Vortexular Spectral Forest Floor

By Artist Kathryn Petke

Photography On Metal

Exhibit Runs July 1st - 31st

Artist Statement

As a young girl I was drawn to the aspects of life that for me contained elements of the strange, unfamiliar and mysterious. The cartoons, fairytales and stories of my childhood were the feasting grounds for my ever-growing imagination. One intention of my practice is to strip away the sugarcoated skin of these images to reveal what I imagine might lie beneath.
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Though the aforementioned ideas are certainly serious, I find myself countering that content with humor and a generally lighthearted imagination.
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The works of Jim Henson, Dr. Seuss and of Tim Burton have strongly influenced my aesthetic sensibilities. Other artists I find conceptually and aesthetically simpatico are: Camille Rose Garcia, Mark Ryden, Paul Klee, Philip Guston and Edward Gorey. ​
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My hope is that my work will stimulate my audience to imagine this alternative world in ways that might add meaning to their own life and experience. I would hope that I have created a suggestive meeting place where the viewer can find room for their own ideas to percolate alongside of mine, in a fertile and productive fashion.

Kathryn Petke

For more information please visit:

https://kathrynpetke.wixsite.com/petkenarrativeartist

You're Invited!

Saturday, July 31st - 5pm - 7pm

Join us for a gallery reception featuring "Vortexular Spectral Forest Floor" by Kathryn Petke. Refreshments and cookies will be served.

Kathryn Petke will also be doing a live demo during the reception so you are not going to want to miss this!

Gallery Hours:
Mon-Thur 10AM-3PM

August 2021 – Victoria Maidhof – Paintings - Madison, WI

Opening Reception August 5th - 6pm - 8pm

Show Runs August 5th - 29th

Transfigurations, Victoria Maidhof 

Artist Statement

Periodically, throughout my lifetime, reckless, impulsive, and addictive behaviors have plagued my daily life as desperate attempts to soothe the physical manifestation of emotional pain. In 2020, after multiple hospitalizations and, eventually, a 28-day inpatient program for co-occurring disorders, I emerged with a new-found stability, a sense of inner tranquility, and the momentum to move forward and rebuild from the wreckage that had become my life. However, having reached a point of stability in a life plagued by the extreme highs and lows associated with bipolar disorder, there are times when I find the newness of normalcy uncomfortable and disorienting. Despite no longer being a prisoner to my manic and depressive episodes, I sometimes miss the familiarity of chaos. Because of this, I have become preoccupied with finding the extraordinary within the ordinary. My project “Transfigurations” features photographs of laundry, trash, children's toys, scraps of paper, towels, dirty dishes, among many other mundane objects and scenes, all created with a dismantled camera lens. I am able to influence the photographs but have little control over their final outcome. The element of chance makes the process both enigmatic and revelatory, and it has proved to b transformative in helping me accept the comfort and beauty of an easier, more harmonious state of existence.

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September 2021 – Rick Mittelstadt – Paintings – Prior Lake, MN

October 2021 – TBA

November 2021 – Nichole Linzmeier – Marshfield, WI – Animal Drawings on Paper and Birch Bark

December 2021 – Holiday Showcase

Get your art to us!
We're currently collecting donated art --now!

Chestnut Center's "Once Loved Art" Silent Auction takes your "retired" art that you've retrieved from the basement or back of the closet, and gives it new life, in someone else's home!

Retired art might take the shape of a piece of wall art, an antique quilt, a piece of lace or jewelry, a sculpture or other three-dimensional pieces, or maybe autographed sheet music.

Donated art can be dropped off at the Chestnut Center during regular office hours (Tuesday through Thursday, 10 am-3pm) or by appointment (715-389-8999).
Let us put your retired treasures back to work!