Kathryn Blommel is currently based in Minneapolis, MN. Her work explores themes of feminine adolescence and intergenerational memory. She has showcased her work at venues like the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, The New York Academy of Art, Gamut Gallery, Burl Gallery, Soo Visual Arts Center, and the Quarter Gallery at the University of Minnesota. Her work has appeared in journals including the Yale Journal of Art and Art History, The Harvard Undergraduate Art Journal and See/Saw at the University of California, Berkeley. Kathryn's artistic practice has received support through grants and scholarships from organizations such as the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, the National Society of Arts and Letters, The New York Academy of Art, The Stobart Foundation, the Central Minnesota Arts Board, and the University of Minnesota. In June of 2025 she attended the New York Academy of Art's Summer Undergraduate residency on The Academic Merit Scholarship.
Statement
I work primarily in charcoal and graphite to create surreal, emotionally resonant compositions that place the female form within expansive, dreamlike landscapes. My drawings explore the relationship between internal emotional states and the environments that shape them, using recurring motifs such as barren trees, mirrored reflections, and still figures. Through these elements, I aim to portray women as living embodiments of inherited experiences, psychological weight, and quiet resilience.
Much of my imagery draws from personal memory or photographs. Trees, vast landscapes, and the female figure appear throughout my work, each carrying symbolic significance. Trees in particular serve as a central visual metaphor—often shown bare, fragmented, or reflected—representing lineage, loss, and the unseen forces that mold identity. Their branches frequently envelop or intertwine with the figure, situating her within an atmospheric, unpredictable world.
Through these motifs, I investigate themes of intergenerational memory and feminine adolescence. My work often engages with ideas of concealment and distortion, reflecting how memory—especially traumatic or complicated memory—can simultaneously clarify and obscure the past.