Andrew Catanese

Andrew Catanese’s work searches for new ways to understand ourselves and our relationship with the “natural” world. In their paintings, Catanese melds aspects of the human with animals, foliage, and other organic forms. The body becomes an ever-changing site of transformation, a bridge between realms. Catanese blurs the great divides defined by Bruno Latour; human and animal, nature and culture, organic and technological; in favor of understanding these things as deeply intertwined. By subverting dualism, Catanese’s work finds ways to talk about new constructions of the self. The work insists on a fluid and transformative understanding of our bodies; the work knows the human body to be a cyborg constructed from animal, plant, nature, and technology.

Andrew Catanese (b. 1993 Ann Arbor, MI) is a painter and sculptor from the American South. They earned a BFA in Studio Art at the Sam Fox School of Art at Washington University in St. Louis. After receiving their BFA, Catanese worked as an artist in Atlanta, GA. They are currently working towards their MFA at Stanford University. Catanese has shown their work in galleries and museums throughout the United States, including Johansson Projects (Oakland, CA), Maune Contemporary (Atlanta, GA), Macon Arts Alliance (Macon, GA), Banana Factory Arts Center (Bethlehem, PA), SOMArts (San Francisco, CA), and Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art (Augusta, GA). Artist residencies include The Creatives Project, Artist in Studio Residency in Atlanta, GA, among several public art projects for murals and public sculpture. In 2021, they were awarded the prestigious Cadogan Scholarship that supports master of fine arts students. Catanese currently lives and works in Palo Alto, CA.

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Artist Talk with Tony Bravo: “A lot of the ways I relate to the natural word is through fluidity and movement which goes back to our conversation about queerness, and for that it I have a better understanding of myself in relation to everything else around me”  LINK

Interview: “Finding Inspiration on the Run” by David Gleisner for janji.com | June 2022
“Andrew’s work embodies his curiosity about the encounters that bring us closer to our natural origins. As an ultra mountain runner and Janji Field Team member, he indulges this curiosity with trail runs around his California home that connect him with members of his natural community, from snakes to black tail deer. We chatted with Andrew to learn more about his art, his running, and the myriad ways that they inform each other.” LINK