Medium: Mixed Media , Painting , Open Studios , Visual Arts , Drawing

Contact Information

(706) 832-0321

[email protected]

https://www.carolinegates.com/https://www.instagram.com/caroline.gates.art/

Once a week I sit down to finish this sentence: I am ______. It’s a boring start, just my name and two little letters that could be easily overlooked. Yet, those little letters create one of the most important words we have, a BEING verb, assuring us of existence, encouraging us to consider who we are.

Using traditional painting techniques, I explore the question of identity in my paintings, examining the ways people, particularly women, present or conceal themselves. Many of my works center around figures in private spaces, coming to terms with who they are or who they want to be. I am fascinated by the contrast between how people conduct themselves in private versus public space. Through social media, our private spaces can now become public, yet our personas seem performative and isolating rather than authentic. This feeling appears in my work as isolated figures in minimalist space, facing their own shadows, hiding behind masks or other objects, only revealing fragments of themselves.

Open Studios Directions

Head southwest on N Church St toward Beattie Pl,
Turn right onto Beattie Pl
Continue onto College St for 0.2 mi
Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto N Academy St and continue for 1.5 miles.
Turn right onto SC-124/Pendleton St and continue to follow SC-124. The destination will be on the left.