About



Idea, material, process and aesthetic become interwoven through experimentation, the importance of each constantly shifting.


Kathryn Desforges is a UK-based artist working with print, drawing, painting and collage to create process-driven, contemporary artworks which explore narrative and conceptual representations of place.

She is driven by her preoccupation with ordinary, overlooked and in-between places, making work as a direct, emotional response, or as a bringing-together of fragments of these places, exploring dissonance, tension, harmony and balance.

Her approach to creating work is fluid – sometimes urgent and spontaneous, sometimes thoughtful and considered - and always keeping the physical act of making at the core of her practice.

Print is an integral element of her work:

“It is the physicality of printmaking which resonates with me. Idea, material, process and aesthetic become interwoven through experimentation, the importance of each constantly shifting. Process echoes idea, and moments are captured and physically set into the surface of metal, wood or stone through a conscious manipulation of the material – carving, scratching, sanding, layering - removing the image from its origin so that it becomes something new and other, allowing the viewer to interact with the work from their own position.”

Using a range of traditional print processes, such as etching, woodcut and lithography, both on their own or in combination, enables a unique visual language which she uses to explore different elements of this multi-faceted theme.

Kathryn’s work is held in public and private collections in the UK, including the Tate Library artist book collection. Alongside exhibiting regularly, she has undertaken artist residencies at Intaglio Printmaker, UK, Mi-LAB, Japan, and a Post Graduate Fellowship at Leicester Print Workshop. She currently works from her studio in West Yorkshire, teaches printmaking classes at various UK venues, and is Print Studio Co-ordinator at West Yorkshire Print Workshop.

Information about upcoming exhibitions and courses can be found in the News and Workshops sections.


C.V.



> AWARDS

2018 Shortlisted artist for the Flourish Award for excellence in printmaking at West Yorkshire Print Workshop, awarded the Great Art prize.

2013 Awarded Grants for the Arts funding from Arts Council, England

> RESIDENCIES / TRAINING

2018 Artist-in-Residence, Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory (Mi-LAB), Kawaguchiko, Japan

2013-2014 Post-Graduate Fellowship in Stone Lithography, Leicester Print Workshop

2005-2006 Artist-in-residence, Intaglio Printmaker, London

> EDUCATION

2019 Education and Training Level 3 award, Kirklees College

2002-2005 Kingston University BA Fine Art

2001-2002 Exeter College, Foundation Diploma in Art & Design

> COLLECTIONS

Tate Library Artists' Book collection and various private collections.

> TEACHING

I run short courses and workshops at various venues around the UK, including West Yorkshire Print Workshop, Hot Bed Press Printmakers Studio and Leicester Print Workshop. I have also run workshops for the Hepworth Wakefield, Double Elephant Print Workshop, Exeter, and The Millennium Gallery, Sheffield. You can see a list of upcoming workshops and events on the workshops page.

Exhibitions



> 2020

Woolwich Comtemporary Print Fair 2020 -The Online Edition - selected artist

Leeds Summer Group Show, July 2020. Selected online group exhibition.

> 2019

Unspoken Dialogues, solo show at Otley Courthouse, Jan 2019.

> 2018

Flourish Award, West Yorkshire Print Workshop, exhibition of shortlisted artists, Oct-Nov 2018

Recent Prints, Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk, duo exhibition with Sophie Layton, 7-21 Jul 2018.

The New Light Prize touring exhibition, Nov 2017-Jan 2019

The Hepworth Print Fair, Wakefield, 2-4 Mar 2018

> 2017

A Study in Stone, Tarpey Gallery, Castle Donnington, 30 Sept-22 Oct 2017

> 2016

The Masters: Etching, Bankside Gallery, London, 9-20 November 2016

Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London, 17-20 November 2016

Lady Beck Open Studios, Leeds, 16-18 Sept 2016

Paired Apart, group show, Aire Place Studios, Leeds, 5 Aug-2 Sept 2016

Our Friends From the North, an exhibition of work by invited Zillah Bell Gallery artists, The Drawing School, Eton College, 25 Jan-5 Mar 2016

> 2015

Leeds International Contemporary Artist Book Fair, The Tetley, Leeds, 6-8 Mar 2015

> 2014

P2P 2014, Leicester Print Workshop, biennial exhibition of contemporary printmaking,
14 Oct-12 Dec 2014

Momentary Permanence, solo exhibition at West Yorkshire Print Workshop, 7 Jun-26 Jul 2014.

Drawn to It, group show exploring the drawing process as the basis of visual language, Water Street Gallery, Todmorden, 1 May-8 Jun 2014

Momentary Permanence-Works in Progress, solo exhibition at LCB Depot Print Room, Leicester, 8 Jan-28 Feb 2014

> 2013

Edited Highlights, group show, Eleven Gallery, Hull

16th International Contemporary Artists' Book Fair, University of Leeds, Mar 2013

> 2012

Making a Mark, duo exhibition with Sarah Du Feu, upstairs gallery, The Bowery, Leeds, 2012

Kaleid 2012, exhibition of artist books, The Art Academy, London

Bite 2012, Mall Galleries, London

Print, group show, Water Street Gallery, Todmorden

> 2011

Pushing Print, festival of Printmaking, Margate, Kent

Saltaire Arts Trail, Open Houses, Saltaire

Up Close, selected group exhibition of printmaking from across the UK, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey

Home from Home, exhibition of artist books alongside the 14th International Contemporary Artists' Book Fair, University of Leeds

> 2010

A4 Contemporary Printmakers Competition, runner-up, Wharepuke Print Studio, New Zealand, 2011

Artists Open Show 2010, Leeds Art Gallery

Spike Island Open Studios 2010, Bristol

Cabinet of Curiosities, exhibition alongside the 13th International Contemporary Artists’ Book Fair, University of Leeds

> 2009

The London Group Open Exhibition, Menier Gallery, London

Artists Open Show 2009, Leeds Art Gallery

On Your Wall, Leeds Met Gallery

(sub)Missive, collaborative mail art book project, Corridor Gallery, University of Leeds

Impressions, group show by members of West Yorkshire Print Workshop, Huddersfield Art Gallery

Collaborate, group exhibition at South Square Gallery, Bradford

> 2008

Time and Space, exhibition of artist books, The Bowery, Leeds

> 2007

Works on Paper, joint exhibition with Aimee Day, R.K Burt Gallery, London

> 2006

Multiply, The Corn Exchange, Leeds

Originals '06, Mall Galleries, London

> 2005

Lines of Investigation, Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston Upon Thames

Mark



  ©2022 Kathryn Desforges