Katherine Webster is an artist and potter whose work moves between painting and clay — between memory and material. She works in concentrated sessions across France and the UK, rather than from a fixed studio, a rhythm that mirrors the transient nature of her subjects.
Her pieces often begin as fragments: a half-remembered face, the contour of a horse, a trace of landscape or myth. Through slow layering, scraping back, and re-discovering, these fragments form what she calls a visual archaeology — an uncovering of stories held within surface and time.
With a background in heritage restoration, Katherine brings an instinct for texture, erosion, and renewal. The recurring image of the horse has become an icon in her practice — a vessel of endurance and movement, linking human memory to mythic ground.
When I paint, I begin without a clear image — more a sense of something half-remembered. I layer gesso, paint, pigment, ink, and coloured glaze washes, building up, scraping back, washing away, and re-working until the surface begins to hold its own history. Faces and horses appear, disappear, and return; they’re not planned so much as found.
The process feels close to archaeology — a slow revealing of what lies beneath. I work on several pieces at once, so that ideas pass between them, like echoes or weather. Sometimes the paint cracks, sometimes the clay resists; those moments guide me as much as intention.
I stop only when the surface feels quiet, when the image seems older than itself — as if I’ve uncovered something rather than made it.
Katherine Webster
“ Look around! The world is full of past and future — the marks we made and are yet to make. ”
" Through her practice, Katherine bridges ancient techniques and contemporary expressionism, transforming lived experience into painted memory. "
Exhibitions
2025 - Qeye, Derbyshire
2024 - The Boomer gallery. London. UK
2024 - ‘Meet the Artists’ Esperaza. France
2022 & 2023 - ‘Aquaperle’ gallery. Redon. France
2022 & 2021 - FieraCavalli, Verona, Italy - Art & Cavallo equine art exhibition
2020 - Château de Caslou, Redon, France - Solo exhibition "Chevalier"
2018 & 2020 - Paard Verzameld, Netherlands - Contemporary equine art exhibition
2015 - Sphere, Villefranche de Rouergue, France - Solo exhibition "Esprit du cheval"
2012 - The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), Edinburgh - Annual Open Exhibition
2012 - Northlights Gallery, Stromness, Orkney - Solo exhibition "See horse"
2011 - The Waterfront Gallery, Stromness, Orkney - Solo exhibition
2010-2013 - The Piers Art Gallery/Tate, Stromness, Orkney - Annual Open Exhibitions
2007 - Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornwall - Three artists exhibition
2006 - Artefacts Gallery, Manchester - Solo exhibition
1998 - Tribal Gallery, Toronto - Solo exhibition "Equine tribe"
Work held in private collections across Europe and North America.
Education
2023 - Heritage painting and restoration
L’Ecole d'Avignon. France
1997 - BA Honours Applied Arts.
University of Derby. UK
1993 - BA Honours - Fine Crafts.
Ulster. Ireland
Languages
English
French