| Kate Leibrand |
ABOUT
"PHILADELPHIA AREA ARTIST KATE LEIBRAND CREATES TEXTILE-BASED ARTWORK THAT IS MESMERIZING WITH ITS LARGE-SCALE REPETITIOUS PATTERNING. USING MOSTLY FELT, LEIBRAND’S LABOR-INTENSIVE PROCESS INCLUDES CUTTING, PAINTING, FOLDING, STITCHING, GLUING, AND PINNING THOUSANDS OF FABRIC ELEMENTS ON TO A SUBSTRATE. THE DENSE MASS OF FABRIC FORMS ARE INSPIRED BY HER INTEREST IN NATURE AND ITS PROLIFIC ABILITY TO GROW AND REGENERATE. LEIBRAND’S UNDULATING COMPOSITION CALLS TO MIND FLOWING FIELDS OF BLOSSOMS, MOSS, FUNGI, EVEN SHELLS AND CORAL REEFS.
LEIBRAND’S WORKING METHOD IS PARTIALLY INTUITIVE AS SHE ALLOWS THE MATERIALS, TEXTURES, AND INNATE PATTERNING TO GUIDE HER. BUT AS HER WORK BUILDS AND GROWS THE COMPOSITION ELEMENT BY ELEMENT, SHE PURPOSEFULLY CONTOURS THE OVERALL SHAPE AND EMBEDS “INTIMATE DETAILS INTO SECTIONS OF THE FORM, WAITING FOR VIEWERS TO FIND THEM.” LIKE A VAST LANDSCAPE, LEIBRAND’S WORK IS AT FIRST MONUMENTAL AND ENVELOPING BUT AS ONE VISUALLY LINGERS, THE DETAILS EMERGE AND THE INTRICACIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS ARE REVEALED."
- PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ART PROGRAM
Kate uses acrylic felt in her fiber sculptures, which is made from post-consumer recycled plastic water bottles.
a fiber and interdisciplinary artist living in Philadelphia, Kate received her BA in Fine Art from Elizabethtown College in 2011, and her MFA in Studio Art from Moore College of Art & Design in 2014. She also obtained a certification in Botanical Illustration from the Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2020. Her work has been shown and sold in numerous exhibitions locally and internationally, and she has lectured and mentored at Moore College of Art. Leibrand has also worked with design clients including Audi, Disney Books, Barney’s NY, Neiman Marcus, and Wasserman Media through her past role as a creative director.
Kate most recently was awarded the Levitties Family Prize for Excellence in Design through the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
LEIBRAND’S WORKING METHOD IS PARTIALLY INTUITIVE AS SHE ALLOWS THE MATERIALS, TEXTURES, AND INNATE PATTERNING TO GUIDE HER. BUT AS HER WORK BUILDS AND GROWS THE COMPOSITION ELEMENT BY ELEMENT, SHE PURPOSEFULLY CONTOURS THE OVERALL SHAPE AND EMBEDS “INTIMATE DETAILS INTO SECTIONS OF THE FORM, WAITING FOR VIEWERS TO FIND THEM.” LIKE A VAST LANDSCAPE, LEIBRAND’S WORK IS AT FIRST MONUMENTAL AND ENVELOPING BUT AS ONE VISUALLY LINGERS, THE DETAILS EMERGE AND THE INTRICACIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS ARE REVEALED."
- PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ART PROGRAM
Kate uses acrylic felt in her fiber sculptures, which is made from post-consumer recycled plastic water bottles.
a fiber and interdisciplinary artist living in Philadelphia, Kate received her BA in Fine Art from Elizabethtown College in 2011, and her MFA in Studio Art from Moore College of Art & Design in 2014. She also obtained a certification in Botanical Illustration from the Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2020. Her work has been shown and sold in numerous exhibitions locally and internationally, and she has lectured and mentored at Moore College of Art. Leibrand has also worked with design clients including Audi, Disney Books, Barney’s NY, Neiman Marcus, and Wasserman Media through her past role as a creative director.
Kate most recently was awarded the Levitties Family Prize for Excellence in Design through the Philadelphia Museum of Art.