ARTIST STATEMENT

Impulse is what drives my painting. Sometimes the impulses come fast and furious, and I am in "synch" with the energy. My body, the brush and the paint move in unison with each other. Sometimes, the impulses are slower and more thoughtful. Dance has had a profound impact on my painting. I am very sensitive to the movement of the medium on a surface.

This is what led to my explorations with braille.  The texture of the paper appealed to me both visually and tactilely.

In watercolor, when I paint wet on wet, there is a silkiness to the strokes. I don't have to fight with the paint, and there is a flow to the movement of the paint with the water. Likewise when I choose India ink and paint with large, Japanese calligraphy brushes.

I am a kinesthetic being. I cannot live without movement and touch. The feel of a medium is very important to me. I seek a kinesthetic/tactile connection and a feeling of softness in the medium. Watercolor brushes are soft, water is soft. When I do assemblage, the soft, squishy texture of clay satisfies me, the softness of feathers and the velvety fur that I choose soothe me. This search for softness counters the violence that I see in our world today. It is my way of complementing it, reshaping it, reminding myself that goodness and gentleness are still possibilities for action.

Another major influence in my work has been my exploration of body-mind disciplines and the healing arts (Tai Chi, Feldenkrais, Polarity Therapy, Yoga, Meditation). Here again, my kinesthetic nature has led me to explore how my body and mind/heart are connected. I seek to refine this connection when I create.

My artistic search returns to the creative impulse, the original impulse of creation. How will it be expressed? What will it manifest? What will it reveal to me?


info@MaryKostman.com












Events Blog

HOST:Mary Kostman
SATURDAY, MAY 21: 2-4pm

Art + Friends + Sweets: A Spring sweet treat for you.

If you missed my last Open Studio, here is another chance for you to visit my studio before I dismantle it, so that I can return to making art.

Please RSVP.

www.saxonvillestudios.com for directions
Saxonville Studios, Studio 8
1602 Concord Street
Framingham, MA 01701

I’m in a group show, ConTEXT at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset — http://www.ssac.org/bancroft.asp

"Invisible," Monoprint, 12" x 12", 2016
From the braille series 

Mary Kostman, Painter and Printmaker
2016 Saxonville Open Studios 
May 1, 2016: 1-5pm

1602B Concord Street, Framingham, Studio #8
(off Route 126, on the Wayland line, easy parking)

http://www.saxonvillestudios.com for directions
email: marykostman@comcast.net
This is the 27th year of Saxonville Open Studios. Take this opportunity to meet all the other artists in this historic mill building. We are photographers, painters, printmakers and fiber artists.

"Inaudible," Monoprint, 12" x 12" 2014

The RODDY
The 15th Annual Frances N. Roddy Open Competition
Juried by: Meg White, Director, Gallery NAGA, Boston

September 9 - October 17, 2014
Reception: Thursday, September 11, 6-8 pm
Concord Art Association
37 Concord Road
Concord, MA 01742
978-369-2578
Tuesdsay-Saturday 10am-4:30pm, Sunday, noon-4pm
www.concordart.org
 

"Inaudible," Braile/Lambda Print , 12"x12", 2014

Danforth Art Musuem Community of Artists
Juried by Jennifer Grossman, Decordova Sculpture Park and Museum 

July 8 - August 3, 2014
Framingham, MA
www.danforthart.org

 

"Inaudible," Braille/Lambda Print, 12" x 12", 2014

Juried by Maddy Rosenberg, Director

CENTRAL BOOKING Gallery
OffLINE Space
21 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002

May 14-JUne 8, 2014
Reception: Wednesday, May 14, 6-8 pm

View the online catalog 

"Invisible Sound," 12" x 12.5," Monotoprint/Braille Series, 2014

Juried by Debra Olin

Monotype Guild of New England
April 2 - 28, 2014
Fitchburg, MA
www.mgne.org 

"Writing Between the Lines," 14" x 36", Monoprint, collage, graphite, 2014

Juried by Arlette Kayafas, Gallery Kayafas

Concord Art Association
February 23 - April 6, 2014
Concord, MA
www.concordart.org 

"Success - the end is in Sight," 2012

Saxonville Open Studios
Saturday and Sunday, December 1 and 2, 2012
12:00 noon - 5:00 pm
1602B Concord Street
Franmingham, MA 01701
www.saxonvillestudios.com 

I am showing my recent paintings from Germany, The Anal Annals, There are beautiful works, expressive works, and journal entries from my ten week stint there. I hope to have the opportunity to share this new work with you.

Heads up! Beginning in January, I will be offering open painting salons to anyone who would like to come and paint in my studio with me. These will be free, except for a $10 materials fee for each session, and will include insturction in my wet-on-wet techniques.

