A special collection of paintings on paper by Baltimore visual artist and ultramarathon open water swimmer, Katie Pumphrey.

Pulling from her experiences in the water, her paintings, sculptures, and installations use abstraction and imagery to investigate our anxieties, fears, and how our imagination plays tricks on us. Incorporating a bit of humor, Pumphrey explores these tensions and the connectedness between human instincts and play.

Like many of Pumphrey’s paintings, each of these works incorporates the shapes and forms of swimmer’s hands, a nod to the repetition of the journey through water. In this special collection, for the 22nd Annual Women’s symposium, “Women Shaping a Sustainable Future” presented by the Miles and Stockbridge Women’s Network—  these hands also serve as a reminder of a lending and leading hand forward towards a brighter future for all. 

Holding Hands #1-10, acrylic on paper, 2026