Kathy Westwater creates art that exists in the human body. Inhabiting a gap between dance and performance art, her work reveals an intense attention to reimagining and reconfiguring the body’s movement potential. Recent works have explored the genre of body horror (Macho, 2008); interspecies culture (twisted, tack, broken, 2005); psycho-physical states of fear (Dark Matter, 2002); and interactive virtual environments (The Fortune Cookie Dance, 1999).
Developed in the experimentally-driven downtown dance scene of New York City, Westwater’s intuitive and analytical work has been seen in many places since 1997, including Dance Theater Workshop, Movement Research at Judson Church, Brooklyn Museum, Danspace Project, and Performance Space 122, among many others. In March 2011 it was seen at the RAW: GEOGRAPHIES Festival in Portland, Oregon.
Westwater maintains an investigatory studio and teaching practice that supports the development of her creative work. Her studio practice is informed by studies with Simone Forti, Dana Reitz, and Sara Rudner; and her experience from 1991 to 1999 as a performer in the multi-media performance works of choreographer Merián Soto and visual artist Pepón Osorio. She has collaborated with numerous artists over the years, including most recently Clarinda Mac Low and K.J. Holmes, and visual artists Ben Wolf and Swoon. In April 2011 Westwater performed in Simone Forti’s seminal work “Slant Board” at Fitzroy Gallery.
She received an MFA from Sarah Lawrence and a BA from William and Mary where she studied political economy, mathematics, and dance. Kathy was born in Virginia and grew up in Kentucky. www.kathywestwater.org
» thur 06/02: ART: Art (dance) Show
