Kathy Knaus

Kathy Knaus makes intuitive aesthetic choices, seeking to make sense of both the chaos and beauty found in the natural world—and in her own life. Her current materials of choice are oil and acrylic on canvas. Emotions such as joy, stress, happiness, pain, insecurity, confidence, excitement, sadness, and even unconscious feelings are expressed through her use of color, mark-making, and composition. Interestingly, while painting, her mind becomes free of emotion—she experiences a state of ecstasy.

Her work has been displayed in numerous galleries throughout the Denver area. A billboard featuring her artwork was selected by the Commission for Denver Theatre Arts to be displayed at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She is currently a member of D’Art Gallery in Denver, CO.

In 2000, Knaus graduated summa cum laude from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, CO. Her professor, Clark Richert, greatly influenced her decision to paint abstractly and was instrumental in her understanding of the contemporary art world. She currently lives and works in Denver, CO.


Artist Statement

As a painter, I create works inspired by the natural world. I have a deep interest in the land. I want to heal the fractured relationship between people and nature. My artworks are attempts to make sense of the chaos and beauty in the natural world.

Working at a Five Element Acupuncture College, I have embodied and studied the five elements—earth, fire, water, wood, and metal. I am ever curious about how nature heals itself and, in turn, how if we want to heal our own bodies, we only need to look at nature. I am constantly observing these parallels and intuitively extending them through my paintings.

I want to celebrate nature and am in awe of how it withstands being battered, stepped on, stripped, and contaminated—much like how society treats not only the earth but other human beings. I appreciate the beauty and ugliness of our world. I sit in nature's glory and meditate on how it came to this place. Through this contemplation, I want to capture this dichotomy of yin and yang in nature through my mark-making, colors, and the movement of my brush and palette knife. Maybe, in some small way, I will influence a person to look at nature in all its glory and respect what it gives us—to slow down and appreciate the smallest flower, the beauty in a rotten tree, or a wasp nest.


www.kathyknausart.com