Debbi Kenote: Even the stump agrees

Baker—Hall is pleased to present Even the stump agrees, a solo exhibition of new work by New York-based artist Debbi Kenote. The show features a series of shaped oil paintings that combine elements of architecture, craft, and abstraction to explore themes of growth, grief, and transformation. The exhibition opens with a public reception on Saturday, June 14 from 7— 10 pm and will remain on view through July 20.

Developed during a residency at Stove Works in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this new body of work marks a formal and emotional shift in Kenote’s practice. Moving away from acrylic and dye, the artist embraces oil paint to create layered compositions on custom-shaped canvases. Many works in the exhibition leave areas of raw linen exposed, using negative space not only as a design element but also as a conceptual nod to architecture—specifically the Northwest Regional Style, native to the Pacific Northwest where Kenote grew up, and known for revealing raw wood within its structures. Kenote’s compositions are constructed from playful, organic shapes rendered in soft, modulated color.

Her paintings often feature interlocking parts and open interiors, creating a sense of spatial rhythm and movement. In Secret garden, imagery reminiscent of seaweed or underwater plant life rises across the surface in loose vertical swells. In Seedthings, four canvases come together in a pinwheel configuration, forming a feeling of movement and rotation. The shapes within are calm in palette but bright in silhouette, suggesting fauna or foliage pushing through a fence-like grid. While rooted in abstraction, Kenote’s paintings carry emotional undercurrents tied to recent personal loss. The exhibition title, Even the stump agrees, is drawn from a poem the artist wrote during the residency, and several other titles reference lines of poetry as well. In this way, Kenote’s work functions as a visual and poetic meditation on memory, resilience, and the quiet power of reflection.