Wild migration is to Catherine Courtenaye a quasi-mystical phenomenon that inspires her recent work above all else. With their map-like views, her paintings employ an abstract language for communicating the dissonance between wildlife movements and human infrastructure. Subdivisions, highways, and fences—expressed through the rectilinear patterning in the paintings—are increasingly disrupting the ancient routes of wild movement. Vibrant colors and intricate details of the geometric bands evoke the nuanced complexity of human history over time, from ancient indigenous footpaths to superhighways. The bits of black text that peek through to the surface of finished paintings symbolize language and culture. On the uppermost layers, curving lines reference the migratory movement of animals such as elk, pronghorn, and mule deer.
Courtenaye has received numerous honors including an Individual Artist Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Montana Arts Council Artist Innovation Award. Her work is part of numerous public collections including Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Boise Art Museum, Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento), Oakland Museum of California, Yellowstone Art Museum (Billings, Montana), and Whitney Western Art Museum (Cody, Wyoming).
