Kate Newby’s works celebrate the moments in which they are created and presented; at the same time, they are open to change. Drawn from impressions collected when navigating cities and landscapes, her sculptures and interventions foreground process: traces of their making are visible, they transform over time, and active engagement is required to view their details. Her works focus on the fleeting and contingent nature of the quotidian and stay connected to the place and time of their presentation. Newby develops her work in response to a specific environment, and often intends that it only exists for a set period of time. Her installations deal with the relationship between inside and outside, and can undermine the line between the work and its surroundings.
The publication I can’t nail the days down documents Newby’s eponymous exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien and includes a photo essay by the artist as well as detailing previous projects. Working with the architecture of Kunsthalle Wien’s glass pavilion at the Karlsplatz in Vienna, Newby’s exhibition ranged beyond the physical boundaries assigned to it, and subtly challenged where and how sculpture happens. Christina Barton, Juliane Bischoff, Chris Kraus, and Nicolaus Schafhausen contribute texts to the book that explore the influences, tools, ethical aspects, and poetics of Newby’s artworks, as well as the personal relationships the artist folds into her projects.