Isabella Kirkland American, b. 1954
Nantahala, 2023
oil and alkyd on polyester over panel
36 x 48 in
91.4 x 121.9 cm
91.4 x 121.9 cm
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Isabella Kirkland adapts the techniques of historic natural history painters to explore our natural world. In Nantahala, she borrows 17th century artist Jan Van Kessel’s framing device to make a...
Isabella Kirkland adapts the techniques of historic natural history painters to explore our natural world. In Nantahala, she borrows 17th century artist Jan Van Kessel’s framing device to make a portrait of a very specific place — a hardwood forest near the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. The bordering panels show close-up surface details of the plants or animals that are painted at full scale in the central still life. Through the close-ups, Kirkland examines how color is carried on the surface of living things and how structures influence our perceptions.