Katherine Spinella transports the refuse of commerce into fractured, elevated, and philosophically personified artifacts through multi-media collage. Using digital manipulation, printmaking, sculpture, and video installation in her process, recent projects investigate ideas of post-humanism and the symbiotic relationships between plant, animal, and human. Addressing visual structures of classism, Spinella examines the conflation between language and image in relation to our perceptions of nature.
Spinella is Co-Founder of Carnation Contemporary in Portland, OR. She is preparing for her first major solo exhibition at Carnation in Portland, OR (2021). Recently she has exhibited in Future Landscapes at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space for Borders International Art Fair in Venice, Italy (2020), Thunderstruck at NARS Foundation in New York, NY (2019), Fresh Air at Outback Arthouse, in Los Angeles, CA (2019), IF/THEN at Tropical Contemporary in Eugene, OR (2020) and is soon to participate with WAVE Collective in What’s Different at SOIL Gallery in Seattle, WA (2021). In 2019 she ventured out on her first curatorial project to co-curate On the Tip of My Tongue with Kristin Hough of Outback Arthouse. She is a co-founding member of the Thunderstruck Collective, a small group centered around the exploration of land artwork through on-site visits, critical reading, and related exhibitions. Her work has been supported by the Ford Family Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Portland State University, Vermont Studio Center, Kala Art Institute, and Women's Studio Workshop. She received her MFA in Studio Art from the University of Oregon in 2013. Spinella served many roles at the Independent Publishing Resource Center from 2014-2018 and is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Portland State University, Oregon State University, and Linn-Benton Community College teaching printmaking, color theory, drawing, 2d design and Core: Surface.
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