Catharine Newell Profile

Overview.
Catharine Newell (born 1947, Pasadena; based in Portland, Oregon) is a kiln-glass artist best known for painterly, figurative works made with sifted glass powders fused into matte, velvety panels. She exhibits internationally and is widely active as an educator. Bullseye+1

Training & education.
BA, Fine Arts, University of California, Santa Barbara (1969). Later study and residencies include Pilchuck Glass School (participant 2000; residency 2010), North Lands Creative in Scotland (2003), and classes with Narcissus Quagliata (2000). Bullseye

Materials & method.
Newell “draws” with powdered/fritted glass on sheet glass, then kiln-fires to achieve a subdued, almost ceramic surface. OPB’s in-studio report describes her sifting techniques, use of stencils/card stock to move powder, and her restrained, emotive approach to color. Bullseye Glass Videos

Themes & series.
Her work often explores memory, presence/absence, and quiet observation of the human figure; more recent series shift toward abstract, atmospheric imagery. The 2021 exhibition Immersed (Ken Saunders Gallery) highlights serial, square works with “luminous washes” and organic marks; her artist statement (Bullseye Projects) discusses immersion in the present through close study of oyster shells (the Oistres works). Ken Saunders Gallery+1

Notable exhibitions (selected).

• Retrospective (Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass), 2014. Bullseye
  
  

• Presence of Absence (Davis & Cline Gallery), 2011. Bullseye
  
  

• Multiple solo/duo shows at Bullseye Projects/Resource Center (e.g., Interstice 2009; Surface and Atmosphere 2016; Accumulations 2016). Bullseye
  
  

• Ongoing representation/exhibitions with Ken Saunders Gallery, incl. Confabulation (2012) and Immersed (2021). Ken Saunders Gallery+1
  
  

Collections & placements (selected).
Works are held or permanently installed at Hunter Museum of American Art, University of Miami Lowe Museum, Tsinghua University Museum (Beijing), Bullseye Glass Company, Swedish Hospital (Seattle), and Hotel Murano (Tacoma), among others. Corning Museum of Glass

Publications & recognition.
Juried four times into Corning’s New Glass Review; nominated for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Award (2003); recipient of NICHE Award (2002) and other honors. Featured by Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Art Beat. Corning Museum of Glass+1

Teaching & influence.
Newell has taught Master Classes at Pilchuck, North Lands, and Corning’s The Studio, plus workshops/lectures across Europe/UK, Australia, China, and Norway—reflecting a significant pedagogical footprint in kiln-formed glass. Bullseye’s “Artists Drawing with Glass” lesson features her process alongside other artists. Corning Museum of Glass+1

Artist statement—ideas in practice.
In her statement, Newell frames the work as an attentiveness to the present—“the edge of something”—and describes discovering immersion through the incremental forms and erosions of oyster shells (a cue to the meditative, iterative nature of her recent series). Bullseye

Representative works/series to look up.

• Presence of Absence (figural silhouettes, c. 2011). Bullseye
  
  

• Of Water (serial abstractions noted in Immersed). Ken Saunders Gallery
  
  

• Oistres (oyster-shell abstractions; e.g., Oistres VII, 2016). Ken Saunders Gallery
  
  

At a glance — key facts

• Born 1947; lives/works Portland, Oregon. Bullseye
  
  

• Recognized for kiln-formed, powder-drawn glass with a soft, matte finish. Bullseye Glass Videos
  
  

• Educator with global workshop record; multiple New Glass Review selections. Corning Museum of Glass
  
  

• Awards include 2003 Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Award nomination. Bullseye