Kate Bickmore

Winter 2025 Cycle – Art
Rockland, Maine katebickmore.com

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_01

Sublime Intervention of Chlor-ophelia, 2024
oil on canvas, 66 x 54 inches (168 x 137cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_02

On the Precipice of Divine Understanding, 2024
oil on canvas, 72 x 108 inches (183 x 274 cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_03

Emergence (from the Underground), 2024
oil on canvas, 66 x 54 inches (168 x 137cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_04

Perfect Love, Lust, and Limerence, 2024
oil on canvas, 66 x 54 inches (168 x 137cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_05

Hypnotic Transference of Luminous Life, 2024
oil on canvas, 72 x 108 inches (183 x 274 cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_06

Nature v. Nurture (after Madonna and Child), 2024
oil on canvas, 66 x 54 inches (168 x 137cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_07

Guiding Stars Defracting the Dawn, 2024
oil on canvas, 48 x 40 in (121.9 x 101.6 cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_08

The Graces Wear a Heart of Lace, 2025
oil on canvas, 40 x 48 (101.6 cm x 121.9)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_09

Pardon of Possession, 2024
oil paint on canvas, 23.6 x 19.7 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_10

Installation shot of 'On the Precipice' at Chart Gallery, 2024

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_11

Illuminated Vessels of a Heavy Heart, 2023 oil on canvas, 78 x 108 inches (198 x 274 cm)

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_21

Installation shot of 'On the Precipice' at Chart Gallery, 2024

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_22

Installation shot of 'On the Precipice' at Chart Gallery, 2024

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_24

Installation shot of ‘After Rainfall' at Andrew Reed Gallery, 2023

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_25

Installation shot of ‘After Rainfall' at Andrew Reed Gallery, 2023

Kate-Bickmore-Innovate-Grant_27

Installation shot of ‘After Rainfall' at Andrew Reed Gallery, 2023

Artist Statement Biography

Art making is my form of gardening — a space to experience awe, to slow down, and to heal, by tending to and building awareness of my inner and outer worlds. My colorful, hyperrealistic paintings of large-scale flowers, or florascapes, explore themes of femininity, physicality, sexuality, and spirituality, that evolve and grow based on my experiences as a Highly Sensitive queer woman. I am interested in reinventing limited preconceptions of flowers and femininity by portraying plants as living, breathing agents with power and resilience — breaking down the man-made constructs of the canvas and growing out from beneath the permeable surface. Instead of being depicted as passive victims or objects of the male gaze, my larger-than-life flowers have limitless physicality, queer individuality, and cosmic connectivity. The operatic plants appear to both recede into a vast, otherworldly place and emerge into our physical realm — forming a boundary-less space of exploration and contemplation. Similarly, I am endlessly exploring the surfaces, depths, and desires of my psyche and surroundings. I travel through the world in pursuit of the sublime, searching for rare and unique plants (often with help from botanists and indigenous guides), and expanding my awareness of nature’s complexities and ecologies, from which I better understand my own existence. I document my research and firsthand observations through writing, sketches, and photography with the aim to portray and preserve the wonderous plants and landscapes I encounter, and my profound appreciation for nature. With florist Samuel Thomas I create floral dioramas (i.e. gardens) inspired by these natural environments, including both site-specific and imagined ecological elements, that are atmospherically lit and photographed for reference. From my extensive photo library, I digitally collage my images to mock up the paintings' compositions, only including plants from my surrounding environments, travels, and dioramas. I create new floral narratives by weaving together references and vignettes from my life, botany, literature, ecology, art history, and mythology — merging scientific observation and Romantic philosophy that reveals nature as a unified, interconnected system. With an emphasis on vibrant colors, varied textures, and atmospheric light, my work looks to the Baroque and Rococo, Pre-Raphaelite painting, Dutch floral still lifes, the Hudson River School, as well as the work of Georgia O’Keeffe and Victorian era painter Marianne North. I then create intimate botanical sketches and watercolors to consider how I will translate my digital compositions to oils — capturing the individual bodily characteristics of each plant. Finally, I slowly and methodically build up layers of paint on the canvas until I have created a space that appears to be both realistic and fantastic, or rather, a duchampian delay, focused on immersive feeling and sensory expansiveness. Throughout this process I strive to stay present — connecting to the life force that moves within myself, nature, and the painting — as both witness to and participant in its magic and revelations. The flowers are my guide and conduit for healing; they are my entryway to the unknown, the sensual, and the sacred, continually evolving and challenging the traditional notions used to define them.

Art making is my form of gardening — a space to experience awe, to slow down, and to heal, by tending to and building awareness of my inner and outer worlds. My colorful, hyperrealistic paintings of large-scale flowers, or florascapes, explore themes of femininity, physicality, sexuality, and spirituality, that evolve and grow based on my experiences as a Highly Sensitive queer woman. I am interested in reinventing limited preconceptions of flowers and femininity by portraying plants as living, breathing agents with power and resilience — breaking down the man-made constructs of the canvas and growing out from beneath the permeable surface. Instead of being depicted as passive victims or objects of the male gaze, my larger-than-life flowers have limitless physicality, queer individuality, and cosmic connectivity. The operatic plants appear to both recede into a vast, otherworldly place and emerge into our physical realm — forming a boundary-less space of exploration and contemplation. Similarly, I am endlessly exploring the surfaces, depths, and desires of my psyche and surroundings. I travel through the world in pursuit of the sublime, searching for rare and unique plants (often with help from botanists and indigenous guides), and expanding my awareness of nature’s complexities and ecologies, from which I better understand my own existence. I document my research and firsthand observations through writing, sketches, and photography with the aim to portray and preserve the wonderous plants and landscapes I encounter, and my profound appreciation for nature. With florist Samuel Thomas I create floral dioramas (i.e. gardens) inspired by these natural environments, including both site-specific and imagined ecological elements, that are atmospherically lit and photographed for reference. From my extensive photo library, I digitally collage my images to mock up the paintings' compositions, only including plants from my surrounding environments, travels, and dioramas. I create new floral narratives by weaving together references and vignettes from my life, botany, literature, ecology, art history, and mythology — merging scientific observation and Romantic philosophy that reveals nature as a unified, interconnected system. With an emphasis on vibrant colors, varied textures, and atmospheric light, my work looks to the Baroque and Rococo, Pre-Raphaelite painting, Dutch floral still lifes, the Hudson River School, as well as the work of Georgia O’Keeffe and Victorian era painter Marianne North. I then create intimate botanical sketches and watercolors to consider how I will translate my digital compositions to oils — capturing the individual bodily characteristics of each plant. Finally, I slowly and methodically build up layers of paint on the canvas until I have created a space that appears to be both realistic and fantastic, or rather, a duchampian delay, focused on immersive feeling and sensory expansiveness. Throughout this process I strive to stay present — connecting to the life force that moves within myself, nature, and the painting — as both witness to and participant in its magic and revelations. The flowers are my guide and conduit for healing; they are my entryway to the unknown, the sensual, and the sacred, continually evolving and challenging the traditional notions used to define them.

Meet the Artist

Kate Bickmore

KB_ArtistPortrait

Sign Up for Our Mailing List

Sign Up for Our Mailing List

To Receive Grant Cycle Deadlines and Winner Announcements

To Receive Grant Cycle Deadlines and Winner Announcements