The latest Grampian Hospitals Art Trust (GHAT) exhibition in His Majesty’s Theatre’s Dress Circle Bar, which opens on Monday 23rd November for 13 weeks, is ‘When The Boat Comes In’ by local artist Kate Steenhauer. This exhibition examines the shipyards along the waterfront of Aberdeen.
Originally from the Netherlands, Kate’s diverse career path has taken her from semi-professional tennis in her youth, to civil engineering, including a PhD in Coastal Engineering from the University of Aberdeen, to fine art. Having lived and worked in Scotland for the last ten years, Kate explores the Scottish landscape not only from an outsider’s point of view, but also in a different light. Her work shows the industrial life of Scotland through the integration of traditional influences and modern ideas using oil paint and printmaking techniques.
‘My focus to date has been on shipyards, Aberdeen heliport and the Speyside cooperage. The work I produce has a foundation of fine art skills but also embraces contemporary context. My shipyard project explores aspects of the energy industry behind the scenes that are perhaps less glamorous than the huge platforms and exploration rigs that the public tends to see, but are equally vital. This has been a great opportunity to showcase Scotland in a different light, documenting life behind the iconic energy business that plays a direct and indirect role in people’s day to day lives and recording one of the important landmarks of Aberdeen.’
Kate has won several awards including a Royal Scottish Academy Award, and has exhibited regularly at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, the Mall Galleries and Royal College of Art in London, Visual Arts Scotland Annual Exhibition and Peacock Visual Arts amongst others. Her work is in also in a number of private collections and multiple etchings have recently been purchased by the Aberdeen Maritime Museum.
