Uprooted Presence: Kate Lewis

Sydney born, Melbourne based, artist Kate McKenzie Lewis’ work is steeped in the Australian landscape. Painting and the bush have been two constants in Kate’s life. Time spent in Booderee Country (Jervis Bay), Gadubanud lands in the Otways and Taungarung Country (The Victorian Alps) has given Kate the opportunity to explore the visual intersection of place, process and presence.

In 2022 Kate achieved a Masters in Contemporary Art from the VCA, University of Melbourne. Since graduation she has continued her journeys into the Australian bush, painting smaller ‘en plein air’ works, as well as larger ‘alla prima’ (in one sitting) pieces back in her Melbourne studio - forever blurring lines between fiction and reality. Lewis’ manipulation of perspective, light, colour and scale, piques the viewers curiosity creating an oscillation between imagined moments and real memory. Kate's work is transportive; the country she depicts both stirs and subverts the viewer's memory.

"This series ‘Uprooted Presence’ comprises 5 large oil paintings and 10 gouache, ink, charcoal and watercolour works on paper and framed. The works explore the excessive rain of 2022 causing the ancient eucalyptus to uproot from the weak clay and sprawl across the tracks I wander. I am interested in my presence in the landscape, as well as the presence that my paint claims on surfaces I choose to explore and moments I am compelled to reexamine." - Kate Lewis