Kathryn Markel Fine Arts

It’s the final day to view Katie DeGroot’s solo show and curated group show! If you weren’t able to see these works in person, enjoy our virtual tours for both exhibitions on our site: bit.ly/2Q1MZtZ

Our group show "In Conversation" presents a group of artists from Upstate New York that inspire curator and KMFA artist Katie DeGroot. Take a walkthrough of the show, featuring works by Joan Nelson, Nancy Shaver, Barbara Takenaga, Amy Talluto, Martin Weinstein and Katie herself. Visit us this week to see these works up close before the show closes on Saturday, May 8.

Our #PictureOfTheWeek is: Joanne Freeman, "Viridian 30A," 2021, gouache on handmade paper, 30 x 24 inches Joanne Freeman’s paintings incorporate elements found in architecture, design, popular culture, and art history. Her reductive compositions and pure color mimic the low-tech graphics utilized in mid-century media, and allude to color field paintings of the 1960s. Masking her forms out beforehand gives her paintings a stencil-like feel, a nod to the printmaking techniques that were also popular at the time, as well as Matisse’s cut outs. Her saturated colors in gouache are absorbed by handmade paper, enhancing the modernist flatness of her forms and use of space. There is a power in her pared down vocabulary as she explores the boundaries of minimalism, and how they can be pushed. Learn more: bit.ly/3nSF1Qf

Katie DeGroot’s paintings honor trees and celebrate their complexities. Check out a review of Boscage from Honoring the Future to learn more about our exhibiting artist, and see the show in person through May 8 in the Chelsea gallery.

We love these new watercolor paintings by Katie DeGroot that emphasize each tree's unique personality. Katie started collecting sticks and branches, and began to understand how each one is different from the other. She emphasizes the fungus, moss, and growth that each tree has and heightens its personality while expressing how they interact with each other in her paintings. This is particularly interesting because I just finished reading a book called The Secret Lives of Tree...s, which talks about how scientists are beginning to understand how the root system in a forest allows trees to exchange nutrients and information. Trees wind up being a community of collaborators underground, but above ground, they're competing with each other for nutrients and sunlight. Each tree has its own reaction to the environment, and Katie emphasizes this beautifully with her use of heightened color and contrast. Then she makes them talk to each other, and they're having parties and working together and competing with each other, just like families and people. #OnView through May 8 in the Chelsea gallery. Learn more: bit.ly/2RbAZ9w