Carrie Kouts

Artist Biography

Carrie Kouts was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1995. She received her BFA with an emphasis in Sculpture from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2019. Home educated for the duration of her primary and secondary schooling, Kouts was heavily encouraged to pursue her interests in biology and fine art. Her studies of the natural world, particularly its flora and fauna, are the primary influence of her artwork. Utilizing materials that reflect the work of the artist’s hand, such as stone, wood, metal, or clay, Kouts creates pieces that investigate the connection and collision of mankind and their environment. During her artistic career in OKC, she has participated in both public and private gallery openings and shows. Her work has been shown in Momentum OKC, Fresh Paint Performance Lab, and Symbiotic. After witnessing the expansive growth of her city, Kouts’s recent work has created a dialogue exploring the concepts of the natural landscape and the manmade landscape.

Artist Statement

“As an artist I am continually fascinated by both the natural and manmade structures that make up our world. Biological systems, architectural creations, and societal standards are a few of the structures I explore throughout my artwork. It is my desire to manipulate and mimic the visual nuances of these structures (organic or built) through the use of three-dimensional media.

In my artwork, I utilize a variety of three-dimensional mediums ranging from stone and steel, to clay and plaster.  I am drawn to materials that require a significant amount of physicality or exactness, as the sheer act of working with them becomes a conversation between myself and the work I am creating. Visually, I am interested in creating highly geometric pieces as well as detailed organic forms.

In my alabaster sculpture, Counterpoise, I utilize the first material used by mankind, and manipulated it to appear as though it were a miniature architectural monument. Counterpoise not only references architectural structures and monoliths, but also the stylistic aesthetic of the cubist movement.

In my ceramic series, Emoting, I explore the nature of communication by utilizing the structure of the human face. Communication between humans is considered to be one of the most important aspects in modern society, however, as technology advances, direct face to face interaction has become seen as unnecessary. In this series, I create portrait heads that lack the main indicator of emotion, the eyes. These portraits play with the concept of severed communication by giving the viewer only a few visual cues to assume the portrayed emotion.”

@impossiblyinteresting

Carrie’s work was featured in our Spring 2019 Group Exhibition.