"Coupling," watercolor, 30" x 22", 2011

Drawing the Line
Juried by Frank Roselli of Soprafina Gallery, Boston, MA

March 6 - April 5, 2012
Reception: Friday, March 9, 5:30-7:30 pm
Kathryn Schultz Gallery
25 Lowell Street, Cambridge, MA
www.cambridgeart.org
617-876-0246
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday, 11am - 5 pm 

"Protection," Silkscreen Monoprint, 16" x 16"

Members Juried II: Photography, Drawing, Mixed Media, Crafts and Graphics Exhibition
Juried by Perry A. Price, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA

February 26-March 25, 2012
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00am - 4:30 pm; Sunday, 12:00 noon-4:00pm
Concord Art Association
37 Lexington Road, Concord, MA 01742
978-369-2578
gallery@concordart.org


 

"Moonscape Earthscape," Diptych

Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show 2011
Kathryn Schultz Gallery
25 Lowell Street
Cambridge, MA
www.cambrdigeart.org
617-876-0246

Juried by Steven Zevitas
Steven Zevitas Gallery & New American Paintings
October 11- November10, 2011
Reception: Friday, October 14, 5:30pm-7:00pm 

"Doing Nothing," watercolor/charcoal, 2001

October 1 - 30. 2011
Reception: Sunday, October 16, 2-4 pm

Concord Art Association 
37 Lexington Road, Concord, MA 01742
978-369-2576
Tuesday - Saturday 10am-4:30pm, Sunday: noon-4pm 
www.concordart.org

Read article about exhibition in MetroWest Daily

"Storm Bloom," watercolor, 21" x 21"

Open Painting Show 2011
Juried by Jane Goldman, Co-dirctor Mixit Print Studio, Somerville, MA

July 5 - 22, 2011
Reception: Sunday, July 10, 2-4pm
The Providence Art Club
Dodge House Gallery, Maxwell Mays Gallery
11 Thomas Street
Porovidence, RI 02903
401.331.1114
galleries@providenceartclub.org

Hours: Monday-Friday 12-4pm; Weekends 2-4pm 

"Fleeing Pac Man," Serigraph, 30" x 22"

Juried by Theodore Stebbins, Curator of American Art at the Harvard University's Fogg Museum

May 13-June 16, 2011
Reception: Friday, May 20, 2011 5:30-7:30 pm 
University Place Gallery
124 Mount Auburn STreet
Hours: Monday - Friday: 9am-6pm; Saturday: 9am-1pm

Also at Kathryn Schultz Gallery, 25 Lowell Street, Cambridge, MA
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 11am-5pm
617-876-0246
www.cambridgeart.org
mksotman@comcast.net 

"Fleeing Pac Man," Serigraph, 2011

Mary Kostman
Shape Shifters: New Serigraphs
March 6 -April 1, 2011

Reception: March 20, 2-4pm
Lincoln Public Library, 30 Bedford Road, Lincoln, MA 01773
781 259-8476
www.lincolnpl.org
See Reviews of this Show

Click on the image to view video of Mary Kostman talking about her art work.

"Family Redefined," tempera, 20" x 24", 2011

In Scratching the Surface
Juried by Joseph Carroll, Carroll and Sons Gallery, SOWA, Boston 

February 2011
Reception: Friday, March 9, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Kathryn Schultz Gallery
25 Lowell Street, Cambridge, MA
www.cambridgeart.org
617-876-0246
Hours: Mon - Sat, 11am - 5pm
 

"Storm Bloom," watercolor, 21" x 21" 2010

Juried by Nina Gara Bozicnik
Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH

January 8 - February 6, 2011

Reception: Thursday, Jan 13, 6-8 pm
Concord Art Association
37 Lexington Road, Concord, MA  01742
978-369-2578
Tuesday - Saturday 10:40, Sunday noon-4pm
www.concordart.org

Mary Kostman
Painter, Printer, Photographer

NEW WORKS
November 6 - 7, 2010: noon to 5 pm
Saxonville Open Studios
1602B Concord Street, Framingham, MA
www.saxonvillestudios.com

Artist Statement

ARTIST STATEMENT

Impulse is what drives my painting. Sometimes the impulses come fast and furious, and I am in "synch" with the energy. My body, the brush and the paint move in unison with each other. Sometimes, the impulses are slower and more thoughtful. Dance has had a profound impact on my painting. I am very sensitive to the movement of the medium on a surface.

This is what led to my explorations with braille.  The texture of the paper appealed to me both visually and tactilely.

In watercolor, when I paint wet on wet, there is a silkiness to the strokes. I don't have to fight with the paint, and there is a flow to the movement of the paint with the water. Likewise when I choose India ink and paint with large, Japanese calligraphy brushes.

I am a kinesthetic being. I cannot live without movement and touch. The feel of a medium is very important to me. I seek a kinesthetic/tactile connection and a feeling of softness in the medium. Watercolor brushes are soft, water is soft. When I do assemblage, the soft, squishy texture of clay satisfies me, the softness of feathers and the velvety fur that I choose soothe me. This search for softness counters the violence that I see in our world today. It is my way of complementing it, reshaping it, reminding myself that goodness and gentleness are still possibilities for action.

Another major influence in my work has been my exploration of body-mind disciplines and the healing arts (Tai Chi, Feldenkrais, Polarity Therapy, Yoga, Meditation). Here again, my kinesthetic nature has led me to explore how my body and mind/heart are connected. I seek to refine this connection when I create.

My artistic search returns to the creative impulse, the original impulse of creation. How will it be expressed? What will it manifest? What will it reveal to me?


info@MaryKostman.com