Katie Shapiro

Born in 1983, Katie Shapiro received an MFA from the University of California, Irvine in 2015 and a BFA in Photography from CalArts in 2007. Her practice is centered on the ineffable, and visualizing things that cannot be seen. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles, The Armory Center, Pasadena, Christopher Grimes, Santa Monica, Joan, Los Angeles and Aperture Gallery, New York. Her work has received coverage in Artforum, the Los Angeles Times, and New York Magazine and is housed in private collections as well as in the permanent collection at the Huntington Library. She’s been an artist in residence at the Banff Centre and at Bullseye Glass in Pasadena. Shapiro lives and works in Los Angeles.

Big Sur Postcards

Big Sur has long been a place of escape, retreat and renewal.  Personally it has been all of those things for me as an artist.  There is a magic that exists in the quiet, raised-up cliffs that make up the rugged coastline, extending for roughly 26 miles. It is more of a region than a town, and therefore, there are no real boundaries there.  Perhaps this is what makes it feel so free while being there.  The New York Times wrote that it is "one of the most stunning meetings of land and sea in the world." I would attest this to be true.

Big Sur is located in Californias Central Coast and has been magnetic for artists and dreamers for many years. There is a sense of solace one feels when driving along the road or hiking through one of the beaches there. This feeling is unlike anything else: it's almost meditative.

These current works invoke Big Surs history by using vintage postcards and speak to its magical qualities by my inserting gels into the landscape and painting over the postcards to create otherworldly imagery.  The works are whimsical in their approach to this place that has more of a feeling about it then anything else.  The gels and applied gouache speak to the ineffable quality of the place and stand in for what cannot be seen.

To view more of Katie’s work please visit their website.