Selective Focus: Reverie with Kathryne Ford

Utilizing a variety of different mediums, including mirrors, projection, paint and a mold made for her actual teeth, Kathryne Ford curated “Reverie,” an installation exploring “thoughts and visions that rattle through my mind at 2 a.m.” The exhibit, containing images and objects nostalgic to childhood, are intended to make the audience feel both “lost and found,” said Ford, as “surreal moments are in a real medium.” To learn more about the Reverie art installation, open at Prøve Art Gallery through June 21, check out the interview with Ford below.

Can you tell me about the inspiration behind Reverie, and when you started the project?

The show is inspired by a state of mind called “Reverie,” which is to be blissfully lost in thoughts and daydreams. Five years ago, I had an idea for a solo show that would illustrate the experience inside an artist’s mind. At that point, I began creating lamps, sculptures, and paintings with this goal in mind. As time moved and my life changed, so did my pieces and goals for the show, but the core idea always remained. Two pieces in the show, “You are Nature” and a flower-covered lamp, were created during the early stages of this idea years ago. I also began collecting the ambient sounds during that time.

Why did you choose the name Reverie?

I wanted the name of the show to be a word I didn’t know yet. I had an abstract concept of the feeling and state of mind I wanted to describe, but lacked the language for it. After some research and reciting lists of obscure words and experimental titles out loud, I settled on reverie.

What are some of the different mediums found within the art installation? Why did you select a variety of mediums, and what was that process like?

In this show, I reached into many of my familiar mediums, and some that I was trying for the first time. In my comfort zone, there are acrylic paintings, collages, digital art, and a little photography. One of the most exciting and nerve-racking parts of preparing for this show was creating in new mediums like resin pouring, sound, oil painting, quilting, sewing, drawing on felt, and multimedia. Choosing the mediums for this show was based on following a long list of curiosities and ideas that have been keeping me up at night, waiting to be actualized. Using new materials and constantly learning through trial and error keeps me inspired and passionate.

How are you hoping attendees move through the space and different components that are a part of the exhibit?

I hope that as people enter they see the red viewfinder and are able to look inside and revisit the nostalgic experience of using that toy as a kid. As visitors drift down the line of art along the main walls and podiums, I hope they find themselves in the dream lounge. This is the most immersive part of the exhibit, where everything from the seating to the lighting is handmade art. I was so happy to see people gathering and pausing in this space to talk, visit and relax. The longer someone rests there, the more tiny details they can notice. Finally I hope guests float from the lounge into a space in the back of the gallery. There they can sit and listen to the traffic sounds and nature moments from around the world as they watch the clouds go by.

Why did you include the question “what would you tell your 13-year-old self?” Once you invited attendees to write down their answer, were there any that stood out to you? Or moments interacting with that question that stood out to you?

I wanted to choose a question that would bring people to a warm and reflective place. I sometimes think back in time and imagine telling my younger self about the goals I finally met, the projects and opportunities I dreamed about coming to fruition, and all the love that was to come. I decided I wanted to share this experience with visitors and chose the age 13 since it can be a particularly angsty time filled with transitions, self-exploration, and insecurities. I felt like thinking back and sending a message to this version of self would be a particularly healing and relatable expeiriance for people. I loved the response “you’re trans bitch.” I feel like it hits that nail on the head. I also enjoyed seeing the themes in peoples’ messages of self acceptance, reassurance, advice and validation.

What other moments among attendees stuck out to you during opening night?

I was really happy to see how people lingered in the sound and projection area of the show. I wasn’t sure how it would be received but it was wonderful seeing people take it in.

How did you place your colleges in the Viewfinder and what appealed to you about incorporating that object into the space?

I found a great service online called RetroViewer. Now that I have the piece, I’m excited to keep experimenting with it and seeing how I can push it farther. I wanted to have this piece in the space because when you look inside, it’s like you are in the art. For a moment you are completely disconnected from the room around you. I also like the ambitious familiarity of the object from the outside. There is something exciting about all the art that can be hidden inside while at first glance it’s so common and uniform.

A lot of the elements seem child-like in nature or nostalgic in some way. What appealed to you about incorporating toys or those elements?

I draw a lot of inspiration from my inner child, and really look up to the radical silliness and whimsy of kids imaginations. I always want to bring people closer to their own inner child when they experience my work and bringing nostalgic elements seems to come naturally to that process.

Many of the pieces within the installation contain mirrors. What motivated you to include reflective surfaces for the pieces in Reverie?

I felt that the mirrors work well toward the theme of being lost in your mind. When you look into one of these paintings, you become an important part of the art itself. Although its wall-hanging art, its still immersive in that way. When I look at these pieces, I feel like I’m seeing myself looking through a portal into an imaginary world. The mirror element of “You are nature” is also really important to the message of the piece. I want people to take that message of acceptance and see it directly apply to themselves.

Did you collaborate with any other artists on the project?

Although I didn’t collaborate with anyone in the design of the art, I had a lot of help with the show. I’m so grateful for the help of Cherry, Holis, and Jamie in the installation process, to Caitlin for helping me stretch my canvas over a window frame for “daydream,” to The Hot Club of Duluth and Saltydog for the jams that helped produce the live paintings featured in the show, and all the support from my friends and family as I collected odd supplies and worked to put it all together.

Do you have any other upcoming projects or exhibits you’re looking to put together?

I’m looking forward to painting at the Doe Bay music festival at the end of July, and performing liquid light at the Dirt Bar Jam in Holyoke on Aug. 9. I’m also excited to begin working on an immersive art and music venue space in an airplane hanger.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about the art installation?

While I was assembling the final collection of pieces for the installation, I realized a large proportion of the materials I used are scavenged and second hand. A big part of my art since I was a kid has been about giving objects new life, and curating my environment with art using what was available. The fabrics, beads, mirrors, base furniture, window, sculpture elements, flowers, collage, and several canvases are all second hand from a variety of places. I think the miles, memories and past lives of the materials in the show add a special layer to the pieces they became.

Prøve Gallery is open on Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. The “Reverie” installation is up until Saturday, June 21. To view more of Ford’s artwork, visit her website at kathryneford.myportfolio.com or on Instagram at @blend_the_shunshine. She also has a mural at Miller Hill Mall, an oil painting at Northern Waters Smokehaus, and a paining hung by the stage at Wussow’s Concert Cafe.