Kris Koch

September - Kris Koch (opening September 1)

press release: ARTIST STATEMENT: Wherever one looks, there is evidence of the ageless human need to proclaim our importance by making lasting marks that remain long after death. My interest lies not so much in the great stone monuments that persist worldwide, but rather the mundane, personal and often functional tributes created by local workers and artisans for their families, neighbors and friends.  

These intimate artifacts vary in age from tens to hundreds of years old and attest not only to a legacy of craftsmanship, but also document the relentless drive Nature has to transform and often reclaim what man has constructed. These photographs were all made in quiet places, where I could take the time to look closely and listen intently. I discovered that no matter their condition, these stones have many stories yet to tell.  

Kris Koch  lives in Janesville and is an environmental educator with a background in horticulture and plant pathology.  Kris is fascinated by Nature and spends as much time as possible looking closely at the natural world (including people) to learn how and why systems work together. She uses photography as both a documentary mechanism to record natural processes and as a creative outlet to interpret the stories she discovers hidden in plain sight.