VISUAL ARTIST

Katie Millitzer

Katie Millitzer is a visual artist living and working in Tower Grove East, St. Louis. Her studio practice explores ideas of collection, inclusion, and othering, and her artwork features handheld dog figurines.Millitzer received a BFA in ceramics from Webster University. She obtained her MFA in visual art from WashU in 2012, and founded the Millitzer Studio and Gallery in 2013. Katie exhibits her work locally and nationally and continues to direct the Millitzer Studio and Gallery in St. Louis.

STUDIO PRACTICE

About

My studio practice explores ideas of collection, inclusivity, and othering, and my current work features small ceramic dogs. I use text in much of my work, and my small dog figurines have their bodies bent into letters, spelling out phrases in weirdly cute lettering. I construct board game-sized wall-hanging sculptures that become actual art playsets, including small ceramic dogs that can be removed from the original works. Sets of dogs can be joined and split, pieces lost and found. Each dog is its own small artwork, but also belongs to an original set or group. I use branding phrases such as “Collect Us All” and “Them/Us” in the work, inviting viewers into a potential transaction or situation involving personal choice and division.

Katie Millitzer

Collect Us All

My family's neurodiversity influences my art, leading me to use sensory elements like fur and clay in my sculptures. My "Collect Us All" series features small, tactile ceramic dog figurines designed to be held and interacted with, doubling as worry stones or fidgets with detachable parts. These pieces are part of playful sets that encourage collecting and trading. I often sell these individually, leave them in public spaces, or gift them during studio visits.My "Them/Us" series explores themes of inclusion and exclusion, building on the ideas of collection and dispersion.