Bio:
Los Angeles based artist Cathy Weiss was born in NYC and raised in Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. in art from the University of California, Santa Cruz and received a fellowship in printmaking from Pratt Institute for Graduate Studies in New York. Weiss’ work has received numerous awards and has been exhibited both nationally and abroad, including Craft Contemporary in Los Angeles, she is also in the public collections of MOAH and the Angell Foundation as well as many private collections. She has been awarded residencies in Spain, Morocco, Mexico, and India with an upcoming residency in Paris, France. She is well known for her many public and community projects.
Statement:
I am a visual artist with a practice both inside and outside my studio. Inside my studio I make intricate woodcut print, and mixed media constructions and installations that are metaphors for the layers of our humanity. My work is underpinned by myths, truths and stories shared by women across cultures to issues we face in today’s world. Stories that speak to our humanity, stories that address issues that we have faced throughout history and continue to. Like in a Tel which consists of layers of civilizations holding ancient tales, each new block carries forth from the blocks before but something new is added. A portal of time, a place to access these stories. I mark my woodblock figures in the way we tattoo our bodies allowing my ideas to live on and continue into the next work. Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance, a form of memory that is passed down generationally informs my process. I integrate memory existing in our DNA, inherited from those who came before, and will live on in those who come after. The residencies I have been awarded in Spain, Morocco, Mexico, and India have informed my growth and the work I make. Nature is integrated into each work both in context of addressing environmental issues as well as symbolism across time and place. Elements such as light, shadow and air play a part in the physical nature of the work transcending it into the metaphysical. Outside the studio I am committed to my public and community projects. I am the creator and director of the Mosaic Sun Project for the nonprofit Big Sunday. Big Sunday's mission is to connect people through helping. The Mosaic Sun Project brings people together to create unique suns that are then donated to nonprofits throughout Los Angeles spreading joy. I am committed to making work that begins conversations and builds bridges in our global communities both in content and discipline.