Photo credit: North Sydney Council
Kate Riley is a multi-disciplinary artist working between Cammeraygal land and Gumbaynggir country on the mid-north coast of NSW. Growing up in the Gumbaynggir rainforest of the Dorrigo plateau Kate has always drawn creative inspiration from her environment and from place. Influenced by the Australian grunge artists of the 90’s, particularly Mikala Dwyer and Sarah Goffman, Kate is highly motivated to work sustainably and focuses on using found and salvaged objects and materials. She draws and paints imagined 3D objects and then builds them out of papier mâché, cardboard, soft sculpture and other found materials. This becomes a cyclical process allowing the objects and paintings to become self-generative and self-referential.
Kate has focused on the regions in her art practice and her career, working remotely with Arnhem Land artists and within the Northern Territory arts community. Kate documents and makes artwork during her travels, and has been influenced by tropical Darwin to the remote deserts of central Australia and the national parks of sub-tropical NSW. Whilst working in the Northern Territory alongside Arnhem Land artists Kate’s practice was influenced by the tropical environment and its vibrant creative community. Often brought to completion late at night Kate uses the process of building up complex textures and repetitive marks in her drawings to alleviate worries and anxiety. The act of observing and recording nature becomes more highly charged as pristine rainforest and natural environments are increasingly threatened. Kate explores this heightened tension as she herself struggles between the opportunities offered by culture rich cities and nature rich rural environments.
Kate held a solo exhibition at Scratch Art Space in 2020 titled ‘From the Edges’ and has since had group shows with her NAS cohort in NAS student galleries. Kate completed her final year of the Bachelor of Fine Arts at the National Art School in 2022.
Kate Riley 