In The Studio With Katie Pumphrey

Baltimore-based artist Katie Pumphrey takes over the Contemporary Creatives’ Instagram and gives a behind-the-scenes look at her daily routine at the studio, processes, and current inspirations.

Katie Pumphrey is an American painter exploring the tension between calm and chaos. Crisp edges and quiet shapes are at a constant tug-o-war with playful movement and vibrating color. Her work dives into the familiar struggle we all face, again and again, to find control, ease the tension, and harness the commotion. We feel steady, level-headed, comfortable — and then something shifts, and we scramble to find our footing. We ping-pong between these moments time and time again. With turbulent brushstrokes and the suggestion of imagery, her work examines these experiences with a hint of humor, play, and lightheartedness.

Katie has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art.  She has participated in artist residencies at the Studios of Key West, Vermont Studio Center, Gallery Four, and the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. Katie is also a long distance, open water swimmer — who swam the English Channel in 2015, around the island of Manhattan in 2017, and the Catalina Channel in 2018. Those three swims make up the Triple Crown of open water swimming, adding Katie to an elite group of open water swimmers from around the world. This aspect of her life often influences and drives her work. Katie currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD.

Follow her process, practice, and new works on Instagram. Bio from artist’s website.