Art MFA Alum Kerry Cottle Builds a Career Blending Material and Meaning

Kerry Cottle, a 2022 graduate of the University of New Mexico’s Art MFA program, is emerging as a compelling voice in contemporary painting, with exhibitions across California and a studio practice grounded in material experimentation, abstraction, and sustainability.

After completing her MFA in painting and drawing at UNM, Cottle relocated to Sacramento, California, where she continues to expand her studio practice while teaching and actively engaging with local arts communities. She has taught at Folsom Lake College, Sierra College, and California State University–Sacramento, and her work has appeared in multiple exhibitions at Axis Gallery in Sacramento.

Cottle’s paintings are shaped by what she describes as a slow, somatic process, a “gradual excavation” of images through color, texture, and material. Her practice is deeply connected to environmental concerns, incorporating reformulated paper waste, plant and mineral-based pigments, and other sustainable materials sourced from her surroundings.

“At UNM, I began tinkering with paper pulp made from junk mail and other recycled paper, natural dyes and pigments, and bioplastics,” Cottle said. “I wanted to engage with issues of climate through my painting in a way that felt meaningful, and material experimentation became central to that exploration.”

That hands on approach continues to define her work today, allowing intuition and material process to guide each piece as it unfolds.

Cottle’s work was featured in “Mental Ecologies,” a group exhibition at de boer gallery in Los Angeles. The exhibition brings together seven artists whose work explores intersections of architecture, perception, memory, and imagined futures, treating artworks as forms of pseudo architecture with spaces that mirror interior states.

“I often work very intuitively,” Cottle said. “The material leads me, but there’s also a lot of pre-dreaming sitting with ideas, letting them incubate, and weaving them together as the work develops.”

Her evolving material practice highlights the impact of UNM’s MFA program in supporting artists beyond graduation.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

EXPLORE the work of Kerry Cottle by following her on Instagram @kerrycottle.
READ more at https://news.unm.edu/news/unm-art-mfa-alum-kerry-cottle-builds-a-career-blending-material-and-meaning
LEARN more about her recent exhibitions at https://deboergallery.com and https://axisgallery.org