Collection: Kate Riley

@katerileycreative

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 uses the process of building up complex textures and repetitive marks in her artwork 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.