Catharine Balco

"Studio Sink"	"Johnson Laundromat"
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"I don't paint from life to make specific images. I use the experience of looking at the world as a trigger for the state of mind that I want my paintings to come from. When I'm looking at the world, I feel connection and tenderness, and—when I'm at my best—my brush strokes, color choices, and compositional decisions come from this place of loving attention. While I want my paintings to portray an entirely unique moment in place and time, I'm not painting to create an image of that place and time. I'm painting to HAVE the experience of being present, and I want my paintings, more than anything else, to stand as proof of my human presence."

Catharine Balco studied painting with John Hull, Bernard Chaet, Laura Newman, and Natalie Charkow at Yale University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Fine Art in 1997. From 1997 to 1999 she lived in rural Vermont, designing and painting, with Fresco Studio, murals and wall finishes in businesses and private homes throughout New England and New York City. She has worked on projects for clients including Ben & Jerry's Homemade (Vermont), the American Craft Museum (New York City), and La Manna (Bellagio, Italy).

Balco is also the founder of the Yale Club of Vermont's Community Service Program and the co-founder of New Ground, an interdisciplinary artists residency program.

Her paintings have been shown in solo and group shows in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York City, including: Catharine Balco, Recent Paintings from Life (Blue Shoe Strategy Gallery, New York City, 2003); Small Works Invitational (SOHO 20, New York City, 2003); Don Teeter and Catharine Balco (The Men's Room Gallery, Vermont, 2000); and Selections from 25 Years of Alumni Painters (Deerfield Academy Gallery, Massachusetts, 2000). She has received a Yale School of Art Ellen Battel Stoekel Fellowship, a Mortimer Hayes Brandeis Nomination, and a Vermont Community Foundation Award.

Balco currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. A selection of her works can be viewed online at www.CatharineBalco.com.

Images and Artist's Statement © Catherine Balco