When Kathy Kissik studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, part of the required curriculum was working in a variety of mediums. “They made you try everything, and that meant you weren’t going to excel at everything you tried,” she says. “But it gave me the idea that everything could be a tool and anything could be art.” Her upcoming show at Alpha Gallery, titled Intangible,captures a transition in her mixed media works.
Big Dream Factory, mixed media on wood panel, 16 x 16 x 4"
Like many, Kissik experienced a prolonged period of grief and isolation during the pandemic, and one of the ways she processed emotions was through creating art. “I wanted my hands to stay busy,” she says. “Usually, I think of a concept and then make the artwork, but during the pandemic I started with colors and light and got lost in the compositions.”
During this period, she created a series of florals, including Nectar,which features gold hummingbirds taking sustenance from a field of flowers. “It’s a spiritual piece,” Kissik says. “I see the hummingbirds as departed souls, tasting the nectar of the gods, and doing what they’d do once they were released from physical reality.”
Love Factory, mixed media on wood panel, 12¼ x 12¼ x 12¼"
After completing her floral series, Kissik pivoted toward an ambitious series of “factories,” in which she imagines the places where intangible things like love, hope and peace were created. The first of those pieces was Big Dream Factory.
“I know there’s a lot of angry art and a lot of noise, but I do think that at its core, art should always be beautiful,” she says. “When I started working on Big Dream Factory,I thought of it as a way to cut through the noise and just delight in the composition.”
Help Factory, mixed media on wood panel, 20 x 20"
The piece is about four inches deep and features a shelf that a viewer might place their “big dreams” onto. Other pieces in the factory series include Love Factory and Help Factory, that incorporate metal scraps recovered from a sign factory. “I have a list of about 40 ideas for factories, and I think I always end up working on the thing that I need most at the moment,” she says. “I am realizing that you can only really make art for yourself, and so I’m gravitating toward what’s pulling at me.”
Nectar, mixed media on Belgian linen, 50 x 40"
Alpha Gallery director Joanna Fink says, “Her works are dreamscapes, whether evoking romance in the form of abundant blankets of flowers or desire in the form of imaginary ‘factories’ where dreams can be made true. Kissik explores the possibility of love and fulfillment, expressing intangible concepts through tangible works of art.”
Intangibles runs throughout the month of September, with an opening reception on Friday, September 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. —
Alpha Gallery 450 Harrison Avenue, Suite 55 • Boston, MA 02118 (617) 536-4465 • www.alphagallery.com
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