51茶馆儿

Artist Katie DeGroot, director of Skidmore鈥檚 Summer Studio Art Program, spends much of her summer coordinating and teaching in the College's Summer Studio Art Program, which is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Special Programs. This fall she gets to show her work throughout the region, starting with a solo exhibition opening Thursday, Sept. 5, at Galerie Gris, 621 Warren St., Hudson, N.Y.

An artist鈥檚 reception is scheduled at the gallery from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7. The show is the first of three to feature DeGroot, who has earned accolades for her recent work. She will be among the artists participating in the Oct. 12-Dec. 31 at the Hyde Collection, Glens Falls; she also will have eight watercolors in a show called 鈥淪econd Nature,鈥� opening in October at the Albany International Airport.

DeGroot draws inspiration from nature. She explains, 鈥淚 have worked from nature for many years. I enjoy the discovery of a funny shaped leaf, or a fallen log covered with bright orange and purple mushrooms blooming after a rainy period. These found objects become a starting point for my studio investigation. My artwork has always been based on a traditional observation process, however the final appearance of the objects in the paintings is informed by contemporary ideas and concerns and more recently by my own quirky interpretation of the objects鈥� personality. Where these found objects lead me in my artwork has to do with my interests in surrealism and abstraction along with the pure physical pleasure of using color and paint.

Tim Kane, writing in the Albany Times Union (Dec. 16, 2010), noted, 鈥淭o gaze at DeGroot's pictures is to find abstraction in reality shaped by evolution and time, but also humanity in inanimate objects decaying. From a distance, her limbs aren't appendages; they're more like thin cylinders dancing away against an expansive white background. Move closer, color takes shape, nature is revealed with patterns of moss and mushrooms forming distinct shapes. Inch forward, characters and identities emerge, playing out small narratives.鈥�

DeGroot attended New York University and Illinois State University before living and working in New York City for nearly 20 years. She also has been a resident at Yaddo, Saratoga's famed artists retreat.

(Featured photo: "Diva II," detail from 18" x 24" image, watercolor on paper, 2012, by Katie DeGroot)