SWIMMING POOL
September 5 - October 11, 2025
Creative Alliance [3134 Eastern Ave Baltimore, MD]
Swimming Pool is a solo exhibition by Baltimore based interdisciplinary artist and ultramarathon open water swimmer, Katie Pumphrey. Swimming Pool will feature all new paintings and a site-specific installation. Deeply connected to her experiences in the water, Pumphrey explores the repetition of our anxieties and fears, along with the humor we call on to swim through it all. Her work explores how our imagination plays tricks on us, especially when stress is high and the journey is far.
Pumphrey’s paintings reference the compositions of historical paintings through playful colors and images of swimmers and marine life. Her engagement with paintings like Rubens ' "Three Graces" and Copley’s “Watson and the Shark” as cultural references takes classical bodies and submerges them in contemporary waters of fear and anxiety. A declaration that our deepest fears and anxieties can become our most profound teachers.
Echoed in the repetition of a swimmer’s hands and the lurking suggestion of sea monsters, this call and response with history combines these tensions, and dives into the connectedness between human instincts and play.
Through an opening reception paired with playful performances, and artist talks that center dialogue over monologue, as well as community partnerships, Pumphrey creates community where connection becomes a shared experience, and art serves as a necessity.
Opening Reception: Sept 5th, 6-9pm | Artist Talk & Swim Stories: Sept 24th, 6:30pm
(Washington) Crossing the Delaware
25ft x 108in, acrylic on canvas, 2025
Three Graces
70 x 90in, acrylic on canvas, 2025
Watson and the Shark
144 x 108in, acrylic on canvas, 2024
Over and Over, and Over, Again
96 x 84in, acrylic on canvas, 2025
Swimmer I, II
24 x 26in, acrylic on canvas, 2025
Queen of Hearts (Lady Agnew of Lochnaw)
64 x 74in, acrylic on canvas with spinning mount & locks, 2025
Birth of Venus
70 x 96in, acrylic on canvas, 2025
Wild Hands (1-30)
10 x 10in each, acrylic on canvas, 2025
To inquire about works, events, or to reach out with questions, contact the Creative Alliance via joy@creativealliance.org or contact the artist directly via pumphreykatie@gmail.com.