“A central question guides artists working at Dieu Donné: What does papermaking offer that other creative forms cannot? Through collaborations in the Dieu Donné workspace, Kate Shepherd had to tackle this issue perhaps more pointedly than most artists. The signature fine line in her paintings was a technical impossibility and her dedication to direct working practices necessitated that she cater to the characteristics of the pulp itself. In Shepherd’s Dieu Donné pieces, her versatility emerges as never before. Her creations synthesize seemingly opposing elements—the pulp’s inherently organic texture, her pursuit of structure, the paper’s textured surface and Shepherd’s interest in illusory space.”

— Maxwell Heller, excerpt from Stillness in Space, Essay fore Kate Shepherd: Schroeder Practices, Lab Grant Publication Series No. 11, Dieu Donné.

About the Artist

Kate Shepherd (b. 1960, NY, NY) applies threadlike lines of oil paint upon highly saturated layers of enamel.  Joined wood panels, connoting the architecture for which the paint is meant, are the base of the paintings. This method results in a gleaming, reflective surface, which allows the viewers to see their own reflections and also guards the intimate image from view. While remaining true to Shepherd’s signature use of delicate lines, spatial complexity, and color, her most recent work explores a more abstract line, continuing her conversation of the line within her chromatic surfaces. The artist’s oeuvre also encompasses works on paper, which examine her constant evolution of the exploration of primary, secondary, and tertiary color.

Shepherd has exhibited at museums and galleries across the United States and Europe since 1994. Her most recent museum solo exhibitions include Kate Shepherd: Lineaments, Charlotte and Philip Hanes Art Gallery, Wake Forest University, North Carolina, and Intersections: Relation to and yet not (homage to Mondrian) by Kate Shepherd, Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Shepherd’s work is featured in numerous museum collections including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, New York; Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland; Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan; Des Moines Art Center, Iowa; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts; Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona; and Seattle Art Museum, Washington. The artist lives and works in New York City, where she was born in 1961. (Source: Galerie Lelong & Co.)

For more information, please visit their website: https://www.kateshepherd.com

In the Studio

Available Works

Additional Links

Kate Shepherd: Shroeder Practices, Lab Grant Publication Series No. 11, Dieu Donné.

Galerie Lelong & Co.