Kaytea Petro (gen. Gnomus Artistica)
Photo by Rosella De Berti.
After studying at UC Santa Cruz, the Florence Academy of Art, and the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Kaytea permanently injured the tendons in her arms working as a theatrical carpenter in 2003. The chronic, disabling pain prevented her from making sculptures for a number of years, so she turned to comic books and illustration. In 2011, she stumbled into a ceramics studio, and decided to give 3D another try. Gnome Island Studios was born out of those first sculptures made after all those years.
Background
Born Anna Caterina Petro, 1978, San Francisco, California
Currently lives and works in San Francisco, California
Exhibitions
2024 Máaz: Recent Archeology from the Earth’s Second Colony, Gallery-O-Rama; San Francisco, CA
Home, Drawing Room Annex; San Francisco, CA
For the Love of….., 2358MRKT; San Francisco, CA
2023 Cool Summer Vibes, 2358 MRKT; San Francisco, CA
Politics, Gallery-O-Rama; San Francisco, CA
Gaylien, Gallery-O-Rama; San Francisco, CA
Everything But The Kitchen Sink, La Luz de Jesus; Los Angeles, CA
Tableaux: Stories & Legends, 1920-O-Rama; San Francisco, CA
Faculty Art Show, The Crucible; Oakland, CA
Chimera: Hybrids & Creatures, Flame-O-Rama; San Francisco, CA
Humans: A Portrait Show, Fame-O-Rama; San Francisco, CA
Adaptations: Sky, Drawing Room Annex; San Francisco, CA
2022 Trans Aware, Senator Scott Weiner’s Office; San Francisco, CA
Adaptations: Land, Drawing Room Annex; San Francisco, CA
Marin City 80, Marin Civic Center; San Rafael, CA
Restart, Palo Alto Arts Center; Palo Alto, CA
Story Cups, Strawberry Moon Festival; Laytonville, CA
Ano Domini, City Art Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Women Rising, Drawing Room; San Francisco, CA
Tides of Change, Drawing Room; San Francisco, CA
2021 Creative Gateways; Frederic Arts Council Gallery, Frederick, MD
Emotion Mugs, San Mateo City Hall; San Mateo, CA
#5Cubed, ARC Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Local Love Festival, Block 51; Oakland, CA
American Royalty, San Mateo Public Library; San Mateo, CA
You Were Always on My Mind, City Art Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Hearts in San Francisco, Union Square; San Francisco, CA
2020 Wheatpaste VS. COVID, City Art Gallery; San Francisco, CA
COVID Creative Convention, Online; San Francisco, CA
Sea Lions in San Francisco, Pier 39; San Francisco, CA
2019 All That Glitters, San Francisco Public Library; San Francisco, CA
Shaken & Stirred, Engine 43 Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Triggered, Lye Residence; Berkeley, CA
Heart of the Man, Burning Man Festival; Black Rock City, NV
Monuments to the Might Have Been, City Art Gallery; San Francisco, CA
All that Glitters is Not Gold, City Art Gallery; San Francisco, CA
2018 Art of Peace, Temple Art Lofts; Vallejo, CA
Sanctuary City, City Art Gallery; San Francisco, CA
2017 "Who Killed Hunter S. Thompson?” Book Signing and Art Show, 111 Minna; San Francisco, CA
Light and Dark, Catskill Art Society; Livingston Manor, NY
By the Bay, Back to the Picture Mission Bay; San Francisco, CA
Art Circus, 2017, Live Worms Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Against Trumpism, Museum of International Propaganda; San Rafael, CA
Sketchbook West, Las Lagunas Gallery; Laguna Beach, CA
Mission Artists Now, Back to the Picture; San Francisco, CA
Figure Ground, Buckham Gallery; Flint, MI
Patterns of Disorder, Red Museum; Sacramento, CA
2016 ARTSpan Open Studios, Red Brick Studios; San Francisco, CA
ARTSpan Open Studios, McRoskey Factory Loft; San Francisco, CA
Momento Mori, public installation, Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco, CA
2015 Speak Out, Bronx Art Space, Bronx, NY
#BlackLivesMatter, MCLA Gallery 51, North Adams, MA
Hard Place, Firehouse Gallery; Johnson, VT
Hidden Gems of the Tenderloin, Space 236; San Francisco, CA
First Thursdays, Clay Underground; San Francisco, CA
Gnome Contingent (part of the Ecosexual Contingent), Pride Parade, San Francisco, CA
HAM the Astrochimp Mug Release, Hey Café, New Orleans, LA
2013 《身边的地精》Gnomes Among Us, guerrilla installation in streets of Kunming, with 苔画廊 Contemporary Yunnan; Kunming, Yunnan, China
《合订本》Bound Volume, 苔画廊 Contemporary Yunnan; Kunming, Yunnan, China
2012 Gnomes Among Us, guerrilla installation in streets and parks of San Francisco; San Francisco, California, USA
2005 Disappearance and Rebirth, 715 Underground Space; Kunming, Yunnan, China
