Gracious Galleries: Stephen gatter
Handmade paper is the end product of a process in which plant fibers are colored and made into art. When dried, the results are more than just a sheet of paper. Stephen Gatter has gone a step further--that sheet of paper is a wide open vista you can step into-a colorful tapestry of fiber depicting rolling countryside and shaded gardens.
Steve was first surprised by this medium twenty years ago in school. A traveling papermaking workshop had been set up in the printing room, with blenders and felts, pulp floating in vats and window screens to sift the pulp out. He thought he would amuse himself, and take a break from his oil painting. By the end of the workshop, his dalliance had become his predominant art form.
It was a difficult medium with which to make landscapes or anything figurative. Most artists were content to create simple textures or color field abstractions. Floating pulp pulled out of vats with square screens seemed to lend itself best to ... square shapes of color .It was only through much experimentation and exploration in the papermaking studios of Boston that Gatter learned how it might be possible to array those beautiful intricate textures into clouds and hills and sunlit roads.
His work is unique--at a distance, it looks like a painting. Up close the beautiful textures reveal themselves, an abstract pattern of colors. The art floats in a shadow box frame and takes on a sculptural presence.
Over the years, many businesses in New England and New York have acquired his pieces for their collections. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston owns three, Fidelity Investments has ten pieces. A recent commission now adorns the lobby of Hartford Life Insurance in Windsor, Connecticut.
Gatter’s favorite venue over the past decade has been the outdoor art show. It’s an opportunity to be his own man and directly present his work to the public, at least when the weather permits. Over this time, and in several states, he has accrued a dozen show awards, and gained recognition for his unique methods in this rarified medium. This past year took him to several venues in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Armonk, NY, and to the Gracie Square Art Show in New York City.
