Bard College at Simon's Rock: the Early College
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Kathleen Jacobs Exhibition: Clearing

October 26 - December 21, 2016

Clearing, 2015

Clearing, 2015

Exhibit Information

In Clearing, Jacobs explores the natural landscapes that surround us, honoring the epic battle between the elements from which it results. In this intimate exhibition Jacobs bring viewers up close to the canvases that started their life outside, wrapped around the trunks and limbs of trees, then exposed to the rain, snow, and sun, for three years. “I make multiple rubbings on canvas using the tree’s wood grain as my plate - I layer the images to create depth,” says Jacobs.

After several years the artist extracts the canvases and stretches them as horizontally framed pieces. As the paintings age and weather, the patina becomes an intricate part of the process. Jacob’s explains that the title of this work is “the act of actually rescuing (clearing) an old walnut orchard and making the paintings which delineated it boundaries; both geographically and spiritually.” Responding to the thickly wooded campus of Simon's Rock outside the art gallery, Jacobs has begun the process again, wrapping several canvases on pine trees along Alford Road, waiting to see what the “battle of elements” brings forth.

About the Artist

Jacobs was born in Aspen, Colorado and studied art in Boston, Milan, Hong Kong and Beijing. Her work has been exhibited extensively in galleries in Aspen, New York, Vienna and Brussels.