic, geometric quality.

In July, Cat participated in the annual Art.a.ma.jig art auction/exhibit, benefiting the Southern Lit Alliance. Each year the artists are given a word, that becomes the theme for the show. “Passage” was the word provided. In her new body of work, Cat has continued this theme of, “the passage of water through the plant.” The idea is simple and less about symbolism and more about the science of plant growth, and how water is needed for nourishment and sustenance in order for it to thrive. The painted patterns represent the patterns in plants, in a monumental, less detailed way. An example might be the simple triangle representing a star pattern seen on many cacti plants.