The Common Thread - Landscape and Lumber in reference to the interconnectedness of the Kootenay Columbia region and Kunze’s own family, who are based in Creston, with the lumber industry and the landscape that supports it. In recognizing the complexity of this relationship, Kunze created a body of work that reflects her feelings of affection and gratitude for the forest’s trees and all that they provide for us, while also addressing the impacts of logging on the landscape.
Painting directly on a familiar and ubiquitous plaid pattern known as the Maple Leaf tartan, Kunze sat en plein air outside of local lumber mills to compose her scenes of double vision. The shapes and energy of the machinery laid over the plaid pattern in expressive brushstrokes and lively colour are framed by the rolling, tree-covered slopes of the mountains surrounding each lumber yard. After returning to her studio, Kunze employed digital painting techniques to continue working the push-pull between the painted landscape and the tartan pattern in the composition, teasing out an emotive representation of the region’s lumber industry. The viewer is invited—and challenged—to investigate many perspectives within each painting.
Partly funded by CKCA Columbia Basin Trust.
Painting directly on a familiar and ubiquitous plaid pattern known as the Maple Leaf tartan, Kunze sat en plein air outside of local lumber mills to compose her scenes of double vision. The shapes and energy of the machinery laid over the plaid pattern in expressive brushstrokes and lively colour are framed by the rolling, tree-covered slopes of the mountains surrounding each lumber yard. After returning to her studio, Kunze employed digital painting techniques to continue working the push-pull between the painted landscape and the tartan pattern in the composition, teasing out an emotive representation of the region’s lumber industry. The viewer is invited—and challenged—to investigate many perspectives within each painting.
Partly funded by CKCA Columbia Basin Trust.