Kat Kleinman
Kat Kleinman is a photographer and collage artist from the Sacramento, California area. She began her career as an artist in 2016, after she retired as a psychotherapist, working with homeless people for 20 years. Her past work is referenced because it does inform her current work with a focus on positivity and making people feel better with each new work.
Kat began by specializing in floral collages, because the individual flowers combine to create a new and cohesive form, reflective of the healing process. She takes her own photographs, which is important to Kat, unless a photo is donated by a personal friend. Each image is hand cut, a process she calls meditative, and a single photo collage may require dozens of flowers, succulents and/or leaves.
Kat is enthusiastic about the potential for color to positively influence emotions, ultimately leading to better relationships between people.
Kat, your background as a psychotherapist profoundly informs your artistic vision. How does the act of composing floral collages serve as a continuation or perhaps a transformation of your therapeutic work, particularly in how you perceive the healing potential of color, form, and natural motifs on the human psyche?
My background as a psychotherapist deeply influences my artistic practice, especially when it comes to the healing potential of color and form. In my therapeutic work, I often used specific visual stimuli, such as certain colors and shapes, on the walls of my office to create a calming and safe environment. One specific example of this is my display of magic wands. No one believed they were magical, but the colors and shapes conveyed an implicit message that, if you believe, magical transformation in therapy is possible. The impact was very effective, and a message of hope was conveyed. Now, in my collages, I translate that same intention by using the natural forms of flowers to evoke tranquility and introspection. The act of composing these collages is a continuation of my therapeutic work, allowing me to create a space that promotes mental wellbeing and reflection. Ultimately, this hybrid approach helps me communicate a deeper sense of healing and positivity that pure photography or traditional collage alone might not achieve.
In a world often marked by visual overstimulation and digital immediacy, your meticulously layered floral compositions invite a slower, more contemplative engagement. How do you see your work challenging contemporary viewers’ attention spans, and in what ways do you hope it reshapes their emotional or spiritual relationship with beauty?
My art encourages people to slow down and really take in the details, almost like a meditative experience. In a fast paced world, my compositions offer a moment of peace and reflection. It is my hope is that they inspire a deeper appreciation of beauty in everyday life.
Your transition from psychotherapy to art-making occurred after two decades of work with society’s most vulnerable populations. How has witnessing human resilience and suffering informed your choice of subject matter, and how does this manifest in the hopeful narratives embedded within your floral imagery?
My experiences in psychotherapy have given me a deep understanding of human resilience, which translates into my collages. The themes of growth, renewal, and hope in my floral imagery are a reflection of the strength and beauty I have seen in people despite adversity.
Flowers have been explored across art history as symbols of transience, beauty, and even political commentary. In your hands, they become both vibrant and deeply meditative. How do you negotiate the historical weight of floral symbolism while forging a language that speaks uniquely to your philosophy of positivity and transformation?
I honor the historical symbolism of flowers as symbols of growth, renewal, and positivity. It is my hope that the viewers find a sense of calm and inspiration in my work. Ultimately, it is about blending that rich history with my own vision of transformation and hope.
Your practice blends photography with collage in ways that blur the boundaries between documentation and abstraction. How do you navigate the tension between the photographic real and the imaginative constructed, and what does this hybridity allow you to express that pure photography or traditional collage alone might not?
The combination of photography and collage allows me to capture the essence of reality, while also infusing my own creative interpretation. My artistic journey began with photography, capturing the natural beauty in a way that felt both authentic and evocative. However, as I started cutting out these blossoms and assembling them into collages, I noticed a shift from pure realism into something more imaginative and abstract. This hybrid approach allows me to blur the lines of photographic real and the imaginative constructed. It lets me convey not just the visual beauty of flowers, but also deeper emotional layers, such as calm, positivity, and transformation. The fusion of media gives me the freedom to explore and express complex ideas that neither photography nor collage alone could fully capture.
In composing your collages, what role does intuition play versus deliberate formal structuring? Could you walk us through how your psychological training influences your decisions in arranging colors, shapes, and layers within a single piece?
I would say intuition helps me with the initial creative process but my psychological training helps me to refine and structure that vision. My intuition may guide me to certain colors, shapes and general ideas for compositions without really thinking about it. My psychological training steps in to analyze and refine the original ideas, leading to a collage that has a cohesive and thoughtful structure. I think it is the combination of the two that leads me to a unique result.
Contemporary art often gravitates toward conceptual critique and socio-political commentary, yet your work unapologetically embraces beauty, color, and emotional uplift. Do you see your art as a form of quiet resistance to cynicism in contemporary culture, and if so, how do you reconcile this with the art world's frequent emphasis on critical discourse?
I do see my art as a form of quiet resistance to the cynicism that often dominate contemporary culture. I am aware that much of the art world leans heavily into conceptual critique and socio-political commentary, I choose to embrace beauty, color, and emotional uplift. My background in psychology and my life experiences have taught me the importance of fostering hope and positivity. It is my hope that my work provides a gentle counterbalance to the more critical discourse, inviting viewers to find solace and inspiration.
Considering your international recognition, how do you perceive cultural differences in how audiences from various backgrounds respond to your floral compositions? Have you noticed divergent interpretations of your work based on cultural or regional associations with flowers and color symbolism?
Having received international recognition, I have definitely noticed that audiences from different cultural backgrounds bring their own perspectives to my floral collages. Certain flowers and colors may symbolize love and passion in one culture, while in another, they might represent something entirely different, like remembrance or a particular season. I find this diversity in interpretation incredibly enriching because it adds layers of meaning to my work. It also reminds that art is a universal language, capable of evoking different emotions and thoughts depending on where you are in the world.
Your collages evoke a sense of timeless botanical study yet pulse with contemporary vibrancy and abstraction. How do you see your work in dialogue with both historical botanical art and modern abstractionists, and where do you position yourself within this lineage of artistic exploration of nature?
I think my collages bridge the gap between traditional botanical illustration and modern abstraction.I draw inspiration from the meticulous detail of historical botanical art but I also infuse it with a contemporary, vibrant twist through abstraction and color. My background in psychology influences my unique perspective.
If your art could speak directly to a single viewer, bypassing language and cultural filters, what core message or emotional experience would you hope it conveys, and how does this aspiration align with your broader vision of art’s role in fostering internal and collective healing?
I focus on the idea of connection and healing through nature. I hope my art transcends any barriers and evokes a sense of peace, wonder, and a reminder of the beauty and resilience of nature. This aligns with my broader vision of art being a source of internal and collective healing. The specific emotional experience I hope my art invokes is hope, along with a sense of calm and inspiration. I use color, composition, and the natural symbolism of the elements in my collages to create that universal connection. My belief in art’s power to foster healing works both individually and collectively.