Artwork Credits

Katie Neece (b. 1989) is an artist and educator living and working in South Bend, Indiana. She graduated with her MFA in painting at the University of Notre Dame in 2020 and graduated with her undergraduate degree in drawing and painting from Indiana University, South Bend in 2013. She currently teaches digital illustration and graphic design at Holy Cross College and works at the Snite Museum of Art at Notre Dame as program coordinator for summer high school educational programs for aspiring art students. 

Using traditional oil painting techniques that rely on nuanced physical touch and demanding material execution, Neece’s work incorporates imagery from computer graphics software programs and related digital ephemera. She creates an artificial pictorial space using gradients, drop shadows, and flat areas to construct an illusionistic environment within the conventions of the screen and digital manifestations of space. Choosing to paint the digital constructions draws attention to both advancements in technology and the advancements in the historical trajectory of painting. She uses the pictorial language of geometric abstraction among the early 20th century European avant-garde, while simultaneously focusing on 90’s American mall aesthetic, pop culture and design aesthetic. She incorporates and uses these forms as a reference to an inherent optimism in a utopian future that has continually failed to materialize. This re-contextualization is an attempt to illustrate that the past continually reminds us of the future’s failure in the form of haunting. 

 Cover image: "Silk Pajamas"

A more expansive and detailed exploration of Neece's artistry can be found at http://theindiancurator.com/katie-neece/

Website: katieneece.com
instagram: katie_neece