Cat Yenn: The Interview
Cat Yenn is a designer and artist based in Sydney, Australia whose “hand-painted artworks are a bold and abstract representations of the less tangible things in life.” She was kind enough to discuss her art practice with us, including tips for those who want to become artists themselves or deepen their existing creative practice— Be sure to follow her on Instagram @cat.yenn at and visit her website at catyenn.com
When did you first know you would become an artist–and when did you take the leap to put that vision into reality?
I didn’t necessarily know that I’d become an artist but I’ve never pictured my life without art or creativity. Visual Arts was my best subject in school and my dad is an artist/musician so I was lucky to always be surrounded by it. I began painting regularly again with my series “Bouncey” while I was recovering from Covid in April 2020. I can be a huge procrastinator so being forced by the authorities to stay in my studio with a foggy brain to stop me overthinking worked out well.
Your 2021 series “Jump” is described as exploring ‘the sensation that hovers right between being grounded and floating’. Was this a reaction to the liminal space of lockdowns and COVID-19?
“Jump” is all about that intense floating sensation experienced at different times in life. You know, that feeling when your stomach almost feels… detached? Since I was little, this feeling has always been striking to me, how it exists in both familiar and unknown moments, sometimes fleeting and sometimes long-lasting. It’s the same whether you’ve swung too high on a swing set or revealed intimate feelings to someone for the first time. Either way, I wanted to represent it positively and playfully. The emotional rollercoaster of the COVID lockdowns had a natural place in the series for sure but it doesn’t completely define it.
I really love this series because it hasn’t ended yet. It’s a foundation that continues to inform my work, a quiet thrill that I want to keep exploring.
I love the term “structured whimsy” which you use to describe your work on your site. Can you explain how this concept informs your artistic practice?
After school I decided to study design and in the last decade have worked in jobs that apply artistic notions to practical outcomes. I find having parameters better for my artistic development because it’s fun to work out how to creatively get around them. Although, I often get paralysed by perfectionism so have decided to challenge that through the restrained aesthetic of my art. Every shape is intentionally flat, all lines are painted by hand with no tape or stencils and the empty space must remain pristine. The piece is to be precise but must have personality. Each one aims to balance tension and flow. These are the structures I’ve set for myself with my painting. The whimsy lies in giving the static shapes a sense of movement which is done with colour and composition.
This might change in the future but right now I’m enjoying painting like this.
What is something that most people don’t know, but should know, about you and your art?
A lot of people think my art is computer generated or digitally assisted but it’s not at all. It’s all hand done. Oh and I’m addicted to crosswords.
What pieces of art (broadly defined) inspire you?
The list is long but here are two, one painting and one graphic design piece.
1. The Listening Room by Rene Magritte for its simplistic overwhelmingness (which is 100% a word). I love surrealism and the way it plays with your perceptions.
2. Watching Words Move by Robert Brownjohn, a typographic booklet with word clippings arranged to “liberate letters from the mere delivery of information”. It inspires me for its honest and wonderfully amusing interpretation of words and meaning.
What practices help you create your best work? (e.g. waking up early, coffee, a routine, spontaneity, etc.)
A good studio session involves coffee or red wine (the two are interchangeable) and either an addictive podcast or - kinda weird but - a super bingeable tv series in the background. Listening to the same characters and narrative helps me stay focused. It gets me on a roll and keeps me going for long stints. Ideas often come to me really late at night or stupidly early in the morning. I think it’s because of the quiet. Reading good art and design blogs daily also helps.
What advice do you have for people who want to get into art and design?
Practice makes progress.
Whether it’s pencil to paper, paint to canvas or pen-tool to layer, just start. Before you know it you’ll have a body of work to grow on.
Favorite song recently?
I Feel Love - Donna Summer
The synth riff is pure energy.
What’s next for Cat Yenn?
A new series release in early 2023! I’ve been extreme slow cooking a new batch of paintings. I also want to complete my first super large scale piece.
Be sure to follow Cat on Instagram @cat.yenn at and visit her website at catyenn.com
Photographs by Wade Van Den Hoek and Jake Terrey, courtesy Cat Yenn, used with permission.