Co.Lab Gallery presents

KAT TWOMEY

PORTALS

APRIL 3-16, 2026

PORTALS is a collection of fantasy landscapes made from clay and glass, each featuring a portal as the focal point. These portals invite you to stand on the precipice and peer into new dimensions. They embody a decision to make change, and the surrounding environment reflects the emotional impact of deciding upon which side of the portal you wish to remain. The portal and its unknown destination pull at our curiosity: What could be on the other side? What would it take to cross the threshold? What if you could never return?

Kat's work explores the complexity of human emotion and the ways internal reflection can deepen our understanding of the world. In sculpting landscapes that appear dreamlike and surreal, the artist creates physical places to explore our abstract and intangible inner mental spaces. Using the liminal forms of archways, pools, and pathways, she invokes the symbolism of journey and possibility. The portal motif presents viewers with an opportunity to imagine what could be, to wonder what journey they would be willing to take to explore new realms, and to look for rifts in reality beyond the exhibit.

Kat Twomey is a contemporary Canadian visual artist working in the mediums of ceramics. Living and working in Thunder Bay, Twomey is influenced by the surrounding Boreal Forest and the effects of nature on our mental and emotional state. In her studio, she continuously researches ceramic materials; developing her own clay and glaze recipes to further her understanding and artistic expression. Kat has recently started exploring alternative and traditional firing methods, including wood and soda kilns, and has a keen interest in efficient and eco-friendly firing techniques.  

Twomey holds an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Lakehead University (2014), and is known across Canada for her functional pottery under the name Black Dog Ceramics.