Who is Katie Kimmel?
Katie Kimmel creates whimsical ceramic works based on storybook characters. Kimmel, the daughter of late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, is known for her exaggerated depictions of animals and anthropomorphized objects. Vases with puppies with tongues out beckon with loving eyes, while ceramic figurines of rabbits, pigs, and other giddy creatures delight. She also creates drawings and paintings featuring similarly inventive characters in her winking, kitschy style. The artist lives in the Mojave Desert, California, after studying ceramics, video, and painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The art of Katie Kimmel
Today we’d like to write about an artist we really appreciate: Katie Kimmel. She graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015 with a BFA in ceramics, video, and painting. Claes Oldenberg (the artist who made the giant burger sculpture) inspires Kimmel and her interest in rendering food puts her in conversation with ceramicists like Stephanie H. Shih. She finds inspiration for her sculptures in antique malls or good estate sales, as well as strange kitchen decorations.
She leaves this hard task to the future owner and the way in which her creature is chosen is a form of emotional connection between them. Her pieces are infused with her signature smile factor, including iconic food art that features humorous facial expressions. In her artwork, faces are the most amazing part, the part that makes her laugh the most.