Statement

I am curious about the connection we have, as a society, to lost memories and traces of human histories. In my work I am thinking about memory mishaps, when our mind recalls only part of a story, and we are then called to fabricate the rest. My collages are building on something known and creating something that is new, revealing the overlapping stories we all share that have become blurred in this current space it occupies. I am investigating my own memory and stories from my childhood through images and materials I have saved. Allowing for the misplaced pieces to the stories to open new narratives and expand the story. I see these works as a way of signaling that our narratives and histories are multilayered, overlapping, and open for interpretation. Leaning into the idea that our blurry memories are provoking a slippage between the real and unreal.

Bio

Kate Chassner is a mixed media artist using found images and home photos to create collages based in Asheville, North Carolina. She is an elementary and middle school art teacher and strives to have an open, experimental classroom that provides space for students of all ages to push their boundaries and uplift their creative energy. She attended Florida State University where she earned her BA in Art History in 2007. After spending a few years in New Orleans she moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains, started a family and received her MFA at Western Carolina University in 2022. Kate has won grants and scholarships for her art, including the chance to attend Penland School of Craft, and has shown in galleries across the Southeast. Her current work is an exploration of the use of collage to portray memories as a way of connecting narratives and overlapping stories. She is curious about how uncanny shared experiences can act as a means to create connections and offer space for reflection.