NEWS

Reviews of Palate Cleanser

I’m delighted to receive two reviews of my solo exhibition at Catharine Clark Gallery. I’ve included excerpts below, as well as links to the full reviews.

“Vetne’s practice is as meticulous and refined as the accouterments of privilege she portrays. Embracing the history of Vanitas painting, where rendered objects symbolized the tension between life and death, Vetne’s still-lifes are contemplations of our culture’s obsession with material wealth. In the dreamlike The Centerpiece, a vase of tulips quivers and shakes like a multiple-exposure photo, the flowers shifting between states of being, revealing hints of Cézanne, Dali, and even Disney. Bobbing and dancing, they project giant smudged shadows on the wall behind them, looking as if they are blooming and dying.”
- Excerpt from Katherine Vetne’s Unstill-Lifes, by Gabrielle Selz
Squarecylinder, December 12, 2023

”The new exhibition creates an environment meant to evoke a surreal banquet. Drawings of crystal serving pieces, place settings and platters are shown next to her signature melted crystal sculptures, displayed on ornate Gothic wall brackets. With this presentation, the sculptures are both dreamy and nightmarish, like animated objects come to life in a cursed Disney castle.”
- Excerpt from Katherine Vetne Puts a Dark Twist on Pretty Objects, by Tony Bravo
San Francisco Chronicle, November 17, 2023

Palate Cleanser: Solo Exhibition at Catharine Clark Gallery

Acquisition by the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Art Market: Solo Booth with Catharine Clark Gallery

20 Year Anniversary Exhibition at Root Division

Clark Art Talks: College’s Artist And Scholar Lecture Series

All This Could Be Yours at Catharine Clark Gallery

Root Division’s 20th Annual Benefit Auction

Online and In Person

Exhibition: October 6 - 23, 2021
Auction: Thursday, October 21, 2021

Root Division
1131 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

I’m pleased to be supporting Root Division at their 20th Annual Benefit Auction and Exhibition. My contribution, Inheritance (Bud Vase) will be available to bid on, alongside the work of many other amazing artists. It’s such a fun event - hope you can make it!

Headlands Center for the Arts Benefit Auction

Crafting America : A Craft Survey Exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum

February 6 - May 31, 2021
Virtual opening reception on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 6:00pm CST

Crystal Bridges Museum
600 Museum Way
Bentonville, AR 72712

I’m thrilled to be included in this exciting craft survey exhibition at Crystal Bridges museum. I’ll be showing a new piece that expands on based on my series of melted Avon lead crystal pedestal works.

“Crafting America, a new exhibition developed by Crystal Bridges, celebrates the skill and individuality of craft within the broad context of American art. From jewelry to furniture to sculptures and more, this exhibition is dazzling and full of surprises.

Featuring over 100 works in ceramics, fiber, wood, metal, glass, and more unexpected materials, Crafting America presents a diverse and inclusive story of American craft from the 1940s to today, highlighting the work of artists such as Ruth Asawa, Peter Voulkos, Jeffrey Gibson, Sonya Clark, and more. Craft has long been a realm accessible to the broadest range of individuals, providing an opportunity to explore personal creativity, innovation, and technical skill. This exhibition foregrounds varied backgrounds and perspectives in craft, from the vital contributions of Indigenous artists to the new skills and points of view brought by immigrants to the United States.

Developed by Jen Padgett, associate curator at Crystal Bridges, and Glenn Adamson, guest curator and scholar of craft, design history, and contemporary art, Crafting America asserts craft’s integral role in expanding the story of American art and is accompanied by a major multi-author illustrated publication published by Crystal Bridges and the University of Arkansas Press.”

Buy a copy of the catalogue at this link.

Until It Shatters at Root Division

November 3 - 30, 2020
Reception + Artist Talks: Nov. 14, 6-8pm (Register Here)

Online and In Person
Root Division
1131 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

I’m excited to be showing work in this group exhibition, featuring fourteen other stellar artists and organized by curator Samantha Reynolds.

“The title of this exhibition references Hillary Clinton’s presidential concession speech “Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday, someone will..." Since its original inception, the curatorial model of Until It Shatters has adapted. What initially started with a standard curatorial model, has shifted to an artist-driven project based on the shared need for community.

To modify Clinton’s quote, the elusive ceilings will only shatter by a collective force through the elevation of diverse voices. The exhibition’s theme inherently calls for a collaborative, emergent model of working to highlight the intersectionality of the works, including themes of womanhood, environmentalism, the womxn body, motherhood, self care, and invisible labor, among others - all woven together and informing one another. Additionally, many of the works being exhibited are outside of the artist’s main body of work and/or have been developed throughout the last several months of quarantine.

The process leading up to the exhibition is a part of the show itself - creating a web of connections, a call and response between artists through shared agency and experiences. After participating in virtual group studio visits, each artist finalized the work they will be exhibiting based on the conversation and feedback. Artists then interviewed one another in pairs or small groups discussing what they are working on, how they support, are supported by other womxn, and what they are currently reanalyzing. Artist interviews will be published alongside the physical work itself, and available online. Until It Shatters results in a collection of work that is deeply personal, direct, visually varied, and stronger when presented together.

Until It Shatters will be on view by appointment in the Root Division Gallery from November 6 - November 30, 2020 or online right here starting on November 3.”

BAD AT SPORTS: Podcast interview

I was delighted to be interviewed on Bad at Sports alongside artists Guta Galli, Nimah Gobir, and curator Samantha Reynolds.

