Katie DeGroot has been painting trees and their cast off limbs for years. Hiking around her neighborhood on New York State’s picturesque Hudson River banks, she finds branches everywhere – by the side of the road, on nature preserve trails. Sometimes her dog Quinn brings them to her too.
Katie DeGroot, Resplendent. Watercolor on paper. 50 in. by 40 in. ©Katie DeGroot 2020. Courtesy of the Kathryn Markel Fine Arts Gallery.
DeGroot paints images of these treasures in vibrant colors, exuberant strokes set against stark white backgrounds. Grouped — in competition or in conversation — as they would exist in nature, the individual branches remain unique. Decked out in detailed, tree-specific moss, lichen and fungi, each image is imbued with what she describes as her “own quirky interpretation of the object’s personality.” In her talented hands, the branches become “something beyond just sticks, full of personality.”
Seven of DeGroot’s large watercolors are on display in the Boscage exhibition at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts Gallery (New York City) and online now through May 8, 2021. A celebration of the complexity and splendor of trees, the exhibition is sure to delight. And, for a population emerging from pandemic-induced isolation, DeGroot’s treatment of trees as individual adapters and survivors is inspiring.
Katie DeGroot, Cocktail Party VI. Watercolor on paper. 52.5 in. by 58 in. ©Katie DeGroot 2020. Courtesy of the Kathryn Markel Fine Arts Gallery.
DeGroot explains: “We are taught to look at trees based on a stereotype, the image of a perfectly pruned tree is the one most people have in their heads, balanced and symmetrical. But in nature those rarely exist. Trees grow to survive, they adapt to their given environment, growing into strange shapes, producing oddly shaped limbs, becoming contortionists to get to sunlight, bowing to the will of other larger trees. They grow in context to each other and their neighbors, adapting as best they can to the situation they find themselves in.”
Still, this exhibition doesn’t shrink from the harsh realities of nature. These are dead and dying trees. Their finery stems from decomposers intent on reducing them to soil. But where others might see only decay, DeGroot finds beauty in aging: “My paintings honor my subjects’ singular elegance and imagined personality, and I hope they can remind viewers to celebrate beauty in unexpected places.”
Katie DeGroot, Big Time (the birches). Watercolor on paper. 72 in. by 52 in. ©Katie DeGroot 2020. Courtesy of the Kathryn Markel Fine Arts Gallery.
A related gallery exhibition, In Conversation, offers a fascinating opportunity to explore five artists who influenced DeGroot: Joan Nelson, Barbara Takenaga, Amy Talluto, Nancy Shaver, and Martin Weinstein.
The Kathryn Markel Fine Arts Gallery, located at 529 West 20th St., Suite 6W, is currently open regular hours. Social distancing and masks are required. Check the gallery website for further details.
