Lines play an important role in the artwork of Katherine Filice, converging to create figures and patterns.
On a recent hike through the Eldorado National Forest, Filice came across a tree, and was puzzled when she saw its markings replicated the lines she had been making in her works.
The experience took Filice’s creativity to a new level.
“It was a door unlocked,” she said. “From this very moment I knew the trees were talking, and I had been hearing them all along. Since then, my work has been an attempt to transcribe the secrets of that language while attempting to reconcile personal memories, the hurt, the loss; and my frustrating attempts to move to a place of grace and hope.”
Filice is showing her new abstract works in a solo exhibition, “The Secret Language of the Forest,” at Gallery 1202, 7363 Monterey St. in Gilroy, through May 8.
The exhibit features Filice’s drawings, paper collages and paintings which were inspired by her trips to the forest. A series of natural wood sculptures are also positioned throughout the gallery space, which Filice created with the help of Brian Bowe.
The sculptures are a first for Filice, as well as an oil on canvas painting that hangs next to the exhibit’s entrance.
Filice said she enjoys working with a medium that is unknown to her and learning all of its intricacies along the way
“I personally do my best work when I’m lost,” she said.
Filice, the owner of Gilroy-based marketing firm Articulate Solutions, has shown her work throughout the world, with upcoming showings in New York and Palo Alto. She also has a studio inside 6th Street Studios & Art Center in downtown Gilroy, which will be part of the Silicon Valley Open Studios in May.
She recently was a participant in the virtual Yellow Chair Salon workshops led by Guggenheim Fellow Michael David in New York, which she described as a humbling experience that furthered her creative drive.
Filice praised Gallery 1202 Director Emily McEwan-Upright not only for her support, but her efforts to highlight Gilroy’s art scene with the public.
“The Secret Language of the Forest” runs through May 8 at Gallery 1202, 7363 Monterey St. For information, visit gallery1202.com and katfilice.com.
