Karl Pilato received his MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Galleries representing his work include Bryant Street Gallery in Palo Alto, CA. He has been awarded fellowships to the Vermont Studio Center and Virginia Center for Creative Arts. He lives in Beloit, Wisconsin.
“I am so fortunate that the opportunity to make etchings with Julia came at a formative time in my career. When in need of guidance in my current work, I still think back to the series of prints we made together. I am deeply grateful for the experience.”
"I had completed graduate school at the Massachusetts College of Art less than a year before my residency at Sitka. The work I made prior to my time at Sitka I consider student work. Within my first week at Sitka, with the time and space (both mental and physical) to focus on my artwork, I began to find a new level of clarity and confidence. A lot started to come together in my paintings. And of course I was deeply struck by the drama and mystery of the forest, ocean, and headland. It was hard to say exactly how the landscape of Cascade Head came into my abstract paintings, but it certainly did, and it continues to affect me. Some of my memories emphasize the solitude of my experience, while other memories are of Julia and the other residents. I learned so much from the writers Mary Rose O’Reilley and Brad Matsen. Our weekly dinners together were always warm and lively, and were welcome breaks from our work and solitude."
