Meet Katie Merz

We were lucky to catch up with Katie Merz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katie, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

By default, Everything seems to have been determined by a backwards trajectory or one that is actually forward moving but disguised by what we perceive as backwards. I never had a specific idea about what or where I was heading but I did have a strange almost childish faith that I would bear out a new language that would fall outside of painting, sculpture or any known category.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Being born in Brooklyn in the early 1960s says it all. I was brought up in a house built by my parents. The land they built on was acquired through a city auction and this project would be their real life design endeavor. The city at that time was extraordinarily different than it is now. It was broke and working class and run down and open. The way we played and ran around and interacted with the world has everything to do with relationship that I have towards my work today. It is a big improv. An improv with materials, time, spirit and people passing by. This is the spirit of how I work now.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

After graduating from Cooper Union I started working at places where I needed skills. Printmaking studios. wood shops, painting jobs etc. I acquired a lot of skills and techniques that I would use as a way of making money and also use in my own work . I would absolutely advise anyone to learn a manual skill.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

I would enjoy nature and biking and having a low key relationship with everyday creating.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Michael Inwood

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