Kathryn Hunter is a visual artist in South Louisiana, and as much time as possible in the lower Ozarks, Arkansas. She works in mixed media: relief printing, wool & silk, embroidery, steel, letterpress, paper cutting, drawing, and wax.

artist statement: In her recent work, Hunter utilizes multiple materials, each displaying a color, a mark, a texture that explores the subject through symbolism and visual narration. Red wool may touch emotion; a stitch may connect to nostalgia or illustrate a symbol; relief printing may present a pattern; paper cutting may offer a silhouette or shadow. Animals are characters, like those in the folktale tradition, reflecting on the damage caused by white supremacy, violence and pacification, truths and false truths, and the erosion of our natural world. This work is an observation of America's freedom while pondering the destructive nature of its people and their reactions to each other, physically and metaphorically. In a time of a pandemic, while awaiting a category 4 Hurricane, watching the lies that spread and the untruths believed, feeling the frustration of watching a destructive and confused humanity, salvation seems millions of miles away.

She earned a BFA in printmaking from Montana State University, Bozeman in 1999 and an MFA in printmaking from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge in 2003. Since 2003, Hunter operates a custom design and letterpress printing business called Blackbird Letterpress in Baton Rouge, which specializes in quirky animal cards, handmade notebooks and other paper novelties, with a focus on strong craftsmanship and good design. Visit blackbirdletterpress.com.

Her artwork is represented by LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a member of the artist collective, Luminous Lookout with artists: Dawn Black and Kelli Scott Kelley. She’s an artist member of Baton Rouge Gallery of Contemporary Art, which is among the longest-standing artist cooperative organizations in the US. In 2018 she designed and illustrated 3 gift books for Clarkson Potter (a division of Penguin Random House). And she’s working on a 4th book with them in 2022. In addition, her design work has been commissioned by Metropolitan Museum of Art,- New York City, Norton Simon Museum- Los Angeles, The Ad Council -New York, and Historic New Orleans Collection among others.  Her work is featured in Keeper of the Tale Trilogy novels by Ronlyn Domingue (Atria Books 2014). Her work is part of the permanent collection at Louisiana State University Museum of Art, Sam D Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, Mississippi, and Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, Lafayette, Louisiana. In 2020, she organized and participated in the print portfolio titled: Inspiring Women: 25 Women Who Were True Catalysts of Change. Copies of the portfolio are now part of the permanent collections of The Library of Congress, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Smith College Special Collections, among other institutions.

For artwork inquiries please contact LeMieux Galleries. 

Upcoming Exhibitions:
Exit Gallery, Montana State University, April 2023

View the most recent work: Fireworks for Monsters on Fire.