Inspired by the ancient and weathered Australian landscape, Kate Briscoe mixes sand into paint to create eroded geological cross sections and striations that capture the substance and sensuality of the earth.  For Kate, each landform tells a story through geological cross sections and sediment layers, recording past events, catastrophes, and the pressure of elemental forces over time.  Although these works reference the geology of specific areas across the continent - from Arnhem Land to the South Coast of NSW - they are essentially abstract renditions of saturated colour that facilitate a rich visual experience for the viewer.  As Kate describes: “the ancient and weathered Australian continent provides constant inspiration... these paintings are translations of my readings and explorations of the landscape, of mapping its formations and abstracting what I feel to be the ‘essence’ of a particular place.  Texture has been a constant concern in my expression as an artist: it is for me a major descriptive tool which references the substance and sensuality of the Earth closely observed.”

Kate Briscoe was born in England and has been living and exhibiting in Australia since the early 1970s.  She has lectured at the National Art School, Sydney, and at the Universities of NSW, Western Sydney, and Newcastle.  She completed her Masters degree at the College of Fine Arts (UNSW) in 1991, and in 1993, became the Director of Print Workshop Zero (Sydney Print Workshop).  Kate has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally and is represented in the collections of Parliament House, Canberra, Artbank, University of New South Wales, Government House, Sydney and the University of Western Sydney.