“One of the defining characteristics of being human is the way we encompass and embrace dualities: two equal forces pulling in opposite directions.  I am keenly interested in these opposing forces and to that end direct my work to such themes as: detachment and attachment, repulsion and attraction to death, the superficial and the real, and our dualistic relationship with animals.

Basing my practice on the animal as subject, I investigate these dualities inherent to the human condition, while discussing the competing cultural constructions and classifications of the animal.  Animal as jester, trophy, companion, and nourishment are explored through the mediums of drawing and taxidermy.

Through examining the shades between beauty and traditional notions of ‘ugliness’, my aim is to challenge the cloying mythical image of ‘the wild’ and its self-contained trophy forms, while also reflecting our current environmental and cultural landscape.”

Kate Puxley was born in Edmonton, Alberta and has since lived in Toronto, Ottawa, Italy, and Montreal. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Concordia University in 2005.  To extend her practice beyond the palette, she became a certified taxidermist in 2009.  Today, she specializes in large charcoal drawings and taxidermy, using ‘found animals,’ predominantly road kill.

Puxley was one of five Canadian artists short-listed to illustrate The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, was awarded the Editor’s Choice Award for Art Threat Magazine’s Framing Harper Competition, and was commissioned to create representations of the G8 leaders for use in the At the Table, 2010 on-line Campaign.  Most recently, Puxley created a diorama installation at The Museum of Zoology in Rome, Italy.

She currently works from The LongHaul/Le Corrid’art, a studio collective in Montreal, QC.  Her work hangs at The Brookstreet Hotel (Kanata, ON), The Almonte General Hospital (Almonte, ON), and in a number of private collections.