The South Arkansas Arts Center welcomes Jackson, Mississippi artist Kathryn Wiggins and her exhibition "Meditations" to the Lobby Gallery April 2-26, 2024. There will be an artist's reception on Monday, April 1 from 5:00-6:30pm.
"It seems there is a connection between the human soul and the natural world; my work uses landscape art to speak to the inner landscapes of the soul," said Wiggins, "Feelings of anxiety, peace, dread, longing, loneliness, love, desire, and a myriad of other places my inner thoughts take me are processed through terrestrial landscape paintings and drawings. Often there are passages in my work, inviting the viewer to pass through the shadows or trees into their own inner lands. Other images give a focal point to journey toward in settled determination."
Wiggins work pays attention to the simple wonders that are all around us, such as light filtering through leaves, the red sunset illuminating the tops of pine trees, or the color variations in a dark shadow. Nature captures Wiggins' attention in these moments and allows her to take time for a mental reset by really looking and paying attention to her surroundings. In the gazing, Wiggins begins to understand her inner-self more clearly.
All of Wiggins' landscapes are based on real places she has traveled and experienced. She draws inspiration from family camping trips, kayak excursions, and walks around her neighborhood. She presents these landscapes to her audience as meditations on standing still in nature and being vulnerable to where it can take you.
Born and raised in Brandon, Mississippi, located just east of Jackson, Mississippi, Wiggins always loved the landscapes of her rural childhood. A graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, she completed her schooling in 2007 in Edinburgh, Scotland in the Master of Fine Arts program at Edinburgh College of Art. After graduating, she returned to Mississippi and began a family with her husband John. In 2010, she received the Visual Arts Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission. Also during that time, she taught drawing at the Tulane University School of Continuing Studies in Madison, Mississippi.
For more information on the Kathryn Wiggins exhibit at the South Arkansas Arts Center, please call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474 or visit the website at www.saac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 East Fifth Street, El Dorado, Arkansas.