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:: By Ruth E. Kott

:: Image courtesy Kim Kopp

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Peer Review ::

On exhibit

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.

[point2point]

 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.”