Katie Butler is a painter based in Akron, Ohio. Her allegorical still life paintings provide critical commentary on the financial disparities in American society. Tableaus of meat, seafood, and fine china juxtaposed with run-of-the-mill gingham tablecloths challenge the disconnect between the wealthy, privileged individuals in power and the average citizen they claim to represent. With superficial notions of “bread and butter issues” at the center of campaigns, the dinner table becomes a metaphorical stage for political theater. Objects symbolic of wealth, greed, and political power sit amongst the ostentatious displays of food, serving as reminders of who gets a seat at the table and how the system is designed to benefit them at the expense of others. Skewed perspectives and exaggerated shifts in scale emphasize the inaccessibility of such spaces to the average working class American.

Recent exhibitions include Abattoir Gallery, Cleveland, OH; Tuesday to Friday Gallery, Valencia, Spain; the Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI; Tchotchke Gallery, New York, NY; Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA; and Hashimoto Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA.

Her 2023 solo presentation at HESSE FLATOW, New York, NY was featured as a “Must See” exhibition in ArtForum, and her work has appeared in New American Paintings, Juxtapoz, Canvas Cleveland, and the CAN Journal. She was recently awarded an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant and participated in the inaugural Summer Artist Residency at Alfred University in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Butler received her BFA from the University of Akron in 2017 and her MFA from Kent State University in 2021.

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