BIO

Katherine Steichen Rosing (b. Appleton, Wisconsin) explores environmental processes and phenomena in forests and watersheds through immersive installations and vividly-hued paintings.

Her work has been exhibited in over 100 solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums internationally, including The Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, Illinois; Amos Eno Gallery (New York), The Arts Club, (Washington, DC), James May Gallery (Milwaukee), The Museum of Wisconsin Art (West Bend, Wisconsin), ARC Gallery (Chicago), Tomioka Museum (Tokyo), Saitama Modern Art Museum (Saitama, Japan). Rosing's paintings are included in many public and private collections, and she is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the 2022 Forward Art Prize and the Madison Arts Commission/Wisconsin Arts Board Individual Artist Fellowship.

Rosing has been awarded science-based artist residencies at the UW-Madison Department of Limnology’s Trout Lake Research Station and the St. Croix Watershed Research Station, sponsored by the Science Museum of Minnesota.

A former member of ARC Gallery/Educational Foundation in Chicago, Rosing served as Vice-President and Invitational Gallery curator. She represented ARC Gallery and the Chicago Women’s Caucus for Art as a delegate and panelist to the NGO Forum of the United Nations 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing.

Rosing earned her MFA in painting and drawing from Northern Illinois University, a BFA from the University of Colorado-Denver, and a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She taught studio art courses at colleges and universities in Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin, where she lives and works.

Represented by:
Kim Storage Gallery, Milwaukee
Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis

statement | resume | press

My practice includes painting and immersive installations informed by experiences in the wilderness, ecological literature, and studio experimentation. Forests are my lens to climate, atmosphere, and the hydrologic cycles. The paintings express the heightened awareness and euphoria often felt in natural environments, while the more somber tone of the monochrome installations expresses the anxiety I feel about the climate crisis.

My abstract paintings envision intricate relationships between forest ecosystems and their watersheds. I often draw or write in wet paint, implanting inscriptions in many layers of saturated color that reference invisible processes and life forms while creating a complex surface that is important to me.

The installations are physically immersive, incorporating suspended sculptures—virtual forests made with fabric and other materials. The translucent fabric sculptures, beaded and embroidered with symbolic patterns and sometimes made with community participation, suggest the fragility of forest ecosystems.

Recently, I have been working with India ink, a symbol of carbon sequestered by trees, on linen gauze and silk organza. I burn holes in the cloth as a meditation on forests burning due to changing environmental conditions. I am developing a new installation exploring connections between atmospheric rivers, forests, and climate.

STATEMENT

statement | resume | press

RESUME

CV PDF

MFA Northern Illinois University-DeKalb
BFA University of Colorado-Denver
BA University of Wisconsin-Madison
2024
Atmospheric Intricacies, James May Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2023
Inhale/Exhale, Until the Last Breath, Abel Contemporary Gallery, Stoughton, WI
Water Shields & Damselflies, Center for Visual Arts, Wausau, WI
Museum of Wisconsin on the Lake, Milwaukee
2022
Ten Thousand Beings, Alan Priebe Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI
2021
When a Tree Thrives, Garver Feed Mill, Madison, WI (included in Winter is Alive 2021)
2019
Beneath the Canopy, Gallery 1308, Union South, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2018
Emeralds to Ashes, Gallery at Truax, Madison College, Madison, WI
Vigil, Installation in The Cooler, Abel Contemporary Gallery, Paoli, WI
Cadences, C.R. Davidson’s Renaissance Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2015
Into the Woods, Ballweg Gallery, Goodman Center, Madison, WI
2014
Secret Depths, Drury Gallery, Portage Center for the Arts, Portage, WI
2013
Harmony, Studio84 Gallery, Whitewater, WI
2010
Interlude: Quiet Spaces, Urban Ecology Center Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Ebb & Flow, Tenth Street Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2006
One from Wisconsin, West Bend Art Museum, West Bend, WI
2004
Radiance, W. H. Moring, Jr. Art Center, Asheboro, NC
2002
Arts Club of Washington, Washington, D.C.
1999
ACME Art Company, Columbus, OH
De Ricci Gallery, Edgewood College, Madison, WI
1998
CitiARTS Space, Madison Municipal Building, Madison, WI
1996
A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago, IL
1995
Contemporary Art Center, Arlington Heights, IL
1994
A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago,
2025
Strength in Delicacy, Christopher Art Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL (with Sherri Denault)

