VERGENNES — Northern Daughters presents “Dear Wild Ones,” an exhibit featuring the work of Rebecca Kinkead and Eben Markowski. The exhibition is on view at the gallery’s 221 Main St. location in Vergennes, from June 1-July 9, with an opening reception this Friday, June 9, from 5-8 p.m.
The concept for this exhibit, emerged after Kinkead and Markowski first met at Northern Daughters gallery. The two expressed interest in exhibiting together in a show dedicated to the wild animals both so reverently depict in their work.
“Northern Daughters Gallery is inhabited by all sorts of wild animals, and you won’t want to miss it,” said gallerist Justine Jackson, “Each artist, in their manner, has found a way to bring the honest presence of their subjects into their work.”
Both Markowski and Kinkead strike the challenging balance of omitting details, and including the most important aspects that allow for the animals to energetically emerge from the piece.
Kinkead is known for her figurative work that is focused on children, often depicting a joyful moment of childhood abstracted just enough to make the image appear to be forming or disappearing before the viewer. She has exhibited with numerous reputable galleries across the country and her work is held in the notable collections of Oprah Winfrey, Powdr Corp and Ballinglen Art Foundation to name a few. She was an artist in residence at Baer Art Center, in Iceland, summer of 2016 and will be attending the Jentel Foundation Residency in Wyoming this year.
Much of Kinkead’s recent work has the viewer looking face to face with a bear, owl, deer or wolf taking the viewer to that moment you come across an animal in the wild and lock eyes.
“I think that moment when an animal is seeing you, witnessing you and you’re just in its presence, there is something exhilarating about that,” Kinkead explained. “It takes my breath away.” When speaking about her shift in subject Kinkead assured she was not done with her figurative work but she is devoted to her new focus. “I love animals, I always have,” she said. “I think I am at a point where I am able to paint them the way I want to… I think it is a way of feeling closer to nature and to these wild things that I am kind of worried about. It feels important.”
Markowski is a self-taught Vermont artist who creates sculptures from the discarded materials of industrialization. “The materials we use to dominate nature, I seek to repurpose into totems for the preservation and education of an ecologically diverse planet, a planet based on holism and interconnectedness,” Markowski explained. He gained considerable recognition most recently for his sculpture “Gravity,” a life size elephant made of rusted steel and chain components. “Gravity” has traveled to numerous locations in Vermont, including Champlain College and most recently Burlington International Airport.
For “Dear Wild Ones,” Markowski transforms the heavy industrial materials into a volery of birds who, despite the physical weight of the materials, appear to be poised to take off at any moment. The viewer gets to be with creatures who are often only seen for a fleeting moment in the wild.
“The natural world when witnessed takes your breath away, and when carelessly destroyed, ruins any chance we have as a species to continue our existence in a true and honorable manner,” Markowski said.
Kinkead, Markowski and Northern Daughters will donate 10 percent of sales from June 1 through the opening on June 9 to the Vermont Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. “Both of these artists have such reverence for the wild world,” co-gallerist Sophie Pickens explained, “donating a percentage of sales towards protecting those who inspire them is only fitting.”
For more info contact [email protected], (802) 877-2173 or visit northerndaughters.com.