From early childhood, Kristi has spent her life travelling between Sydney, Australia and Saint Paul, Minnesota. She was seldom without a book, a Barbie doll and a set of coloring pencils. She was fascinated by art, travel, culture, and making things with her hands from a very early age and chose to study art, theatre and design throughout school and university. After a decade in the corporate arena and a graduate degree in Design and an Executive MBA, she decided to leave the corporate life for one where she could pursue her true passion – to become a self-sustaining artist.
Returning to Minnesota in search of new directions and inspiration, Kristi initially found her community as a resident in the city of St Paul, working and living in the Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative. Here she honed her technique, created several series of work and started showing her work to the public. After a sold out exhibition at the Gamut Gallery in Minneapolis in 2018, Kristi decided to take the leap to go out on her own, opening her own studio and gallery space in downtown Minneapolis. During the next 3 years in this space, she held solo and group exhibitions, lead collage workshops, hosted events and weddings, and created many new series of work – all while exhibiting around the country at many prominent art fairs.
2020 brought much change however, and after the forced closures that came with the global pandemic and the riots that rocked Minneapolis to the core, the gallery’s doors closed and Kristi sought out her next opportunity.
She is currently attending a 12 month residency at the Art Business Incubator program on South Padre Island, Texas. Always one to adapt to the local vibe and culture, she looks forward to making art relevant to this community, while still remaining relevant to her collectors around the world.
"At first glance, Abbott’s work draws the eye with its vibrant colors and complimentary patterns. Upon closer study, her paper collages reveal their complexity. Built layer upon layer and often containing secondary thematic elements throughout, Abbott depicts beloved icons and landscapes in her vivid collages.
Abbott’s keen compositional eye and her business acumen have allowed her to pursue her dream of earning a living as an artist." MN Originals – Public Television Series
As an artist:
As a collage artist Kristi is fascinated with the use of color, pattern and texture and tries to combine these elements in her work in an innovative and exciting way using a combination of papers, paints and other embellishment materials.
Kristi also feels challenged to continue to push the boundaries of technique, subject matter and provocation. She is keen to understand some of the driving forces that shape our culture, communities and social patterns. Therefore each piece and series is thoughtfully researched and conceptualized to tell a story through the use of familiar imagery richly layered throughout each artwork.
Major influences in her work include pop art and pop culture, Hollywood, music and fashion. Games from her childhood have also had a major influence in her latest works, which are rich with hidden imagery.
Her technique is still evolving and employs an exploratory and playful process, which can incorporate costuming, photography, graphic manipulation, collage and painting.
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