About Katherine Gordon
Katherine Gordon has been studying art and painting since 1973, with artists/teachers such as Diane Jones, Tasso Pitsiri and Scott Christensen. Early in her career, she received awards from Young Talent in Oklahoma, the Barkhouras Foundation and Oklahoma Governor George Nigh. At the University of Oklahoma, she scored the highest grade ever given on the comprehensive humanities final in the Liberal Studies Program (demonstrating knowledge of the subjects of visual arts, architecture, music, literature, and philosophy). Gordon was awarded the prestigious Faculty Scholarship for her final seminar in Liberal Studies based on her academic performance. (Only one such scholarship per year is awarded.) The seminar topic was "Learning, Intelligences and the Gifted and Talented."
She gained her first gallery experience at Quail Hollow Galleries in Oklahoma City, later Michael Wigley Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico (a gallery focusing on museum-quality work). She returned to Oklahoma to continue her studies and also founded Santa Fe Studios, a private art school in Norman, Oklahoma, where Gordon and other noted artists (such as Dennis Parker, Todd Cloe and Pamela Bradford) taught classes for adults and children.
A show of her work in Dallas, Texas, was the subject of a documentary produced by Jerri Howell of OUTV (in 1994). That same year, Gordon was nominated for the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in the fine arts by Professor Victor Koshkin-Youritzen and Dr. Avraham Shermann. During that time, she wrote and illustrated The Mechanics of Art, a textbook now in its third publication. This foundation text has also been translated into the French language.
Gordon was selected as one of the "Magnificent Seven" artists by Bricktown Gallery in Oklahoma City in 1997, and her work has been shown in a number of other exhibits. These include one-woman shows at the Kirkpatrick Gallery at the Omniplex Museum, Oklahoma City and the Post Memorial Art Reference Library, Joplin, Missouri. One of her paintings, "Tatiana," was selected by the Kirkpatrick Gallery at the Omniplex as the flagship piece for their permanent collection of works by Oklahoma artists. Don Finch, Vice President of Museums at the Omniplex, was quoted in The Edmond Sun on that occasion as saying,
"Katherine Gordon has developed a reputation...as a fine artist as well as a promoter for the arts in general. She is actively involved in several arts organizations and also spends a great deal of time helping others cultivate their artistic talents."
Also in 1997, Gordon received a commission for a large mural to be used as a backdrop in a music video featuring country singer Toby Keith.
Her work has also been seen/featured in publications such as The Daily Oklahoman, The Oklahoma Gazette, The Metro Norman, The Norman Transcript, The Mustang News, Oklahoma Entertainment News Magazine, Nichols Hills Magazine and SouthWest Art Magazine. Gordon has donated original artwork to benefit organizations such as the Oklahoma City Art Museum, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, Ballet Oklahoma, Canadian County Youth and Family Services, Southern Nazarene University, the House of Menuhah, the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority and Kansas City Public Television, among others.
Gordon was appointed by Mayor Bill Nations as Cultural Delegate to Clermont-Ferrand, France, in connection with Norman, Oklahoma's "Sister City" program. She toured France in this capacity shortly thereafter and again in 2001. One of her paintings hangs in the collection of the President of the Universite d'Auvergne.
A short documentary about her work appeared on "About the Arts," a nationally-syndicated television program aired by WGBH, Boston, in 2002.
Gordon spent nine months traveling and painting in her family's homeland of Scotland during 2003. She has also traveled widely in other parts of Europe and North America.
Since that time, she has settled in Kansas City, Missouri, where her work has been selected by jury for the "Urban/Suburban" show, and she has had two one-woman shows during Kansas City's famous "First Fridays" event. Gordon's work was also featured in a one-woman show at Crown Center sponsored by Hovey Williams, LLP in Kansas City. An article by Gordon, "Setting Up Your Studio" was published in Art Calendar Magazine in February of 2007.
Gordon's work hangs in the collections of Senator and Mrs. Robert Brewster, Dr. Robert Hines, Dr. Terry Phelps, Michael Dollins (past President of the Oklahoma City Art Museum Associates), Sir Nigel Wray (owner of the Saracens Rugby Football Club, London, England), Charlie and Anita Bryant Dry, Al and Sue Velie, Tim "Tarzan" Wilson, Kayna Hogue, Julie Simmons Rivers, Bill and Rebecca Hobbs, Alisa Welch, Rev. Deborah Kendrick, John and Venetia Carpenter, Jimmy and Dee Watts, "Little Joe" and Kelly Bass, Ed Haggerty (publisher of Rugby Magazine), Waynoka Haskins, Bassim Ziara, Billye Brim, G. August Loessberg, Jeanne Warner, Dianne Schnapp, John B. Allen, "Gentleman Jim" Eddy, Sean and René Gutteridge, John and CJ Collins, Carl Palermo, Sgt. Albert and Emma Cruz, Dave and Sandy Davidson, and Mr. Bob Moore. Mr. Moore had the following to say about Gordon's work:
"Gordon has in large measure what Robert Henri calls the 'art spirit.' Her sensitivity to design and color and her patient devotion to technique give a limitless range of expression. To be free and unlimited obviates any concern for what may be the current fad. Viewing her work...brings the same thrill and wonderment I find in the presence of great art of any period that produced great artists. Degas comes to mind."
Katherine Gordon lives and paints in Kansas City, Missouri. She can be reached at 816-474-4275 or at katherine@gordongalleries.com. She welcomes inquiries about her book, The Mechanics of Art, commissions, and speaking engagements.