Renowned artist Kate Pincus-Whitney extends a captivating invitation to art enthusiasts, beckoning them to embark on an immersive journey into the transformative power of eating, sharing, and preserving tradition through the lens of the dinner table. Channeling the timeless wisdom of Alan Watts and Betty Fussell, Pincus-Whitney crafts a visual masterpiece that celebrates the intimate intersection of culinary heritage, storytelling, and cross-cultural understanding.
Culinary Theater and Collective Unconscious:
In Kate Pincus-Whitney’s upcoming exhibition, “To Live and To Dine in LA: You Taste Like Home,” attendees will witness a culinary theater where the profound importance of preserving culture through shared meals is vividly portrayed. The artwork serves as a bridge between the personal and the collective unconscious, inviting viewers to engage with the intimate rituals of eating, sharing, and cultural exchange.
*Now, during these critical times, Kate Pincus-Whitney delves deeper into the heart of human connection, exploring the importance of sharing meals as a way of creating bridges and inviting others in, rather than building walls against others. In the midst of war and conflict, the act of sharing food becomes a profound symbol of resilience, unity, and humanity. It nurtures connections, preserves cultural identity, provides comfort, builds trust, and symbolizes hope and resilience. Through the communal act of sharing meals, individuals find strength, solace, and a reaffirmation of their shared humanity even in the most challenging circumstances.*
Artistic Culinary Vision:
“We all must eat. How do the objects we consume and surround ourselves with become a part of our cultural and psychological understanding of self?” This poignant question serves as the catalyst for Kate Pincus-Whitney’s artistic exploration. Inspired by the profound insights of Watts and Fussell, she reimagines the radical storytelling power of food, skillfully painting the theater of the dinner table.
Synthesizing contemporary life and mythology, Pincus-Whitney maps culture, place, and self through the objects we consume, viewing the table-scape as a dynamic stage and communal space.
Duality of the Sacred and Profane:
Deeply invested in the duality of the sacred and profane, Kate Pincus-Whitney’s paintings act as hermeneutic diagrams, creating meaningful and nuanced connections between the materiality of everyday objects and their associative psychological, historical, and narrative power. Engaging in a profound dialogue with Chronos and Kairos, she places the meal within the liminal—a space where all bodies are simultaneously present and absent.
Life and Death on the Canvas:
Sometimes a table acts as a shrine, and at other times, as a stage or narrative portrait. Kate Pincus-Whitney’s paintings are as much about life as they are about death. Drawing inspiration from the rich histories of the fauvists, mystics, and Nabi, her work utilizes the personal to tap into the collective unconscious, investigating the existential, alchemical, and the intricate relationship we have with the material world.
Unique Perspective:
As a dyslexic and stereo-blind artist-anthropologist, Kate Pincus-Whitney navigates the dramas of the heart, the head, and the stomach. Raised by a single mother and grandmother in the kitchen, she finds nothing more intimate than the rituals of sharing meals. Her feminist, maximalist, and unapologetically colorful approach navigates the collective unconscious, alchemy, and the duality of the sacred and profane through the expressive medium of paint.
written by Domi Perek