12 Facts About Lila Katzen

Lila Katzen, born Lila Pell, was an American sculptor of fluid, large-scale metal abstractions.

Lila Katzen attended Cooper Union and later studied under Hans Hofmann in New York City and Provincetown, MA.

Later Katzen had solo exhibitions at the Montgomery Museum of Art in Alabama and the Ulrich Museum of Art in Kansas among others.

In 1962, Lila Katzen accepted a position at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, where she remained until 1980.

Lila Katzen progressed from collages on canvas, to staining nylon canvases.

Acrylic paintings allowed Lila Katzen to make a transition into sculpture.

Lila Katzen experimented with fluorescent paints and backlights, using light as a medium in itself.

Lila Katzen stretched and manipulated metals, such as steel and aluminum, to make them appear fluid and ribbon-like.

Lila Katzen designed her sculptures to relate to the site of the work while withstanding and encouraging human interaction, a direct contrast to the Minimalist aesthetic that was so prevalent in the 1960s.

Lila Katzen developed deep emotional connections to her work, considering them to be like her children.

Lila Katzen cites Italian Baroque artist Bernini's Ecstasy of St Theresa as one influential example of Baroque form that inspired her to develop floating masses in space that seemed to belie their weight.

Lila Katzen puts aside the dramatic lyricism of her former works for a harsh and aggressive style to both interrupt art history and negotiate the present.