Far Far Away, TC/G Nordica; Kunming, Yunnan, China
2004 Underfoot Art Exhibit, Start Soma Gallery; San Francisco, California, USA
2003 Dadafest, SoMArts; San Francisco, California, USA
2002 No War, The Luggage Gallery; San Francsico, CA, USA
Dadafest, SoMArts; San Francisco, California, USA
Irwin Scholars Exhibition, Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery; Santa Cruz, CA, USA
2001 Emerging Veridissima, The Women’s Center; Santa Cruz, CA, USA
2000 Death of the Mother, Burning Man; Black Rock City, NV, USA
Conversations at the End of Time, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts Sculpture Gallery; Chongqing, China
Youth Sculpture Invitational Competition, Shenzhen Contemporary Arts Center; Shenzhen, Zhejiang, China
Publications
2020 “Shelter in Place,” Georgia Review, Volume LXXXIV, Number 2 (Summer 2020): 427-433
2011 Gnometown, Vol. 1, self published comic book
2010 Stephen Hero, self published comic book
“Stephen Hero,” Asian American Literery Review, Issue 2 (Fall 2010): 56-64.
2009 Hazel and the Tempting Tennessee Tantalizer, self published comic book
2008 Myeloma is On The Move, self published comic book
2007 Looking for a Woman to Marry, self published comic book
2006 Contusion and Confusion, self published comic book
Artist Residencies
2022-Present Ceramicist-In-Residence, New Traditions Elementary School, San Francisco, CA
2015 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2013 943 Studio Kunming, Kunming, China
Commissions
2020 What We Do for Love; SF General Hospital Foundation, San Francisco, CA
2019 Good Bones; Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco, CA
2018 Memorial Pillar; Robby Poblete Foundation, Vallejo, CA
2016 Onagadori Chicken; Michael Andrewchow, Reston, VA
2014 John Muir Gnome; Muirhouse Brewery, Ilkeston, United Kingdom
2012 Meet You Halfway Across the Country; Rick & Allyson Rickard, Oakland, CA
2008 Ecosexual Wedding Costumes; Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens, San Francisco, CA
Education
2008 Master’s of Business Administration, Presidio Graduate School, San Francisco, CA, USA
2002 Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
Bachelor of Humanities, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
1999-2000 四川美术学院 Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, 重庆 Chongqing, China
1997 Florence Academy of Arts, Florence, Italy
Grants and Awards
2023 Artist Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ
2022 Certificate of Recognition, State of California Senate, Sponsored by Senator Scott Weiner, November 11th
Best of Class, Adult Fine Arts: Sculpture, Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton, CA
Silver Award & Fair Theme Award, Adult Fine Arts: Sculpture, Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton, CA
Project Grant, San Francisco Institute of Possibility, San Francisco, CA
2021 CGI Quick Grant; Center for Cultural Innovation, San Francisco, CA, USA
1st Place, Adult Fine Arts: Sculpture - Clay; Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton, CA, USA
2020 Safety Net Fund Grant; San Francisco, CA, USA
San Francisco Artist Relief Grant; Center for Cultural Innovation, San Francisco, CA, USA
Visiting Artist Grant; Philanthropic Ventures Fund, Palo Alto, CA, USA
2015 Hidden Gems of the Tenderloin Award; Wildflower Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA
2007 Urban Re:Visions, Re:Route Competition winner
Urban Re:Visions, Re:Store Competition winner
2002 President’s Undergraduate Fellowship, University of California Santa Cruz
Dean’s Award, University of California Santa Cruz
William H. Irwin Scholarship for Excellence in Art, University of California Santa Cruz
Production Ethics
Nothing is made in a vacuum. Sculpting, drawing, making - no matter how it is done - has implications for the environment, the people who produce the objects and the people who use the object. I believe in a eliminating as much waste as possible from production processes; conservation of water, clay and minerals is tantamount to respect for the natural world that inspires us. I print my printed works on FSC certified and/or 100% recycled post-consumer paper. I believe that the people who produce the objects used in our homes and restaurants should work in a safe environment, be compensated adequately for their labor, and be treated with respect. Any time I hire assistants, I pay them a fair wage, treat them with respect and love, and make sure their work environment is safe.