Kathleen Speranza
Why Flowers? “They are ephemeral and the urge to do them justice before they wilt seems to be a part of what drives me. They are very small sculptures with hidden spaces and that also intrigues me. I have a friend who tells me that I really want to be the bee….trying to get in and pollinate! For me painting has always been a way to explore the mysteries of space and form revealed by light. Whatever the subject that remains a constant in my efforts.”
Featured Works
Biography
Kathleen Speranza
“When Kathryn contacted me about this show I was in the middle of a small series of Rose paintings. My initial thought was to contribute a few of these images for the exhibit. They had been coming very slowly and the pandemic had made my studio work a bit more difficult. Then my early spring bulbs began to bloom. It felt like a transfusion of fresh inspiration! I planted over 200 bulbs last spring in several different varieties and every day new personalities would emerge. Since my flower paintings feel more like portraits than still lives I suddenly had a wealth subjects ready to pose. During the long weeks of lock down a few positive things were happening. The human world had suddenly slowed down enough for the natural world to take center stage. The unusual quiet and stillness allowed us the opportunity for a deeper meditation on our vital connection to nature. In some ways it felt like many other people were entering the silent and reverent world that painters inhabit all the time. It was a strange but very welcome development. I hope that these paintings will help the viewer connect for a while to that deeply satisfying and important state of mind. I am also hoping that some of the lessons we have learned through this crisis will give us some fresh perspective on our vital connection to the miracles of the natural world."Kathleen Speranza earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University School of Art. She has had an academic career of more than thirty years teaching painting and drawing at the college level. She has been on the Faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design for the last several years. Ms. Speranza now leads painting workshops both nationally and Internationally.
Her paintings have always explored the visual language of space, light, color and form as it relates to specific subjects from nature. The most recent paintings are an ongoing investigation of the poetic potential of botanical life. The body of work relating to Garden Roses with their extreme subtlety of color and structure are perhaps her best-known images.
Kathleen has exhibited work in group and solo shows throughout the US and U.K. Her work can be found in numerous private and public collections. Her most current show called “ Vanitas Vita” at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art will be on view from May through July of 2020. Her work can also be seen on Facebook and Instagram. The artist lives and works in Lynn, Massachusetts with her husband Parker Heath.
News & Press
July 1, 2020
Kathleen Speranza says that her first artist crush was Michelangelo; with the way he translates stone into flesh. She shares about life as a portrait painter—of flowers.
June 3, 2020
As the snow recedes off south-facing buttes and low-lying flats, Indian potatoes and sagebrush buttercups are starting to bloom. While the human residents of Jackson Hole are isolated and distressed, the ecological processes of spring are proceeding as normal, unaware of our plight. It is this sentiment that, in part, gave rise to Turner Fine Art’s coming exhibition, “While We Were Still … Flowers Bloomed.”
April 21, 2020
Because flowers are a universal experience of beauty and delight, the goal of this exhibition is to uplift the spirits through these intimate visual meditations of florals crafted at the highest level by the country’s greatest artists.