Drawing inspiration from the Sala a Fogliami or "Room of Foliage” at the Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa in Venice, where she was an artist in residence at the Emily Harvey Foundation, Kuharic similarly depicts flora and fauna to examine the struggle between life and death. Adamant that her references are real and not photographic, Kuharic sources invasive species such as the echinocystis lobata and dead animals such as hummingbirds, cardinals, and finches, from the Hamilton College Cemetery, where tenured professors such as herself are allotted a burial plot. Referencing Albrecht Dürer, El Greco, and Stanley Spencer, Kuharic imbues her withering tangles of closely observed clippings from the natural world with memories and feelings of their lost lives, creating alluring compositions that capture nature’s waning beauty and resilient life force. An abundant web of unnaturally vibrant yellows, greens, blues, and oranges, Parable, 2023, derives its name from the New Testament. Citing Carl Jung’s interpretation that religion is a psychological response to a world filled with the unknown, Kuharic views dedicated observation and immersion in the physical act of painting as a devotional experience akin to prayer. An act of generosity, painting for Kuharic is an opportunity to linger in and prolong the beauty that surrounds us, even in the face of death.

Katharine Kuharic (b. 1962) was born in South Bend, IN, and completed her BFA in Painting & Drawing at Carnegie Mellon University in 1984. She has exhibited in the U.S. and abroad in solo or group exhibitions in Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Stockholm, London, and Amsterdam. Kuharic has been the subject of museum exhibitions at the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE; the South Bend Regional Art Museum, South Bend, IN; the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; and the Portsmouth Museum of Art, Portsmouth, NH.