2019
Swept Away, Overture Community Galleries, (with Aaron Laux), Overture Center, Madison, WI
2016
In Omni Terra: of the Earth, (with Gustavo Flores), Gallery Marzen, Madison, WI
2010
EarthCurve, Wisconsin Union Galleries Theater Gallery, University of Wisconsin, (with Bobbette Rose) Madison, WI
2008
Silences, A.R.C. Gallery, (with Kohji Ohsono), Chicago, IL
Elemental, Wisconsin Arts Board Gallery, Administration Building, with David Sear), Two-Person, Madison, WI
2003
Gallery Toki, (with Kohji Ohsono), Saitama-shi, Japan
2002
Klammer Gallery, (with Kohji Ohsono), Tokyo, Japan
2024
Rooted and Restless, Class of 1925 Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

5-10-100:Women Artists Forward, James Watrous Gallery, Madison, WI
MOWA Contemporary 2024, St. Kate Arts Hotel, Milwaukee, WI

Aquatica, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland, WI
Wisconsin Visual Artists Biennial, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI

2023
ARC 50th, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL

2022
Midwestern Biennial, Rockford Art zuseum, Rockford, IL
Paperwork, Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College Art Gallery, Rhinelander, WI
2021
MARN Salon, MARN Art+Culture Hub, Milwaukee, WI
46th Juried Annual, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, WI
2020
I Listen to Color II online, Frank Juarez Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Threads of Truth: Social Impact, Zou B Art Center, 2nd Floor Gallery, Chicago, IL
Secura 2020, Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, WI
Science Seen, Data Science Research Art Exhibit, The Discovery Building, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Madison Municipal 2020 Environmental Exhibition, Municipal Building, Madison, WI
2019
Phoenix from the Ashes, Overture Playhouse Gallery, Madison, WI

Women’s Work, Diane Ballweg Gallery, Madison Central Library, Madison, WI
2018
Collaboration, Abel Contemporary Gallery, Paoli, WI
Cosmic Waves in Cryptic Phases (installation) Lab3, Art and Literature Laboratory (lead visual artist, collaborative installation inspired by University of Wisconsin Neutrino research), Madison, WI
Paper In Particular, Columbia College, Sidney Larson Gallery, Columbia, MO
2017
On and About Paper, University of Wisconsin-Parkside Fine Arts Gallery, Kenosha, WI
2016
Floating on Waves, Japan Wisconsin Cultural Exchange, Promega Art Showcase, Fitchburg, WI
Municipal, Madison Municipal Building, Madison, WI
Luminous Flux, Gallery Marzen, Madison, WI
All About Trees, Riverfront Arts Center, Stevens Point, WI (award)
2015
Nature Abstracted, Gallery 211, Madison College, Madison, WI
Earth Sculpture 2015, Farley Center, Verona WI (installation)
ARC 40th Anniversary Show Revisited, Beverly Art Center, Chicago, IL
Gallery 211 Début: Faculty Exhibition, Gallery 211,Madison College, Madison, WI
2014
An Alternate Perspective, Espace Mirabeau, Tokyo
2014
Wisconsin Artists Biennial, MOWA (Museum of Wisconsin Art), West Bend, WI
2013
Sum & Substances, Faculty Exhibition Truax Gallery, Madison College, Madison, WI
ARC 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Chicago ARC Gallery, IL
Distant in Geography, Close in Mind, Bunpodo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Beneath the Surface, Overture Community Gallery, Madison, WI
2012
The Golden Age of British Watercolors: 1790–1910, Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (six watercolors included as an educational component)
MARN Salon6: Painting, MARN Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2011
Taking a Stand, Uri-Eichen Gallery, Chicago, IL
Common Ground, River Arts Center, Prairie du Sac, WI
Divergence: Madison College Drawing & Painting Faculty, Overture Galleries, Gallery III, Madison, WI
2010
Friends from Near and Far, Commonwealth Gallery, Madison, WI
2009
Off the Map, Artworks Gallery, Kenosha, WI
Splash,Fall Faculty Concert, Metabolic Dances, Wisconsin Union Theater, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI(projected images, choreography by Jin-Wen-Yu)
Faculty Exhibition, Truax Gallery, Madison Area Technical College, Madison, WI
2008     Two Cultures/One Spirit, Saitama Modern Art Museum, Saitama, Japan
Summer Group Show, High Street Gallery, Mineral Point, WI
2006     Diasporic Art Practices, Gallery 734, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Two Cultures/One Spirit, West Bend Art Museum, West Bend, WI
2005     Two Cultures/One Spirit, Wisconsin Union Galleries, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
MATC Faculty Exhibition, Truax Gallery, Madison Area Technical College, Madison, WI
            Layered Intentions, Overture Center Community Gallery, Madison, WI
Art of Note, Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI
2004    MATC Faculty Exhibition, Truax Gallery, Madison Area Technical College, Madison, WI
2003     30th Anniversary Exhibition, A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago, IL
MATC Faculty Exhibition, Truax Gallery, Madison Area Technical College, Madison, WI
War & Peace: Artists’ Voices, Gallery 218, Milwaukee, WI
2002     Wisconsin/Japan Exchange,Inoue Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Wisconsin Japan Cultural Exchange, Saitama Modern Art Museum, Saitama, Japan
Wisconsin Japan Cultural Exchange, Tomioka Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Wisconsin Artists Biennial 2001, Anderson Art Center, Kenosha, WI, (traveling exhibition originated at
Rahr-West Museum, Manitowoc, WI)
2001
Twelve Squared, Prairie State College Christopher Art Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
Wisconsin Artists Biennial, Rahr-West Museum, Manitowoc, WI
2000     Japanese American Exhibition, Porter Butts Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

