Statement

I am drawn to our natural world as subject matter, but I am interested in representing it from an unconventional perspective. My work is about the act of looking, with each painting being a moment’s obsession on a particular visual event, and demarcating the striking beauty that can extemporaneously occur in nature.

My recent paintings dwell on the patterning—the fluid dynamics—revealed on these water surfaces. The compositions are void of the contextual relationships that define space. Instead, the viewer is pulled in for a close-up look without the juxtapositions of surrounding environment. By stripping away the context, cropping and selecting fragments for compositional benefit, reproducing the patterns, reflections and colors within the confines of a flat two-dimensional space, the subject becomes abstract. This distillation enables an altered appreciation of the subject and examines the fleeting nature of time. The act of representation transforms the transient to the eternal.

I create these paintings using my own photographs as references. Bodies of water vary in character depending on depth, mineral composition and inherent particulate matter, all of which effect color, light absorption and reflectivity. As such, I have accumulated thousands of these photographic specimens. They include oceans, lakes, rivers, tide pools and ponds. The paintings are created by laboriously building up layers of transparent paint, slowly over time, creating a static representation in direct contrast to the ephemeral nature of water itself. They are highly representational and painted in great detail. Each work is a study of the dichotomy between an abbreviated fragment frozen in time and the three-dimensional translucent material it represents.

— Cathy Schaefer  

In her former professional life, Cathy was Senior Design Director at Chermayeff & Geismar in NYC. Later she established Schaefer Asociados in Mexico City, focusing on identity and exhibit design, and sculptural installations for several new children’s museums including the renowned Papalote Móvil • Museo del Niño in Mexico City. She also designed installations and identities for The Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN; and Acquario di Genova, Genova, Italy.