Kate Shepherd (born 1961) is an American artist based in New York City.Her work in painting, printmaking, drawing and sculpture, investigates spatial perception through abstract means.Known for creating the optical illusion of three dimensional space on planar surfaces,her reflective monochrome paintings and wall murals, are minimalist compositions of line, color and geometric forms.Shepherd is represented by Galerie Lelong in the United States and France; Anthony Meier Fine Art, CA;Josh Pazda Hiram Butler, TX; and Krakow Witkin Gallery, MA.
Shepherd completed her B.A. from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1982. Her formal training in design at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, New York, and subsequent studies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, inform her decades-long exploration of perspectival space. During this early stage of her artistic career Shepherd earned a living by painting portraits and creating drawings for The New Yorker. She obtained an M.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts, NY, where she received the Paula Rhodes Award for exceptional achievement(1992)
Shepherd's work focuses on shapes and colors. Involved in a number of disciplines including painting, drawing and printmaking, she uses her work to dive into the relationship between basic shapes, forms and color. Shepherd likes to incorporate spookiness, loneliness love and sweetness in to her paintings.
In 2015, the Hiram Butler studio in Houston, Texas held an exhibition named Chunks with some of Shepherd's work focused on shapes and form. The pieces created from skill-screened papers had taken her months to create due to the level of experimentation she incorporates into her work.
Her solo exhibition Surveillance at the Galerie Lelong in New York was closed after the opening day in March of 2020 due to the pandemic.
Kate Shepherd is the daughter of actress and acting teacher Suzanne Shepherd and David Shepherd.
Shepherd has had solo exhibitions at the Phillips Collection, in Washington D.C. and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon