Wood Would

Dates: Through June 3, 2018
Location: Kaaterskill Fine Arts Gallery, Hunter Village Square, Main Street, Hunter
Gallery Hours: Friday, Saturday & Monday, 11 am-5:30 pm; Sunday 11 am-4:00 PM
More Information: 518 263 2060

 “But we shouldn’t be concerned about trees purely for material reasons, we should also care about them because of the little puzzles and wonders they present us with. Under the canopy of the trees, daily dramas and moving love stories are played out. Here is the last remaining piece of Nature, right on our doorstep, where adventures are to be experienced and secrets discovered. And, who knows, perhaps one day the language of trees will eventually be deciphered, giving us the raw material for further amazing stories. Until then, when you take your next walk in the forest, give free reign to your imagination—in many cases, what you imagine is not so far removed from reality, after all!”
–Peter Wohlleben, The Hidden Life of Trees

On April 21, Kaaterskill Fine Arts Gallery opened Wood Would, a new exhibit featuring works by Nancy Azara, Justin Calder, John Cooley, John Cross, Samm Kunce, Harry Matthews, New York Heartwoods, Nate Orton, Stephen Walling, and painted guitars from Musica. Hudson. John Cross and Stephen Walling are showing their work courtesy of Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson.

Think about all the ways that our lives have been intertwined with wood:

Use of wood and our relationship to trees charters our life on the planet; the peaks and valleys of our cultural development along with harmful acts of self-destruction.

Building fires to keep us warm, handles for almost every tool from hammers to planers, the structural bones of our homes, barns and work spaces. Wood has been the primary material used in tables, chairs and bookcases. For many centuries we used wooden plates, bowls and troughs to feed ourselves and our animals.  

Consider how water towers held precious rain water. Water travel fostered the enrichment of trade using canoes, sailboats and cargo ships as well as allowing people to migrate to new countries.

How we have conducted war—weapons from hand-held slingshots, clubs, spears and bows and arrows, to guillotines, catapults, ships that became armadas that helped defend national sovereignty or, for better or worse, expand empires.

Wood is so important in our creative endeavors: paper, the platform for capturing, containing and disseminating our personal stories, our collective history and our hopes. The creation of musical instruments using wood is one of civilization’s greatest accomplishments.

There are so many other examples of how we have incorporated wood into our lives, from shoe soles to telephone poles, bridges to carriages with wooden wheels. And, of course, sculpture.

This exhibit explores the nature of working with wood, the way in which people create with wood as well as allowing the language of wood to speak through these creations.

In 2018, the Catskill Mountain Foundation celebrates it’s 20th anniversary. Wood Would is one of several group exhibitions that we are offering in hopes of igniting your sense of wonder, providing a platform for you to explore not only the nature of specific materials but the very nature of creativity itself.  We are both in awe of and grateful for the rich and diverse talent that lives and works in our region.

Wood Would will be on display at Kaaterskill Fine Arts, Hunter Village Square, Main Street, Hunter through June 3, 2018.

Also on display at Kaaterskill Fine Arts through June 3 are Catskill Mountains and Creeks, Adirondack Mountains and Lakes: Robert Selkowitz.