A REFLECTION OF THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER THROUGH KATE KERN MUNDIE'S PAINTINGS

WANDERING: Observations of Our Watershed at Fairmount Waterworks April 20th—July 27th.

I provided a “tour” of my paintings to the Waterworks for the exhibition, Wandering: Observations of Our Watershed. If you can’t make it to the show you can take a tour here on Substack.

Kate Kern Mundie navigates the delicate balance between the natural landscape and human influence in her landscape paintings. As a part of the exhibition at the Fairmount Waterworks, she invites you on an artistic journey along the Schuylkill River, offering a unique perspective on its ever-changing environment.

The tour begins with "Schuylkill River Viaduct (Rail Bridge No.69)," situated north of the Fairmount Water Works. This historic bridge, dating back to the 1850s, once served as a crucial link connecting Philadelphia's industry to the world. This painting captures views of the river and West Philadelphia-side riverbank in the fall. We see glimpses of the river and land peeking through the windowlike arches of the bridge.

Our next destination brings us closer to Center City—enter the surreal realm of "Vine Street Expressway (Flood)." This painting captures the impact of Hurricane Ida in 2021, where the once-familiar Vine Street Expressway underwent a breathtaking metamorphosis into a tranquil canal. In this reflection, the cityscape appears inverted, creating a mesmerizing interplay between reality and its watery mirror image. With only subtle clues distinguishing it as a highway rather than a canal, Kate explores the reflection of city buildings, offering us a vision of the urban landscape reshaped, turned upside down by the forces of nature.

Transitioning to the lower Schuylkill, a tidal estuary with an industrial history spanning over 200 years, Kate presents "Schuylkill Fog No. 1." Standing on the banks at Bartram's Garden, she paints a haunting fog shrouding the river, concealing a nearby junkyard and oil refinery. Months later, the refinery experienced explosions, leading to its permanent closure. The painting stands as a snapshot of a moment just before significant change, capturing the river's role as witness to industrial transitions.

The final stop on this visual journey is "Twilight on the Waterway (The Meadows)," painted at FDR Park during the public engagement tussle over the park's Master Plan. Positioned at the convergence of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers, this area, once marshland and later a golf course, has undergone a transformation. As the abandoned golf course was reclaimed by nature, debates rage on about its future use and how best to shield it from plastics pollution. The painting captures a quiet moment during the ongoing struggle between the city and the public to determine the fate of this vital open park wetland space, emphasizing the need for its protection, restoration, and preservation as open space.

In each piece, Kate Kern Mundie captures the essence of the Schuylkill River, offering viewers a visual narrative that transcends time and reflects the intricate relationship between urban development, environmental shifts, and the evolving landscape.