Hello Again with Katie Kaplan

Join us as we reconnect with former FWM College/Postgrad Apprentice, Katie Kaplan in her studio! 

Katie Kaplan, FWM Apprentice Alumni Spring 2016, is a multidisciplinary artist born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, currently living and working in Philadelphia. Her practice focuses on exploring printmaking at the intersection of sculpture, fiber arts, installation and video. In Kaplan’s work, sewn and printed textile banners and installations elevate and embrace the decorative, the ultra-girly, and the magical aspects of femininity, challenging the notion that femininity is contrived, wasteful, disposable and frivolous. Centered in plant magic, her work looks toward the natural world as a medium for connecting spiritual and activist practices.  

She has shown work in solo and group exhibitions at galleries, museums, community spaces, and print shops across the United States.  For over 10 years, she has worked as a professional teaching artist and community artist, work that is critical and intrinsic to her art practice as a whole. Kaplan received a BFA with Honors and Outstanding Merit in Sculpture from Pratt Institute in 2011. https://www.katiekaplanstudio.com/ IG: @pennysmasher 

This virtual studio visit is part of the Hello Again series, where FWM Apprentice Alumni offer an introduction to their artistic practice and a behind-the-scenes look in their studios. Learn the myriad of ways that artists pursue their practice. 

The College/Postgraduate Apprentice Training Program (ATP) is a founding educational initiative at FWM. Over the past 40+ years, artists from all over the world have learned to screenprint large-scale repeat patterns on fabric in our studio, utilizing and transforming these skills in their individual practices. 

Images:

"Venus" (detail) (Banners for Dyke Witches and Other Accomplices)
A Spell for Frivolity, 40th St. AIRSPACE, Philadelphia, PA. 2019. Courtesy of Katie Kaplan

Portrait of Katie Kaplan, photo courtesy of the artist. 

Katie Kaplan screenprinting her three-color repeat pattern design at FWM with fellow Apprentices. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.