Kate Bassett
Kate Bassett was born in London in 1980 and gained a First Class degree in Fine Arts from the Cardiff School of Art and Design. She was awarded Welsh Artist of the Year: Student award in 2006 and in the same year won the Welsh Assembly Government Award which meant that her work was hung in the Welsh First Ministers Office. Her work has featured in notable collections in Wales and abroad.
My work examines the fun and reckless working-class lifestyle and environment of the Ely council estate in Cardiff, where my family live. This has gradually expanded to embrace other working-class areas that I have visited.
My art intends to show the out-of-control nature of the council estate lifestyle; situated on streets and within domestic interiors. These spaces are often filled with gatherings of people, dogs and abandoned vehicles; all of which are motifs in my work. I portray the careless, spontaneous and casual behaviour and attitudes of the people.
The fact that I come from this kind of background helps to inform the personal and the honest nature of the work. I feel this is permitted through my personal understanding of the environment and its people.
I develop ideas for my work by studying drawings and photographs of streets and communal gatherings. The work is often melancholy yet humorous. I feel this is reinforced by my drawing style which gives a theatrical and dramatic sense of space.
I am a dedicated printmaker working primarily in the intaglio processes of collagraph and drypoint. These techniques require physicality and demand a ‘hands on’ approach which I respond well to.
Recently, the works of William Hogarth, Pieter Bruegel, Jan Steen and L.S Lowry have informed me as they documented and sometimes parodied the environment in which they lived. I also try to record the situations I’ve witnessed in a critical yet sympathetic way. It is important for me to externalise experiences about my family as well as how I feel about Ely and other working-class areas.
C.V.
Born 1980, Camberwell, London
Live and Work in London
Education
2008 - 2010: Camberwell College of Art, University of the Arts London, MA Printmaking
2003 - 2006: Cardiff School of Art and Design, UWIC BA (hons) Fine Art: First Class
1999 - 2002: University of Wales College, Newport, Diploma of Higher Education in Fashion Design
1996 - 1999: Barry College, BTEC GNVQ Art and Design, Advanced and Intermediate: Distinction
Work Experience/Employment/Teaching
Dec. 2007: BayArt Gallery, Cardiff, Visiting Artist’s Drawing and Sculpture Workshop at Fitzalan High School
June 2007- to date: BayArt Gallery, Cardiff, Invigilated Shows
June 2007: BayArt Gallery, Cardiff, Visiting Artist’s Drawing Workshop at Refugee Week Wales
June 2007: BayArt Gallery, Cardiff, Visiting Artist’s Drawing Workshop at Fitzalan High School
June 2007: BayArt Gallery, Cardiff, Visiting Artist’s Drawing Workshop at Cwrt-Yr-Ala Junior School
Sept. 2006 - Dec. 2006: Llanover Hall Art Centre, Cardiff, Teaching Assistant in Ceramic Workshops
July 2006: Oriel Tri, Penarth, Gallery Assistant
Oct. 2005 - Jan. 2006: Cardiff School of Art and Design, UWIC Group Project with Artist Peter Greenaway
June 2005: Ysgol Maes Dyfan Special Needs School, Barry, Group Project Mural Painting
Solo Exhibitions
May - June 2008: Travelling in Mind Café and Gallery, Barry
Group Exhibitions
2008
April - May: The Lloyd Gill Gallery, Weston-Super-Mare, ‘Long Established Mediums Harmonize with New Media’
Jan - Feb: St David’s Hall, Cardiff, ‘Intaglio’
2007
Nov - Jan. 2008: The Art Shop, Abergavenny, Christmas Exhibition
Nov - Jan. 2008: St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Christmas Exhibition
Sept: Arts Wing, Grand Theatre, Swansea, ‘Contemporary Welsh Printmakers’
July - Aug: BayArt Gallery, Cardiff, ‘My Terrain’
June - Aug: St David’s Hall, Cardiff, ‘Welsh Artist of the Year 2007’
May: Alhambra Art Centre, Lahore, Pakistan, ‘Contemporary Welsh Printmakers’
April: V.M. Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan, ‘Contemporary Welsh Printmakers’
March - April: Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Chongqing, China, ‘Creativity in Education: An Exhibition’
Feb - March: St David’s Hall, Cardiff, ‘Five Women Printmakers’
2006
Nov. - Jan 2007: St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Christmas Exhibition
Oct. - Dec: The Art Shop, Abergavenny, Christmas Exhibition
Sept - Oct: Exposure Gallery, Swansea, ‘Welsh Graduate Showcase Part 1’
Sept - Oct: Kooywood Gallery, Cardiff, Summer Exhibition
July: The Gate, Cardiff, Contemporary Printmaking - UWIC Graduates
July - Sept: Oriel Tri, Penarth, Summer Exhibition
June - Aug: St David’s Hall, Cardiff, ‘Welsh Artist of the Year 2006’
Awards/Commissions
Nov. 2007: Confreys Solicitors, Cardiff, commissioned a print in an edition of 40, for their annual Christmas card
July 2006: Untitled, drawings and a book, commissioned by Mrs. K Lloyd
June 2006: Welsh Artist of the Year 2006: Student Award
June 2006: Cardiff School of Art and Design, UWIC: Head of School Purchase Prize
June 2006: Cardiff School of Art and Design, UWIC: Welsh Assembly Government’s Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Award
On-Line Galleries
March 2008 - to date: ‘printmakingonline.co.uk’ www.printmakingonline.co.uk
Feb. 2008 - to date: AXIS www.axisweb.org/artist/katebassett
Work in Private Collection
2007 An Ely Home, Collagraph,
2007 Estate in Barry, Graphite on Paper,
2007 ‘Anging outside the Chippy, Collagraph,
2007 Kids and Dogs down Barry, Drypoint, (X2 versions)
2006 Ely Kids, Collagraph,
2006 By the Gate, Collagraph, (X4 versions)
2006 Stood on Settee, Collagraph,
2006 *Cul-De-Sac at Night II, Collagraph, (X3 versions)
2006 *‘Aving a Bag of Chips down Barry, Drypoint, (X5 versions)
2006 *Nice Price, Collagraph, (X6 versions)
2006 Ely Gathering, Collagraph, (X2 versions)
2006 Billowing Curtains, Collagraph, (X2 versions)
2005 Strolling down Street, Lino Cut,
2005 The Living Room with Billowing Curtains, Collagraph, (X2 versions)
* Head of School Purchase Price 2006, Cardiff School of Art and Design, UWIC