Artist Statement

I work with found and timeworn objects — architectural fragments, wooden forms, mechanical parts, things that have lived a life before reaching my hands. I'm drawn to their surface qualities: the patina of worn wood, the weight of cast metal, the irregularity of hand-cut edges. In each piece I'm looking for the tension that emerges when a few carefully chosen elements are placed in relation to one another.

My compositions tend toward the spare. I'm interested in negative space, in silhouette, in the contrast between a plain structural form and a single ornate anomaly. The work isn't about narrative or nostalgia — it's about the formal relationships between objects, and what happens when something discarded is given a new context.

Bio

Kathy Kemp is an assemblage artist based in Putney, Vermont. Working with found and timeworn materials, she creates compositions that explore balance, tension, and the shifting relationship between structure and form.

Exhibitions

2026

Solo Exhibition, Crowell Gallery, Newfane, VT, October 2026

Active Objects: Souther Vermont Art Center, Manchester VT,  July 29- October 2026

Altered States: Transformation in Art, Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA

Country, Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA

Inspired, Gallery Twist (Juried Exhibition), Lexington, MA

Littleton Art Gallery, Littleton, NH

Art, Craft and Design Exhibition, League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, Mount Sunapee Resort, NH

Summer Sampler, 4th Corner Foundation, Windham, VT

Main Street Arts, Saxtons River, VT

CT+6, West Hartford Art League Juried Show, West Hartford, CT

2025

Inspired, Gallery Twist (Juried Exhibition), Lexington, MA

Canal Street Art Gallery, Bellows Falls, VT

Putney Craft Tour, Putney, VT

Vermont Craft Council Open Studio Weekend, VT

Lexington Open Studios, Lexington, MA

Arlington Open Studios, Arlington, MA

2024

Vermont Craft Council Open Studio Weekend, VT

Lexington Open Studios, Lexington, MA

Selected Collaborations

Second Life IPA Label, Rek-lis Brewing Company, Bethlehem, NH (2026)

Affiliations

League of New Hampshire Craftsmen (Juried Member)

Walpole Artisans Cooperative

Harmony Collective, Brattleboro, VT

Education

Certificate in Graphic Design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Background

Former career in geriatric healthcare