Kim Tateo Artist Biography

Kim Tateo is an interdisciplinary artist based in Troy, New York. She has participated in various exhibitions, art fairs, shows, and public art projects in New York City, Los Angeles, and the Capital Region. Tateo is the Executive Director and Farm Manager of Friends of Tivoli Lake Preserve and Farm, where she encourages people to connect with the land and each other through the garden and green spaces. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Iowa and is an MFA Candidate from the University of Albany 2025.

Statement

I am an interdisciplinary artist exploring interconnectedness to ourselves, our environment, and the universe. I came into this world untethered and experienced loss at a young age. Painting very detailed worlds becomes a meditation and a place to place my feelings on death and the afterlife. 

I often start a painting based on a feeling. The process is healing and often playful, and while a painting may not explicitly depict hard feelings, it is because the work itself is layered.

Creating is my way of moving through it ~ emptying a long day and challenging conversations, finding equanimity, accepting impermanence, finding inner iridescence, and radiating joy

I use bright colors, glitter, and blacklight-responsive paint as an interactive way to reveal a hidden layer to remind us of the magic that is constantly surrounding us. While I am interested in Tibetan Buddhism and mindfulness practices, the worlds created do not belong to any hierarchy or religion. 

My paintings are ponderings, meditations, spells, prayers, and dreams remembered. They are intended to evoke a sense of dreaming, playfulness, and peace and gently pull on the heartstrings of whimsy in all beings.