Artist Bio

Catherine Forster is a filmmaker, artist, and curator based in the Chicago area. She received an M.F.A from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her artwork has been shown in exhibitions at the, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Chicago, Carnegie Art Museum, Merwin Gallery Illinois Wesleyan University, City of Louisville Colorado Sculpture Garden, South Bend Regional Art Museum, Flint Institute of Art, Orange County Contemporary Art Center, Exit Art (NY), Hyde Park Art Center Chicago, and the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania, to name a few. Films by Forster have been screened at the Sao Paul International Short Film Festival, Echotrope New Media Arts Festival (Omaha), Simultan Media Arts Festival (Romania), Echo Park Film Center (LA), Magmart Film Festival Casoria International Contemporary Art Museum (Italy), Directors Lounge (Berlin), and San Diego International Women Film Festival. Forster is also the founder and director of a non-profit nomadic new media art space, the LiveBox Gallery

Forster’s trajectory as an artist began with careers in microbiology and business, each experience presented a pathway to her current practice. Observation and authenticity are the bedrock of her work. As a microbiologist her preferred medium was a microscope; today it is a camera.  Forster’s fascination with the world beneath the microscope transformed to the extraordinary arena played out beyond the lens. She is forever fascinated by the capacity of the “third eye” to capture what is missed or denied. Today Forster is most challenged by the globalization of mass media and its impact on our relationships, with each other and with our environs.