The Tree around the Corner

February 7 鈥 May 19, 2024

Barbara Kerne, Artist
Vivienne M. Lassman, Curator

Read the exhibition catalog online

鈥淢y life as an artist has been an expression of exploration of my interior self in my environment.鈥 鈥擝arbara Kerne

Barbara Kerne

Barbara Kerne, Day and Night, 2022. Oil on linen, 39 x 39 inches.

Overview & Events

Gallery Talk: The Tree Around the Corner


Barbara Kerne has been compelled to make art inspired by nature since she was a child, as is evident in her myriad interpretations of trees throughout the decades. While an educator for many years as a tenured professor at Montgomery College, Kerne鈥檚 drive to examine this particular arboreal focus also inspired her to experiment in the field of woodcut printmaking.

Enter another realm with the large scale of Kerne鈥檚 artwork. Her paintings, and their deep recessions into the distance 鈥 while often encompassing sun, water and woods 鈥 create powerful images that force the viewer to into densely hued landscapes, frequently outlined in black. Once here, you are enveloped into a magical, fantastical, 鈥榰nnatural鈥, and even playful reinterpretation of the natural world.

Barbara Kerne

Barbara Kerne, Butterflies are Free, 2017. Woodcut rice paper, 23 x 20 inches.

Barbara Kerne, Falling Water, 2014.  Woodcut, artist made paper, 31 x 24 inches.

Barbara Kerne, Falling Water, 2014. Woodcut, artist made paper, 31 x 24 inches.