What the Nighthawk Knows @Echo Arts

The common nighthawk “often seen high in the air, flies with easy strokes, ‘changing gear’ to quicker erratic strokes….Often seen in the air over cities, towns.”
— Roger Tory Peterson, Western Birds

Catherine Courtenaye’s ongoing body of abstract paintings, Avian Witness (since 2017), developed, in part, as a response to the growing divide between the natural world and the manmade environment; likewise, informs this newest series: What the Nighthawk Knows. While the artist feels that these opposing systems of human development and natural forces might coexist in a harmonious ecosystem, this latest series commands our attention, almost as a warning of what may happen if it does not.

Catherine Courtenaye, born in Madrid, Spain, received her BA from Colby College in English and completed her MFA at the University of Iowa in 1984. She has exhibited internationally and nationally and most recently received the Montana Artist’s Innovation Award in 2017.

A special thanks to Julie Gustafson and Gallatin River Gallery, in Big Sky, MT for encouraging this exhibition of Courtenaye’s work in Bozeman. For further information about Catherine and her work, please reach out to Echo Arts or Gallatin River Gallery.

Reception for the artist Friday, April 21st, from 5 to 8pm.