Trophy Wives is about having an attitude of luxury. It takes some very inexpensive everyday elements (cardboard, a limited palette of 4 acrylic paints) and everyday people (my roomates at the time), and using rich tones and postures, it gives and powerful and regal feel. Playing with the idea of who is worthy of being a muse.

Katie Butler

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As an emerging artist I create acrylic paintings often including mixed media elements that are figurative and narrative, playing with moody lighting and flirtatious details. I come from a maternal lineage of visual artists and storytellers, who inspired me to explore my creativity from a very young age. After completing my undergraduate degree and relocating to Toronto, I realized the profound personal significance of my own creative practice. I shifted my work away from more classical, poised portraiture to expressive personal scenes to connect with my emotions and invite audiences to do the same. My journey as an artist has allowed my work to be featured in various solo and group exhibitions, with notable hosts like the Toronto Artist Project, Abbozzo Gallery, Cry Baby Gallery, and the Tacit Collective, with the support of organizations such as the OAC and the CCA. Continuing on this trajectory, I am currently working on a body of work exploring the range of my emotions experienced in unhealthy relationship. By making my biggest mistakes and feelings into works of art, I practice radical self acceptance. My art doesn’t inspire to be unique; instead it seeks to elicit empathy from the viewer, evoking comfort or discomfort as they see themselves honestly – the always messiness, sometimes silliness and every so often tragedy of navigating the human experience.