About the Show

 

Mary Lett Kober’s “Rooted in Color” invites awe and makes time stop.

 

Her compositions and layered rich color tones beautifully solidify the intimacy of a moment in time. Throughout this exhibit, there is a tremendous sense of power and grace.

 

This new series of tree portraits paintings, accompanied by figurative pieces, make up “Rooted in Color”. Kober hones-in on what the feel and essence of a moment is, whether that is a woman balancing and pouring a flaming drink or a tree leaning, raising, sinking as it reaches out to communicate with another tree. Kober captures these moments, with story and visions that are brimming with an intense emotional range and pull. 

 

Kober has a vast and unique imagination, evident in her fully realized figurative subjects and haunting, humanized trees. She aptly instills her trees with a ‘beingness’, and their lifeforce is undeniable.

 

One can feel Kober’s strong inquisitiveness reflected in her ability to ride on the edge of questions and discovery.

 

Throughout this exhibit there is a sense of the mystical and magic. No matter the subject, most are placed in unknown and surreal settings, bringing her intellectual and visionary concepts to the forefront.  

 

Movement is always present even if the scene seems to convey stillness.

 

“Rooted in Color” contains many a chapter from stories you want to know more about. The power and movement in Kober’s trees feel as though they could inspire a symphonic crescendo – as these trees sway, shiver, and emote allowing the viewer to complete each story for themselves.

 

The inner and outer life of trees and humans is treated with utter respect and masterfully rendered, by Kober. Without question, her imagination and observations take hold, filling the soul with mind-bending amazement and veneration.

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Artist Statement

 

Artist Mary Lett Kober talks about her show “Rooted in Color” at the Nevada City Winery Gallery.

 

I view all life as in motion, always changing. It is through this lens that I paint. Stopping time in my own way, to capture life’s fleeting moments to express our shared human experiences. Memory, observation and imagination are the tools I use to build places I want to go and states of being I want to share but can’t quite put words to. This new botanical series is giving me new ways, beyond figurative subjects, to create emotional context, express gesture, and celebrate imagination.

 

It all started when I saw an oak that looked like it was tiptoeing through the forest. As these things go, I began to see botanical gestures everywhere - reaching, bracing, huddling, leaping, dancing. Amazing trees! We breath in what they release, they take in our exhalations. Branches, limbs, trunks, so much like our own fingers, arms and legs. Roots that spread like vascular systems. They grow, move and in their own ways communicate. No wonder we see ourselves in their gestures! In these paintings you will find trees that tiptoe, belly-bump, reach, leap, and even dance. 

 

Nevada County is my home forest. In addition to our mixed conifers, Colorful Australian Snow Gum, California’s Monterey Cypress and Eucalyptus provided inspiration. Built with an atmospheric indirect oil painting technique, each piece is imbued with a reverence for light and a joyful love of color. The more I explore, the more I sense our interconnectivity, and the more I want to find out what’s next around the bend, over the next rise.

 

About the Artist

 

Mary Lett Kober is a Northern California based contemporary painter. Using figurative and botanical subjects, her work focuses on capturing moments and holding emotion through gesture. She creates works that adeptly blend realism with the imagined. 

 

Mary is currently studying under Christopher Remmers through the Conscious Creativity Academy. She holds a BA in Fine Art from San Francisco State University. Her work has been shown in regional, national, and international juried shows and competitions. She will be participating in Open Studios Nevada County West this fall (#38).  

Recent exhibitions include: 

 

Wild and Scenic Film Festival, Granucci Gallery, Grass Valley, 2026 

 

Don’t Shoot the Messenger, Museum of Northern California, 2025 

 

The Women’s Gaze, Seven Stars Gallery, Nevada City, 2025 Year of the Neighborhood, CHAMP Gallery, Nevada City, 2025 

 

Award of Excellence, 58th National Mother Lode Art Exhibition, 2024

 

Artist Website​​​