Constructed Paintings

Detachment

oil, wood, glass 17x16x6 14202

Still Life with Bottles

oil, wood, glass 17x16x6 14201

Transit

oil, plastic, metal 20x30x2 14204

The Open Door

oil, plaster, wood, plastic 24x27x4 15204

Beware Undertow

oil, plaster, plastic, wood 24x27x2 15205

Performance

oil, plaster, plastic, wood 20x30x2 14203

Relics of a city

oil, stone, wood 8.5x9x4 13202

The Garden

oil, metal, stone, wood 24x13x4 13203

Blooming Shell

oil, glass, dried flower 19x14x4.5 13206

Shadow Walk

oil on plaster 14x12x1.5 14205

Relic, Full Moon

oil, panel, plastic 24x12x6 12216

Classical Landscape

oil, steel, wood 16x12x6 12218

The Watch Factory

oil, wood, lead 8.5x10x4.5 12202

Mapping the Night

oil, wood, glass 13x10x5 12203

Orbiting

oil, wood, glass 18x12x8 12217

Low Tide

oil, stone, wood 7x8x4 12204

In Between

oil, glass, stone, wood 17x12x5 12205

Tower

oil, steel, glass, steel 15x14.4x4 12207

Piers at Castle Island

oil, glass, wood 13x19x4 12209

Seascape

oil, wood, stone 11x9x5 12210

Clearing Skies

oil, stone, wood 18x21x6 12215

Escape

oil, steel, wood 11x9x5.5 12211

Desire

oil, metal, wood 7x5x2.75 12212

Unknowing

oil, wood, plastic 72x13x3 13208

Revealed

oil, wood, plastic 48x20x3 13209

Unveiled

oil, plastic, wool 48x21x2 13210

Portal

oil, plastic, wood 48x14x2 13214

hover over slide to see title, media, dimensions, inventory number

Katha Seidman’s constructions begin with space: landscape space; architectural space; spaces to walk into or pass through. In her constructed paintings she uses plaster to articulate the substructure of painted seascapes, draped curtains or city walls. Then, she might cut holes or use zippers to expose regions beyond the surface. Or she might encase the whole image in a wire grid, a cage that tries to trap the fleeting moment. Each layer reveals another space to explore.

Seidman often places found objects in front of the painted surface, juxtaposing the real with the imaginary. She chooses objects because they evoke memories. A stone pockmarked with ridges echoes waves sweeping the sand at low tide. Watch gears evoke stars glittering the night sky. A smooth glass globe caresses the palms of her hands, and she remembers cool, rounded beach stones under her feet. As a component of Seidman’s unfolding space, each object combines with an opening to deepen the narrative contained within the piece.