Kate Testa

Kate Testa is a mixed media sculptor and installation artist based in Philadelphia whose work explores themes of the metaphysical and the occult while investigating how the art making process can transcend into a spiritual practice. Using a pallet consisting of wood, fibers, glass, metal and found object she creates sculptural collages, ritual objects and installations that play roles in her constructed sacred customs. In her work Testa challenges the viewer to question her beliefs in these object’s power, hoping to exist in a grey space between fantasy and reality.

Her background is based in the crafts. She received her BFA from The Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2008 where studied 3D Fine Arts with a concentration in Glass. After graduation she was selected for a yearlong residency at the New Street Glass Center in Worcester, MA, where she taught glassblowing and maintained a studio practice. After the completion of her residency in 2009 she relocated to Seattle, WA to pursue her glassblowing career. There she worked as an artist assistant and educator in the glass industry for the next 8 years. During this time Testa maintained her studio practices and exhibited throughout the north west. She also continued her studies and in 2015 received a Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Washington. 

 In 2016 Testa returned to the east coast to pursue her master’s degree and received her MFA concentrating in sculpture from the University of Delaware in 2018. While at University of Delaware she traveled to Berlin Germany to take part in the collaborative residency, Listen and Respond: Delivering Ourselves from the Tonal, with SAVVY Contemporary. From 2018-19 she served  as the Curatorial Fellow at The Delaware Contemporary where she facilitated and curated a series of 5 exhibitions for the University of Delaware that were held at TDC. She has taught art history at Delaware College of Art and Design and sculpture and 2D and 3D design at the University of Delaware and West Chester University. Currently she lives and maintains a studio in Philadelphia, PA where she is also a member of the AUTOMAT Artist Collective. 

 www.therealkatetesta.com