KAT CHAPMAN
Kat Chapman is a multidisciplinary painter, metal smith, and photographer based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Their work explores identity and the tension between presence and distance, both in the act of making and in the narratives that emerge from the process itself.
Rooted in Traditions of portraiture, decorative arts, fashion illustration, and ornamental design, aninnate Draw to beauty shapes Kat's practice, one that they simultaneously embrace and resist.
Kat is currently completing their B.A. in Art at Millersville University, where they will graduate in 2025. They attended classes at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, where they fell in love with photography and narrative storytelling through art. Raised Roman Catholic, they are particularly interested in the contradictions embedded in aesthetic indulgence. Catholicism outwardly rejects excess yet thrives on grandeur, teaching both restraint and a deep preoccupation with perception.
This cycle of justification and mixed signaling mirrors broader internal dialogues people have about identity, desire, and the way we position ourselves in the world based on hierarchy.
With recent representation by the Lancaster Art Vault, Kat is deepening their roots in Lancaster City's vibrant creative community while continuing to expand their practice. In 2025, Kat exhibited in Menagerie at Sykes Gallery in Millersville, PA, and was selected for the 15th Annual Student Juried Show, where their works Hallel, Flight, and Love Overburdened were shown, Love Overburdened received First Place. Hallel was also featured at the Lancaster Museum of Art for their 63rd Annual Community Art Exhibition. Their piece Heart of a Doberman was featured in We Love Our Pets at Mulberry Art Studios in Lancaster, PA, in May 2025. That same year, Kat was awarded a grant for their project Janus: A Decorative Dialogue, which will be exhibited in 2026. They will also present at the 2026 Made in Millersville Conference, with their work published in the Made in Millersville Journal. Across these exhibitions, Kat continues to explore themes of adornment, craftsmanship, and the contradictions that shape their artistic philosophy.
