02 Mar 2011

Catherine Forster at The Merwin Gallery, Illinois Wesleyan University

Relish The Drift, a solo exhibition of works by Catherine Forster, includes an ambitious compilation of 13 videos, paintings and inkjet prints. Relish the Drift captures the marriage of light and movement and water's uncanny ability to convey allegory; in the process Forster has discovered a unique companion to video.

In Golden Oldies Forster deploys the movement of water to create visual scores for Billboard hits from the 60s-80s. Filmed underwater, Drift is a poem about isolation, loss and acceptance. The illusion of light, texture and movement in Now for the Painter is an ode to R.J.W. Turner's last seascapes. Swallow explores the sheer power of water, while H2O celebrates the union of water and light.

Catherine Forster's interests lay in the little inconsistencies and contradictions of every day life, banal moments that add up to something else. Her work induces viewers to slow down and spend time with each piece. Forster lives near water and solves her creative challenges while kayaking or walking close to shore. 'While walking or kayaking I note the changes in color, texture, and viscosity of the surface through the seasons, crystal clear in spring after the ice melts, heavy and somewhat murky during hot summer days, dark and full of unexpected contrasts in the autumn light, frozen in winter, clear beneath the ice. It is not surprising that water would eventually find its way into my work.'

Catherine Forster is a filmmaker, artist, and curator based in the Chicago area. She received an M.F.A from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Upcoming solo exhibitions include the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Chicago and Merwin Gallery Illinois Wesleyan University. Her artwork has been shown at the City of Louisville Colorado Sculpture Garden, Carnegie Art Museum, South Bend Regional Art Museum, Flint Institute of Art, Orange County Contemporary Art Center, Exit Art (NY), Hyde Park Art Center Chicago, and the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania, to name a few. Films by Forster have been screened at the Sao Paul International Short Film Festival, Echotrope New Media Arts Festival (Omaha), Simultan Media Arts Festival (Romania), Echo Park Film Center (LA), Magmart Film Festival Casoria International Contemporary Art Museum (Italy), Directors Lounge (Berlin), and San Diego International Women Film Festival. Forster is also the founder and director of LiveBox a non-profit nomadic gallery focused on media art and performance.