(Trap)estry - The Art of Kat Cope

The artwork of Kat Cope will be on display at Maser Gallery at Falmouth Community Television, 310A Dillingham Avenue, from January 9, 2011 to February 3, 2011. The public is invited to the opening reception on Sunday, January 9, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Kat (Katharine)Cope was born in Brooklyn, NY, raised in Concord, MA and now resides in New Bedford where she is an adjunct faculty member at Bristol Community College, teaching Ancient to Medieval Art History and Drawing. In the spring she will be teaching a drawing class at Cape Cod Community College.

Kat collects material that washes up on the beaches in and around New Bedford, the Cape, the Islands, and other parts of coastal New England. She incorporates these bits of rope and netting, plastic and metal, and the remains of sea creatures, into her 2D and 3D work to communicate the value of the coastal and ocean environments and the creatures it sustains. She describes her work as mixed media collage and waste-management sculpture.

“The environment in which we live is not permanent, yet so often it is treated as if it will continue to exist as is for eternity. The reality is that the way that humans live has a grave effect on the environment and the many creatures that it supports,” says Kat. “In my work I explore the impact that humans have on the coastal environment and the oceans through pollution and the commercial fishing industry. As a New England native, I am fascinated by the maritime heritage of coastal cities and towns and their long-standing connection to the “fruits of the sea.” I am drawn to the romanticism that surrounds the taxing life of the individual mariner and yet repulsed that like many things in today’s society, parts of the fishing industry have become dominated by corporate ventures.”

Kat holds a BA in Fine Art from Mount Holyoke College and an MFA in Printmaking from UMass Dartmouth. Her work has been shown at The Danforth Art Museum in Framingham, The Guyer Barn Gallery in Hyannis, The Slater Mill Gallery in Pawtucket, RI, Cape Cod Cultural Center in Yarmouth, and Gallery X in New Bedford to name a few. She has lectured as a visiting artist in Rhode Island, and recently at the Falmouth Art Center in Falmouth.

Maser Gallery Hours: Sun. & Mon., 2-10 p.m. Tues., Wed., Thurs., 10 -10 p.m., Fri. 10-6 p.m.