Kate Hepburn

Kate Hepburn (1947, London)
Artist, Painter, Graphic artist

Diverse artistic career in publishing, comedy and rock 'n' roll: work for Pink Floyd (Hokusai Wave painted drum kit at V&A, London), long standing collaboration with Mark Fisher on stadium concerts, Monty Python graphics, art direction for Spare Rib magazine, the first feminist monthly. RCA and Central School Lecturer part time.
Printmaking editions ongoing.

The designs were first conceived in 1966/67 at Central School of Art. It was a time of cultural fusion – fashion music art – these were the Swinging Sixties, culminating in the Apollo 11 moon landing of 1969.

In 2021 Palazzo Morosina’s beautifully restored ‘piano attico’ print room provided the catalyst and inspiration to produce this original work – hand printed using the shiny oil-based inks of the period, on traditional Somerset 100% cotton archival paper.

Contemporary dynamism on a large scale.

Screen printing was a direct and accessible way to experiment with colour and form. The ‘Bend’ series layers hand drawn geometric shapes in bright glossy colours; ‘Circles’ echo the stripes and spheres seen in Mary Quant’s era defining fashions. Velvet, corduroy and paisley silks inform the unusual pairing of mustard a...

Central School of Art London, 1966-1969
Royal College of Art London, 1969-1972

Permanent exhibition - Palazzo Morosina, outside Venice