Katherine Ross

Katherine L. Ross (Kitty Ross) is a ceramic sculptor. Porcelain production for large installations addressing history, biological technology, disease and prophylaxis, genetic engineering, hybridization, and cloning is often combined with video, photography and mixed media.

Katherine has been a member of the School of the Art Institute faculty since 1981. She is currently the Chair of the Ceramics Department. From 2008 to 2010 she served as the Interim Dean of Graduate Studies at the SAIC.

Katherine’s work is published widely in periodicals and books on ceramic art in the U.S., Great Britain, China, Australia, and Switzerland.

Katherine is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

“I am interested in issues that raise questions for me. My work in the studio is a conversation between the materials, the subject, and me. I don’t need to answer the questions but I want to see how far the conversation can go. I want the viewers to engage in the conversation too.

Porcelain intrigues me more than any other type of clay because of its history. Porcelain is a status symbol valued for purity and strength. It is elegant and expensive. I am interested in its role in economies, politics and culture. The work is moving towards performance and animal collaborations, taking the work outside of a gallery situation. The work becomes more abstract, open ended, and interactive."