Cat Balco's large-scale patterned wall installations begin as small abstract paintings of forms and rhythms and are derived from loose observation of natural forms. Their simple geometric compositions connect them to ancient symbols of fertility, life, the sun, and growth. As she works through these paintings, forms gather together, repeat, and mirror each other, creating larger patterns. Cat Balco received her MFA in painting from the Yale School of Art in 2007, where she was the recipient of the Helen Winternitz Award in Painting and the Gloucester Landscape Painting Prize. She has been awarded residency fellowships through the Weir Farm Trust, the Albers Foundation, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Yale School of Art at Norfolk. Her paintings have been discussed in international publications including ArtInfo.com, The New York Times, and the London-based magazine Bon International. Recently, she has received two significant public art commissions: the first atartSPACE in New Haven, CT and the second at the new 360 State Street development also in New Haven. Her work is included in the White Columns registry and she is an Associate Fellow at Morse College at Yale University. She is currently a Professor of Painting and Drawing at the Hartford Art School/University of Hartford.