Interview: Katie Kotler
Katie Kotler (aka Chanteclair) is a Canadian artist based in New York. With an MFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design University and over a decade of experience, Kotler creates immersive worlds through print, textiles, and installations, constructing spaces rooted in movement and healing. She believes that "we are all healing from something" and uses abstraction as a refuge from trauma, aiming to provide sensorial and emotional comfort.
Her work has been featured on CBC, Hyperallergic, and Canadian Art, with exhibitions at Tiger Strikes Asteroid (New York), Ortega Y Gasset Projects (New York), and the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto). Her work has been featured on CBC, Hyperallergic, Rhizome, and Canadian Art, and she has received grants from the Toronto Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. Her music has been featured in films showcased at institutions such as the British Film Institute, TIFF, and the Durban Queer Film Festival. She has also projected visuals for musicians, including the Vaselines at Toronto's Venus Fest.
In 2019, Kotler served as the artist partner for the Equitable Bank Emerging Digital Artist Award. Previously, she was a programming coordinator at Xpace Cultural Centre in Toronto and directed the Toronto Animated Image Society. Selected prints and tapes are available at Toutoune Gallery in Toronto and Possible Worlds in Ottawa.
Read our interview with Katie below!
Tropical Convergence, Multimedia installation with animation, projection, tulle, polyfill, cotton, velvet, 6 x 4 feet, 2023
PP: Walk us through a typical day in your studio or generally through your process to make new work.
KK: My process begins with tuning into what my mind or heart are processing - themes like movement, healing, and love. I start by reflecting on specific experiences or emotions I want to translate visually. This gives me a grounding point that feels both personal and universal. I also intuitively draw on influences from film, music, magazines, my life, past and present.
Next, I move into material exploration. I work with animation, music, print, installation and most recently, textiles. Abstraction is a key ingredient, as well as specific visual tropes, such as geometric shapes, grids, and gradients. Lately, I am drawn to soft sculpture as it is viscerally pleasurable to create as an artist and comfortable to rest on for my audience.
Moving Parts, Multimedia installation with animation, installation, vinyl, polyfil, cotton, glass, velvet, spandex, 10 x 7 feet, 2024
Permanent Fixtures, Multimedia installation with projection, animation, plywood, vinyl, mirror, velvet, 30 x 20 feet, 2022
PP: What motivates you to make art?
KK: To acknowledge a feeling is a way to understand it. My motivation to make art comes from a desire to process and communicate experiences that are challenging to verbalize - grief, disassociation, vulnerability. As a result, I hope to offer a respite for people, a place where they can safely acknowledge their own feelings and experiences, while also being able to escape the discomfort of life.
By combining a confluence of secrets and influences in a way that is humorous, poignant, and ultimately cathartic, I feel a connection to a power that is higher than me, a sense that I am following my intuition and God is smiling back.
PP: What is one goal you are aiming to achieve this year for your art practice?
KK: I launched Chanteclair Studio this year - a place to create and sell textiles, cushions, and homewares. Chanteclair Studio provides one-of-a-kind artworks that are inspired by animation and movement for those seeking comfort and healing in their everyday lives.
This year, I would like to create a few different lines of cushions and shirts and sell them to different retailers. I would like to experiment with dyeing, fabric, and structure, in ways that I never have before. I would like to learn about manufacturing and distribution.
This latest focus has inspired my move to New York in December 2022. The energy, artists, small businesses, collaborations, and branding have been incredibly stimulating and have opened up my mind. Coming up on two years since my arrival, I see the debut of Chanteclair Studio as the official new chapter in my life and artistic practice.
Pillow Tops (WIP), Screenprint on Muslin, 11 x 17 inches, 2024
PP: Name a childhood toy (or memory/cultural reference) you had, that you think relates to your practice today.
KK: Anyone who knows me knows that I am made up of a bunch of cultural references standing on top of each other underneath a trench coat. A mention of Owl Magazine once caused a high school friend to tell me that I had “scrambled her brain”. I will therefore, pick, at a minimum, three: Lisa Frank, the glass coffee table in my parents’ living room and the synth pop duo Yazoo.
PP: Who is a current muse for your practice? Could be anyone fictional or real, dead or alive!
KK: A gem of a human, Ratxchicks, also known as Michelle Im! She is my studiomate and I’m so lucky to know her. She is the hardest working person that I have met in New York, a genius who has TRIUMPHED into being a vision of success. She is incredibly DIY, with humility and a huge heart. Plus, her art is tender, funny, and beautiful.
To learn more about Katie’s work, see her Instagram and Website