By Dimitra Gatzelaki,
Vanessa Stockard is an Australian artist, whose work lends another side to domestic life, a more whimsical yet emotional one. Around 2017, she carved a special “niche” in the contemporary art world with her cat paintings, which often depict a recurring character she’s named Kevin.
Stockard was born and raised in rural New South Wales, whose dreamlike surroundings, especially those of the Australian countryside, influenced her to begin experimenting with art. She later studied at the College of Fine Arts in Sydney: there, she got the necessary education to pinpoint the gaps in contemporary art and work towards bridging them.
Her paintings are for the most part vibrant; she uses bright colors, or black with a dash of some vibrant color, which make her art vivid and alive. Her work intertwines realism with playful surrealism, and her practice often explores the intersection of everyday domesticity with the uncanny (a concept referring to the unfamiliar seen within the familiar). The most recurring element she’s used in her art, and the one she’s mostly known for, is the cat motif.
The cat motif in Stockard’s paintings began as an emotional response to loss and love. In an interview, she said that the cat “Kevin” was originally inspired by a beloved family cat who had passed away. With painting, she found a way to preserve his spirit —as a shadowy figure who can be both a comforting and unsettling presence. Kevin the cat often creeps into her oil paintings, as though stepping in from another realm. He blends into the scene, but is never fully a part of it.
Stockard’s choice to paint cats with exaggerated, wide eyes and spectral bodies transforms everyday domesticity into something slightly eerie. Her compositions often feature dark interiors and vintage settings and make Kevin’s presence even more surreal, contrasting the domestic safety of home life with a sense of mystery. The cat’s presence is also varied: at times, he’s an observer, staring out at the viewer with knowing eyes, while in other works he’s chaotic, knocking over objects or staring with quiet malevolence.
What makes Vanessa Stockard’s paintings so fascinating is their balance of cuteness and unease. In her hands, cats become a clever metaphor for how unpredictable life is. Through Kevin, she bridges the real with the fantastical, the cute with the uncanny —creating art you often can’t look away from.
Reference
- Vanessa Stockard. Metal Magazine. Available here