German-American Exhibition, Kleine Galerie, Chemnitz, Germany
Elements 2000, Silicon Gallery, New York, NY
1999
Spring Painting Invitational, University Art Gallery, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, WI
1998
Wisconsin Sesquicentennial Exhibition, Charles Allis Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Silver Salon, A.R.C. Gallery’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition, A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago, IL
Thirteenth Annual Small Works International, Amos Eno Gallery,New York, NY
1996
Beijing and Beyond: Women Artists Respond to the UN 4th World Conference on Women, United Nations, NY (traveled to: Leiber House, NY, University of Texas at Dallas, OMNI Gallery, NY, Mills
College, Oakland, CA, A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago, IL)
1995
Global Focus: Women in Art and Culture, Beijing, China
Tell Me a Story: Personal Narratives from the Women's Caucus for Art NGO Forum Delegation,
United Nations 4th World Conference on Women,Willow

45th Annual Quad State Exhibition,Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL (Two Purchase Awards)
Modern Icons, Reicher Gallery, Barat College, Lake Forest, IL
1994
Moraine Valley Faculty Exhibition, Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills, IL
1993
Chicago/New York Exchange, Amos Eno Gallery, New York, NY
Inner Meaning & Spirituality, North Lakeside Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
2025
Pouch Cove Foundation, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada (September)

2022
Forward Art Prize

2021
Madison Arts Commission and Garver Feedmill, When a Tree Thrives
Dane Arts Need Grant
2020
Drawing Water, Trout Lake Research Station, Center for Limnology, UW-Madison
2019 Artist at Pine Needles, sponsored by the St. Croix Watershed Research Station and the Science Museum of Minnesota, Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota
2018
Madison Arts Commission and the Wisconsin Arts Board Individual Artist Fellowship
2018
Dane Arts Short Order Project Grant

2008
Artist-in-Residence, Woodside Elementary School, Sussex, Wisconsin
2008
Woodside Home & School Association and Hamilton Education Foundation Grant
2018 Emeralds to Ashes Beading and Sewing Workshop, with Spring Harbor Elementary School 5th grade students, Madison, WI, held at MacKenzie Center, Poynette, WI, October 16.
Emeralds to Ashes, drop-in workshops for staff and students, Madison College, Madison, WI, October.
2016
Visiting Artist, Family Day, Milwaukee Art Museum, December 4.
2000
Visiting Artist/Juror, Regional Arts Program, Monroe Arts Center, Monroe, WI, June 3.
1999
Visiting Artist/Lecture/Critique, University of Wisconsin‑La Crosse, La Crosse, WI, April 7.
1999–2020 Madison College, College Transfer Art Program, Madison, WI
2000–2001 University of Wisconsin Art Department, Madison, WI
1993–1996 College of Du Page, Glen Ellyn, ILm description
2025
Juror, Wisconsin Regional Art Program Exhibition,
2019
Juror, Overture Community Galleries, Madison, WI
2015–2016
Curator, Floating on the Waves, Promega Art Showcase, Verona, WI, June 14 – September 13, 2016 (international exchange exhibition including Japanese and Wisconsin artists)
2012
Juror, Wisconsin Regional Art Program, Madison exhibition
2004–2005
Curator, Two Cultures/One Spirit, Wisconsin Union Galleries, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
2003–2004
Advisory Board, Monroe Street Fine Art Center, Madison, WI                                                                        2002–2004
Committee Member, Wisconsin Arts Board Percent for Art, Biotechnology Building Addition    University of Wisconsin-Madison,
1993–1996
ARC Gallery/Educational Foundation, Chicago, IL
- (1993)Curator, Miriam Schapiro Exhibition
- Curator, Invitational Galleries (1993-1996
- Vice-President (1994-1996)
1988-1990
Treasurer, Chicago Women’s Caucus for the Arts, Chicago, IL
1989
CWCA Exhibition coordinator, Landscapes/Mindscapes, A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago, IL
Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Kim Storage Gallery, Milwaukee, WI