::  Bio ::

Kate Raudenbush is a New York-based artist who creates illuminated allegorical environments at the intersection of sculpture and architecture. Laser-cut metal contemplative environments comment symbolically on the perils and potential of our evolving humanity. Form and space combine to create an ancient and futuristic aesthetic that aims to immerse the visitor in its mystery, grace and strength.

Her most recent sculptures include: Ignis Aqua, a massive stainless steel tidal wave holding propane cloud ceiling fire effects, and the public exhibition Incanto: An Oasis of Lyrical Sculpture, a collection of immersive allegorical sculptures produced for the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia.

Forging a pioneering path as the first Burning Man artist that was collected straight out of the desert and into the permanent collection of a US museum in 2007, she has piloted her unconventional artistic career internationally:  from a far-flung art residency near the DMZ in South Korea, to a massive winged soundstage in Amsterdam for the Mysteryland festival, and from designing red carpet sculptures for the AFI Film Festival in Hollywood, to creating a monolithic public landmark leading to the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada.

Her sculptures have been found in both Miami art fairs and civic squares in Montreal, Seoul, Tulum, Lake Tahoe, Reno, New York, Washington DC, Santiago and San Fransisco. In 2018, her art was featured in the record breaking “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” show at the Smithsonian Museum.  In 2019, she received the National Citizen Artist Award from Americans for the Arts at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in DC. In 2021, Kate sold her artwork at the groundbreaking Burning Man auction at Sotheby’s, in New York City.  

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Kate has made two TEDx talks about creativity at Burning Man and in Tulum, Mexico, as well as spoken at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the SFMoMA, and the NMA. She has been featured in the New York Times, The London Times, Artsy, Rolling Stone, Current TV, Intel IQ, and on the cover of CODAworx Magazine’s Architectural Art issue,  among others. She was a World Technology Network Nominee for the Arts in 2016, and her art has been featured in several books about the creative culture of Burning Man, including  the Taschen publication The Art of Burning Man, The Burning Book (Simon & Schuster), and on the cover of Burning Man – Art on Fire.  She was recently featured in the creative vanguard of artists in the 2020 documentary film Burning Man: Art on Fire. 

::Artist Statement::

 I create lyrical environments in laser-cut steel and light, at the intersection of sculpture and architecture. I design enveloping, mysterious, allegorical spaces that catalyze intellectual curiosity and hold space for soulful human connection. My large-scale sculptures serve as a surreal set piece for your own exploration.

I believe creativity is a conduit through which humanity understands itself. My life’s work is an endeavor to create symbolic art and experiences with themes that both question and inform our shifting realities. From technological sustainability to environmental awareness, and from creation mythology to self-empowerment, my intention is to elevate our human experience with both grace and strength.  As a self-taught sculpture artist who evolved from the vanguard of Burning Man culture for 20 years, my real-world large-scale, illuminated, engineered artworks still aim to be immersive, powerful and contemplative spaces that oscillate between presence and transcendence.