Katie Sands

Fort Washington, PA

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work is linked with the inevitable passage of time and seeks to define the phenomenon of progress. It raises questions of whether progress causes us to yearn for a simpler past, and whether that past is worth trying to preserve. I am inspired by the time I have spent in rural areas of Pennsylvania, the area surrounding us at Hamilton College, and my experience driving Route 66.

As a distance runner I have a special relationship to place because of the way running causes me to intimately explore the areas I inhabit, allowing me to notice the subjects I paint which others may miss. While painting I try to reconcile why I am drawn to these places with the inherent struggles that rural America carries and the fragility of the subjects. I intentionally work on a small scale to create a work akin to a postcard or family photo, capturing a fleeting moment in a permanent, tangible way. The scale encourages viewers to examine these works closely and engage with the subjects in hopes of finding some connection to the history of these places.

I hope that viewers will start to notice these often overlooked spaces or view them in a different way after interacting with my work. The master title, You Can Always Come Home, echoes my grandparents’ description of my visits to rural Pennsylvania as “coming home”, and emphasizes the experience of returning to a place that changes with each revisit.