The Chelsea Perspective - ARTisSpectrum

Award-winning artist Pat Kagan combines her philosophical
ruminations and keen eye for abstraction with a background
in both music and mathematics. These disparate yet robust
disciplines coalesce within Kagan’s work to create stunning visual
harmonies and insight into our world. Her oil and Rustoleum
paints drip, splatter, and sprawl across canvas or paper with
graceful arcs and frenetic line work. Kagan culls a dizzying range
of effects from her process, which at times may resemble the fluid
lines found in Sumi-e ink painting or the pulsating energy found
in the work of Abstract Expressionists. Never a complacent artist,
she has experimented with an array of media, producing a wide
range of expressive options deployed depending upon the subject
matter of the piece. Her watercolors and monotypes are sensitive
and soulful featuring figures, totemic symbols, words and dreamlike
landscapes rendered with a nearly sculptural flair. These
works contrast well with her more forthright mixed media works,
which are often created with a limited palette and nonfigurative,
nearly calligraphic forms.
Her art deals with a variety of concepts as delineated by her
varying stylistic approach and cryptic titles. From such notions
as racism, conception, and the environment Kagan’s art remains
a catalyst for contemplation, applying elegant abstractions to
explore difficult and multifarious ideas. She wants her audience
to interact with her art, to feel the emotion that engendered
each piece and draw an interpretation from their own thoughts
and experiences. “Art is so personal,” Kagan explains. “What it
evokes in each viewer depends on their particular life experiences,
personality and mood.”
Pat in her Studio
28 ArtisSpectrum
Pat Kagan
Her upbringing has had strong residual effects on Kagan’s
creative life. Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, she
has seen first hand the beautiful spirit that still endures within
the people and land torn apart by historic ills. She currently lives
outside of Washington, D.C., where she is a member of several
artist associations and exhibits frequently. Kagan’s artwork hangs
in collections across the United States and South Africa.
Websites: www.patkagan.com
www.Art-Mine.com/ArtistPage/Pat_Kagan.aspx
Unwired Oil & Rustoleum on Paper 48”x 50”
Initial Crisis Oil & Rustoleum on Paper 48”x 48”