Natacha Sochat
United Arts Council
March
Artist Statement
Artists are part of every aspect of society, there is nothing created that does not include an artistic principle as much as it includes mathematical and physical science.
I have always merged science and art in my work. I live my life reflecting my ethical beliefs and artistic philosophy. My work embodies what I am: for good or bad, for perfect or flawed. The objects I create are imbued with my struggle to understand the unpredictability and the complexity of being human in the 21st century: as an older woman, as an American Latina, as a wife and mother, and as a believer in an ethical political/economic system for the world we live in.
This series of drawings/paintings embodies my research into the NeuroMorphic Universe that we all inhabit, playfully transcending the complexity of life.
My Hand is my Mind.
Artist Bio
Natacha Sochat was born in Manhattan, New York City. As a very young child she grew up in Habana, Cuba. Her father was a Cuban revolutionary. In later childhood, her family lived in the south Bronx. Her love of art was nurtured while growing up in the rich cultural landscape of NYC. She attended the Bronx HS of Science. Natacha lived and worked in Europe in the early 1970’s, travelling to many different cities viewing many artistic works in person. She worked as a professional photographer in Berlin, Germany, including freelance work for "Berlin Today" magazine. After Berlin she moved to Boston MA in 1974, where she attended Boston University. She is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Boston University (BA Biology with distinction, minor art history). Her post-baccalaureate studies at Brandeis University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston included painting, printmaking, photography, and video. She received her MFA in Studio Arts from Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her MFA thesis embodied the NeuroMorphic Universe - our connectedness biologically and otherwise, and her work still resides in this realm to this day. She received her MD degree from Boston University School of Medicine.
Natacha met Michael Sochat in 1975 while attending Boston University and they married in 1980. While at Boston University College of Liberal Arts, Natacha met Arthur Polonsky and Harold Tovish. Their philosophies greatly influenced her decision to be an artist. She learned how to code in 1975 before the personal PC was introduced. This was the stepping stone for Natacha to the world of computers that she would later naturally incorporate into her artistic process.
In 2010 Natacha co-founded NKG (Boston contemporary art gallery, now closed). NKG gave voice to the pluralism that continually enriches contemporary art and ideas. NKG's mission was to further contemporary art by giving equal value to the mind and the hand. Natacha curated many exhibitions and works during this time. She also created and managed the gallery’s website.
Natacha has taught at numerous places including School of the Museum of Fine Arts (painting), the New Hampshire Institute of Art (drawing/printmaking), and was Master Teacher in Studio Arts at the St. Paul's School Advanced Studies Program (Concord, NH). She is an interdisciplinary thinker, curator, and artist including painting, printmaking (etching, relief, monoprint, etc), bookmaking, small sculptural objects, performance, video, drawing, and photography. Her work is in numerous collections, has won many awards and has been in exhibitions throughout the United States. She was a member of the College Board Association and served on the Board of the Woman's Caucus for Art (NH), including President and webmaster.
In 2015 Natacha left NH and moved to Raleigh, NC where she currently resides and has a studio in ArtSpace.