We discuss Until It Shatters (link), an upcoming group exhibition at Root Division that we are all a part of, alongside several other wonderful artists.

Broadcast on:

Wednesday Oct. 12, 2020 at 11am CDT on WLPN 105.5 FM in Chicago
And on lumpenradio.com.

Also available on the Bad at Sports website.

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE: Southern Exposure Benefit Auction

The Broadside in Action: A LIVE Letterpress Experience at Catharine Clark Gallery

UNTITLED San Francisco

The Embarcadero, Pier 35
1454 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94133

I’ll have three works on display in the Catharine Clark Gallery booth (B9) at UNTITLED San Francisco, alongside Julie Heffernan, Laurel Roth Hope, and Deborah Oropallo (Special Projects). See an online catalogue of the presentation at this link.

In addition, I’m participating in am UNTITLED panel discussion, Re-Imagining Equity in the Art World (Link). Panelists include artists Erica Deeman and Indira Allegra, as well as Contemporary Jewish Museum curator Heidi Rabben, who is moderating. This panel is organized by ArtTable.

Fair Dates: January 16 - 19, 2020
Panel Discussion: Saturday, January 18, 2020 | 2:00 - 3:00pm | UNTITLED Podcast Lounge
Note: This panel discussion was recorded! Click HERE for a link to the recording.

Visiting Artist Lecture Series, Sonoma State University

Schroeder Hall
1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928

I’m looking forward to participating in the Visiting Artist Lecture Series at Sonoma State University this Fall. In this lecture, I’ll discuss my work and my process, and will focus on my concurrent solo exhibition at Catharine Clark Gallery. This event is free and open to the public. (Link)

Date: September 19, 2019 | 12:00 pm - 12:55 pm

Whatever I See I Swallow, Solo Exhibition at Catharine Clark Gallery

248 Utah Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

I’m thrilled to be presenting new drawings and sculptures at Catharine Clark Gallery this Fall. In this series, melted lead crystal, mirrored surfaces, metalpoint drawings, and silk scarves situate today’s notions of idealized femininity through a lens of distorted opulence. Spanning references from The Renaissance to the wedding registry, this exhibition merges contemporary themes with historical, high craft approaches.

Hope to see you there!

Show dates: September 7 - October 26, 2019
Opening Reception: September 7, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Drawing Down at Baltimore Jewelry Center

10 E North Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21202

I have two drawings in Drawing Down, a group exhibition at the Baltimore Jewelry Center. The exhibition looks at the intersection between drawing techniques and jewelry making processes. If you’re in the area, check it out!

Show Dates: April 19 - May 31, 2019
Opening Reception: Friday, April 19, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Why Katherine Vetne Wants to Melt Your Baccarat into a Puddle of Art
A Profile in the San Francisco Chronicle

Benefit Auctions at San Jose Museum of Art and Root Division

How Female Sculptors are Pushing the Bounds of Metal as a Medium
Review in Hyperallergic

Metal is Marvelous in the Hangs of These Talented Women

Review in 1stDibs, by Liz Logan

July 2, 2018

1stDibs published a nice write-up of Heavy Metal: Women to Watch at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Check it out here.

Heavy Metal : Women to Watch 2018

at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

We Tell Ourselves Stories...In Order To Live, Catharine Clark Gallery

 248 Utah Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

I'm thrilled to be showing a large sculptural installation at Catharine Clark Gallery over the summer - in good company with six other artists: Sophie Calle, Leanora Carrington, Lenka Clayton, Edgar Martins, Patrick Staff, and Stephanie Syjuco.

Show dates:
June 23 - September 1, 2018
Opening Reception: June 21, 5-7pm. 

San Francisco Book Fair

I will have a few small, affordably priced works at the San Francisco Book Fair, held at Minnesota Street Project. Small Pleasures is a series of sculptures that dripped off of my lead crystal sculptures in the kiln while I was making Guilty Pleasure, my most ambitious sculpture to date and on view at Catharine Clark Gallery until Sept. 1, 2018. Small Pleasures are made from melted Avon lead crystal coated in silver nitrate and lacquer.  Check them out at Catharine Clark Gallery's booth!

San Francisco Book Fair
July 21, 22, and 23, 2018

Minnesota Street Project
1275 Minnesota Street
San Francisco, CA

 Root Division: 15th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition 

I'm excited to have three pieces in this show, which celebrates 15 years of Root Division working to support artists in the Bay Area.

Root Division
1131 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA

Exhibition dates: January 10 - February 10, 2018

Opening reception: January 13, 7-10pm
Closing reception / performances: February 10, 7-10pm

In addition to the exhibition, Root Division has produced a limited edition print set of works by alumni, available for purchase. More info on their website (link).

Exhibition: Stardust to Steel
 

 Exhibition: Stardust to Steel
Curated by Jenny Gheith, Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture, SFMOMA

Hubbell Street Galleries
California College of the Arts
161 Hubbell St., San Francisco, CA

Exhibition Dates: November 30 - December 15, 2017
Opening Reception: November 30, 6-8pm

Featuring work by Davina Semo, Rhonda Holberton, and Katherine Vetne
 

The File: Interview with Daniel Samaniego

I was recently interviewed by Daniel Samaniego for The File, his new interview series in Settlers + Nomads, a Las Vegas-based publication highlighting contemporary artists with local connections. We discuss drawing's limitations, opportunities, and parameters; "badassery," drawing as a feminist medium, and more.

Check it out here.

Root Division's 16th Annual Auction