Caroline Kent: A Boundary-Pushing Abstract Artist

Alumni of Notable Achievement recipient Caroline Kent (MFA ‘08, art), a "role model for her success and ambition as a contemporary artist," demonstrates creative freedom through her boundary-pushing work in abstract painting. Kent is co-founder of an experimental gallery, The Bindery Projects, that ran from 2011 to 2016 in St. Paul, MN. She is the recipient of numerous national awards including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, The Joan Mitchell Fellowship for Painters and Sculptors, The Joyce Alexander Wein Prize, and most recently a 2025 United States Artist Fellow. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Art Theory Practice Department at Northwestern University. Kent has garnered national acclaim for her exploration of language, abstraction, and painting. 

What do you do now? What energizes you about it?

I am a full-time artist, professor at Northwestern University, mother to three children, and wife. What energizes me about this is that there is never a dull moment and I’m constantly kept on my toes. I appreciate and deeply value that my family is able to see my practice up close as my art studio is in our home. They see the time and labor that goes into working on an exhibition and then see it go from my studio out into the world. My step-daughter Ysabella, 19, is currently helping me paint in the studio and that is something super special. My husband Nate has always helped out in the studio from fabrication to building out my studio. The younger two, Kent and Nina who are in elementary school have also helped me in the studio in various ways as well over the years. I believe it's making a deep imprint on the children and that they will value the experience even more as they get older and reflect back. It's a full home and a full life. 

What was something special about your home department?

There was always an excitement walking through the art department. I felt it held such possibility; each day I came to campus felt like I could freely explore ideas or that I would discover something new. I felt very supported by my professors and the freedom to get into any subject or exploration that I desired. The art department is quite spread out and constitutes two buildings connected by a skyway. I have so many fond memories of walking from one building to the next. I always enjoyed visiting other grads in their studios and seeing what they were up to. It was a very relaxed environment I recall and everyone seemed to really support each other. 

What should current students understand about your profession if they are considering it for themselves?

Being an artist is a lot of hard work and very challenging. It's not a profession for the faint-hearted as there is no ladder to climb and there isn't a clear path that everyone follows post-MFA degree. The road is filled with unknowns but it's also a passion path. If one truly enjoys what they do, then it will be worth the unknown path that often is traveled. It's individualistic in that the artist carves out a path for themselves and walks on that path, which may have others on it, but not at all times. 

It's important to get many perspectives from artists before you embark on this path so that you can keep your expectations grounded in reality and not fantasy. I think social media has become a way for people to believe in fantasy and to project what an artist's lifestyle may be like. Instead, talk with as many artists as you know and that can give you the necessary insight. We see so many of the “winning moments” and beautifully staged images online and that isn't a full picture. Much of what happens in an artist's life is slow and no one is seeing that aspect, but it's in that part, that practices deepen and what is produced from it, is rich. 

I have found being an artist to be very rewarding and fulfilling but I have to say I would be very curious how I would feel today if I had not received the necessary attention, validation, or opportunities along the way. I would hope that no matter what I would follow my curiosity and find fulfillment in my pursuits whatever they may be. 

Where did you spend most of your time on and around campus? What do you miss about your old haunts?

I used to love going to lunch at The Loring Pasta Bar in Dinkytown. This place was truly beautiful and had this old-world charm that felt very European, from the architecture to the decor. Back in the day, it was so lovely to stroll through campus on a chilly fall day and head from the West Bank over to Dinkytown. It was such a treat to go and have this kind of experience during the middle of the day. It was the kind of place that pulled you out of the campus and into another world for a short time. 

What's next? What are your personal/professional goals for the next five years?

What is next…..! I am finishing up a project for the US Embassy in Mexico City. I will be starting soon on a European endeavor that will be the first time my work will be seen in a museum abroad. I am working on a commission for UChicago’s Smart Museum’s 50th Anniversary. I am quite busy and my hope is that I stay busy, because that's where the discovery lies. Each project is an opportunity to keep growing, to keep [creating], and to keep making my practice exciting. My goal from here on out is to sustain a deep engagement with art; it has to give you something back and hopefully touches others in the process. 

This story was edited by Sally Adams, an undergraduate student in CLA.