Chicago-based artist Kate Conlon has been selected as CPL’s second Maker-in-Residence. This spring, Conlon will work with the Maker Lab and Special Collections on a project that examines Chicago history through the lens of art and technology.
CPL's Maker-in-Residence program highlights the practice of a member of the Chicago creative community whose work applies digital fabrication technology in innovative ways. The Maker-in-Residence works alongside the public during lab open hours, providing visitors a window into the creative process and showcasing the possibilities of the lab’s digital fabrication equipment. The resulting work will be featured in a forthcoming exhibition at Harold Washington Library Center and another branch yet to be determined.
The Maker Lab at Harold Washington Library is Chicago’s first free and publicly accessible maker space. The lab provides introductory workshops for beginners and open shop access for continued iteration in design and fabrication.
About Kate Conlon
Kate Conlon is a Chicago-based artist whose work usually begins with an earnest attempt to figure something out and invariably ends in a mess of paradox, incongruence and doubt.
Drawing inspiration from the history of scientific thought, Conlon dissects a range of strategies we use to make sense of the world and looks for poetry in the moments when these strategies break down. The resulting artwork takes the form of writing, book arts, printmaking and kinetic sculpture.
Conlon’s work has been exhibited at venues including MANA Contemporary Chicago, 68 Projects Berlin, Museu do Douro and The Grand Rapids Art Museum. She has received grants and residencies from Kala Art Institute, ACRE and Chicago Artists Coalition.
Conlon is a co-founder of Fernwey Gallery and Limited Time Engagement Press, and currently teaches in the Printmedia departments of School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College Chicago.
