One day at a time

The path of an artist is difficult to define, says Kim Kopp, MFA’92, quoting an artist friend: “It is not easy to be both explorer and guide: the latter has a map, while the former is still creating the map.” Case in point: Kopp’s calendar project (see “Peer Review Opener”) began “simply as a studio exercise,” she wrote in a handmade book to accompany the artwork. “I originally conceived of 100 studies limited in size (9.5 x 6.5 inches) and restricted in vocabulary to simple abstracted forms.” It evolved into more than 600 paintings; when combined into 12 “month-paintings” and smaller, weeklong groups, “each recorded day built upon the next, creating a visual diary” and exploring human control over time.

 Though it was never displayed in its entirety—august, october, and december sold before Kopp completed the collection—the calendar project has shown in venues across Washington State. In a March 14–April 12 solo show at Seattle’s Fetherston Gallery, Kopp will feature pieces from the project and introduce new work such as point2point (detail above; graphite, dry pigments, acrylic, wax on Japanese papers over two wood panels; 24 x 32 inches). Titled pathways and echos, the exhibit is “a step along the path of the calendar project, related to it and also a deeper exploration of some ideas that emerged.”