Kathy Varadi

Biography

Kathy Varadi is a contemporary artist developing the concept of a new sublime in her most recent series called the Neosublime. Varadi applies the classical philosophical notions of the sublime to overwhelming and incomprehensible current events and create aesthetically pleasing and thought-provoking paintings that provide validation, support, and comfort to the viewer. She is an MFA candidate at Georgia Southern University and a BFA recipient from Savannah College of Art and Design.

Artist Statement

Why have the sunsets and sunrises become so amazingly colorful and awe inspiring recently? 18th century philosophers said such events were examples of the sublime.  They defined the sublime as that which is the most awesomely great combined with an underlying element of fear usually caused by the actions of God. This infers that the sublime is something that you can’t fully understand or wrap your head around and leaves you speechless and spell bound even though you appreciate your mental ability to reason and contemplate the event. Contemporary art critics say that the sublime is no longer applicable to art because it has been overused. I disagree, and in my art, I look for examples of the sublime in present day events. The slow, insidious, imperceptible, disastrous effects of global warming is one example of the contemporary sublime that I call the Neosublime. The brilliantly red sunrises and sunsets are awesomely great but the realization that they are caused by air pollutants brings a fearful reminder of how global warming is destroying the world. Other examples of the Neosublime are the COVID pandemic and worldwide political turmoil. The most frightening part of the Neosublime is that it is the result of the actions of humans and not God. Like global warming my paintings show beautiful sunsets and giant ocean waves from sea level rise, and yet the impending disaster is not readily apparent. Rather than horrific images of doom, the more subtle warnings of my paintings are a catalyst for action.