Katie Merz utilizes a present state of mind, line, and color to produce abstract works on paper that provoke a sense of dimensionality and emotive response. Her parents were both architects and held a practice out of their home in Brooklyn, New York. Inspired by their drafting, she developed an intimate relationship with her drawings as a child. They were a place of retreat amongst the noisy streets of Brooklyn. While she was very young, she took an Interest in how the mind works both on a scientific and psychological level. This interest continues in her practice now and she uses it to interpret her own moods using color. Later, Katie earned a BFA in studio art at Cooper Union in New York. She spent the first half of her first semester studying architecture, but eventually gravitated towards studio art courses. She studied 20th century modernists intimately during this time. Although bits of this historical style in abstraction still reside in her work, its dominant features are a singular presence and  fresh contemporary takes on color and line.