CAIT PETERSEN LIVES AND WORKS IN SAN DIEGO.
HER PRACTICE IS MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND GROUNDED IN THE USE OF FOUND MATERIALS, INCLUDING WOOD, PAINT, SPACKLING, AND ADHESIVES, SOMETIMES COMBINED WITH CERAMICS AND SOMETIMES USED ON THEIR OWN. THE MATERIALS SHE USES ARE OFTEN DISCARDED, WEATHERED, OR ALREADY ALTERED, AND THEY CARRY CLEAR SIGNS OF PRIOR USE.
THE WORK IS BUILT THROUGH DIRECT, FUNCTIONAL ACTIONS SUCH AS GLUING, FASTENING, FILLING, STACKING, AND BALANCING. PIECES OFTEN BEGIN AS FRAGMENTS OR DETRITUS ENCOUNTERED IN DAILY LIFE AND ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER WITHOUT ATTEMPTING TO RESTORE THEM, CLEAN THEM UP, OR RETURN THEM TO AN EARLIER STATE.
PETERSEN IS INTERESTED IN OPPOSITES AND IN-BETWEENS. HER WORK OCCUPIES A SPACE BETWEEN USE AND DISCARD, CARE AND NEGLECT, NATURAL AND MANMADE. MATERIALS THAT ARE RECOGNIZABLE AS WASTE ARE COMBINED WITH OTHER FOUND ELEMENTS, NOT TO RESOLVE THEIR CONTRADICTIONS, BUT TO LET THEM COEXIST.
REPAIR PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN THE WORK, BUT REPAIR IS UNDERSTOOD AS TEMPORARY AND ONGOING. WEAR IS NOT REMOVED. PATCHES, SEAMS, HOLES, AND WEAK POINTS REMAIN VISIBLE AND BECOME PART OF THE STRUCTURE. ADHESIVES ARE USED NOT TO HIDE BREAKAGE, BUT TO MAKE THE ACT OF HOLDING TOGETHER LEGIBLE.
THE OBJECTS ARE NOT PRESENTED AS FINAL FORMS. THEY FUNCTION AS PROVISIONAL ARRANGEMENTS THAT SUGGEST CONTINUATION RATHER THAN COMPLETION. SOME WORKS ECHO ORGANIC OR CELLULAR STRUCTURES, WHILE OTHERS FEEL ARCHITECTURAL OR IMPROVISED, AS IF THEY MIGHT STILL SHIFT, FAIL, OR BE REBUILT.
PETERSEN UNDERSTANDS THESE OBJECTS AS EXISTING IN A STATE OF TRANSITION. THEY HOLD MEMORY OF PAST USE WHILE POINTING TOWARD UNDEFINED FUTURES. THE WORK DOES NOT OFFER SOLUTIONS OR MORAL POSITIONS, BUT INSTEAD MAKES SPACE FOR UNCERTAINTY, ADAPTATION, AND IMAGINED FUTURES THAT HAVE NOT YET TAKEN SHAPE.
CAIT PETERSEN
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
CAITPETERSEN@GMAIL.COM
HER PRACTICE IS MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND GROUNDED IN THE USE OF FOUND MATERIALS, INCLUDING WOOD, PAINT, SPACKLING, AND ADHESIVES, SOMETIMES COMBINED WITH CERAMICS AND SOMETIMES USED ON THEIR OWN. THE MATERIALS SHE USES ARE OFTEN DISCARDED, WEATHERED, OR ALREADY ALTERED, AND THEY CARRY CLEAR SIGNS OF PRIOR USE.
THE WORK IS BUILT THROUGH DIRECT, FUNCTIONAL ACTIONS SUCH AS GLUING, FASTENING, FILLING, STACKING, AND BALANCING. PIECES OFTEN BEGIN AS FRAGMENTS OR DETRITUS ENCOUNTERED IN DAILY LIFE AND ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER WITHOUT ATTEMPTING TO RESTORE THEM, CLEAN THEM UP, OR RETURN THEM TO AN EARLIER STATE.
PETERSEN IS INTERESTED IN OPPOSITES AND IN-BETWEENS. HER WORK OCCUPIES A SPACE BETWEEN USE AND DISCARD, CARE AND NEGLECT, NATURAL AND MANMADE. MATERIALS THAT ARE RECOGNIZABLE AS WASTE ARE COMBINED WITH OTHER FOUND ELEMENTS, NOT TO RESOLVE THEIR CONTRADICTIONS, BUT TO LET THEM COEXIST.
REPAIR PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN THE WORK, BUT REPAIR IS UNDERSTOOD AS TEMPORARY AND ONGOING. WEAR IS NOT REMOVED. PATCHES, SEAMS, HOLES, AND WEAK POINTS REMAIN VISIBLE AND BECOME PART OF THE STRUCTURE. ADHESIVES ARE USED NOT TO HIDE BREAKAGE, BUT TO MAKE THE ACT OF HOLDING TOGETHER LEGIBLE.
THE OBJECTS ARE NOT PRESENTED AS FINAL FORMS. THEY FUNCTION AS PROVISIONAL ARRANGEMENTS THAT SUGGEST CONTINUATION RATHER THAN COMPLETION. SOME WORKS ECHO ORGANIC OR CELLULAR STRUCTURES, WHILE OTHERS FEEL ARCHITECTURAL OR IMPROVISED, AS IF THEY MIGHT STILL SHIFT, FAIL, OR BE REBUILT.
PETERSEN UNDERSTANDS THESE OBJECTS AS EXISTING IN A STATE OF TRANSITION. THEY HOLD MEMORY OF PAST USE WHILE POINTING TOWARD UNDEFINED FUTURES. THE WORK DOES NOT OFFER SOLUTIONS OR MORAL POSITIONS, BUT INSTEAD MAKES SPACE FOR UNCERTAINTY, ADAPTATION, AND IMAGINED FUTURES THAT HAVE NOT YET TAKEN SHAPE.
CAIT PETERSEN
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
CAITPETERSEN@GMAIL.COM