Kim Tester is a practicing artist working in prints and drawings. She has two studio locations: her print studio, and the great outdoors where her plein air works are created.
Artist Statement: Prints/Drawings
“The natural world has always been center stage in my prints and drawings. Whether I am roving through various psychological scenarios to make a point or reinterpreting what I see while working on plein air drawings, the landscape, flocks of birds, the strength of trees moving their roots deep into the ground, and the methods we use to communicate are consistent characters for me.
I have been a printer of editions since I discovered printmaking as an undergraduate student. Though I still print multiples on occasion, I have been focusing my attention on assembling constructions using screen printed images as the basis. These current works focus on gun violence, a topic I first attempted to investigate over ten years ago after the Sandy Hook School shooting. Politics aside, after the assassination attempt on candidate Trump in 2024, I re committed myself, focusing on the premise that no one should be shot. My constructions are meant to be beautiful and arresting. I draw people in with the look of “pretty” until they see what is really at hand. I find beauty in shiny bullet casings, and in the holes and striations left in acrylic sheets after bullets have passed through. Two series are underway: Peace Migration and Witness Tree. More examples are forthcoming.
As an educator/learner, I am in search of new insights. For me, those insights are not obtained by following a narrow straight path, but veering off, circling, pitching, and connecting collectively with ideas and others. The process of discovery- you can’t beat it!”
Bio:
Kim retired as Chair of Visual and Performing Arts at Canterbury School, a private preparatory high school in New Milford, CT. During her 30 + year tenure she taught courses in Printmaking, Sculpture, Architecture, Drawing, and all AP/Advanced level portfolio courses. Kim was also Adjunct Professor of Art at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT for almost twenty years. She received several “Faculty Recognition Awards for Professional Excellence in the Arts” from WCSU. She has been a Guest Visiting Artist at several universities around the country and has presented workshops demonstrating “Water-based Reductive Screen Printing” at Southern Graphics National conferences and the Mid America Print Conference. Kim has participated in many exhibitions in the United States and abroad. Her prints and drawings are in public and private collections throughout the United States and in Japan.
Kim is currently an elected official in her town of Roxbury, CT. She serves on the Board of Selectmen and is a member of the Zoning Commission.
Prints and Drawings are on view below.
MFA - Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
BS - Southern CT ST University, New Haven, CT
Contact: ktester51@gmail.com
