Edith J. Carrier Arboretum Welcomes 

Caitlin Garvey

Her work has been widely shown in galleries including juried shows at the Museum of the Shenandoah, Athenaeum Gallery, Darkroom, 1650 Gallery, the Art League, the Valley Educational Center for the Creative Arts, Muse Winery, and the Falls Church Arts Center. Her art has been featured by the “Mountain Courier”, the Tiny Seed Literary Journal, Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America, the Gardener’s of America, and the American Horticultural Society. She was the featured artist in the “Mass on the Epiphany in Creation, A Eucharist Drawing on the Poetry of Mary Oliver'' where her images were projected on the walls of St. Aidan’s Epsicoal Church accompanied by the poetry of Mary Oliver and the words of the mass. 

Most recently, she was honored to have her work featured in a solo show at the VECCA gallery and a 2-person show at Muse Vineyard, included in the Woodstock Banner project, awarded 1st Place in the Photography Show at the Valley Educational Center for the Creative Art and promoted by Fox Meadow Winery.

My work speaks to what it means to be human and humanity’s role in and to the world around it.  We all seek to be at home in ourselves and desire a sense of belonging amidst our community and environment.  My art often focuses on nature as a means to explore these concepts, as the natural world well illustrates that what first seems simple is often not simple at all. My art ranges from sweeping vistas to delicate blossoms and acknowledges the unsettled awkwardness of what it means to be human, desiring to be grounded in ourselves while striving for something beyond. I am fascinated by the sheepish gaze between brothers, the morning sun greeting the dirt-speckled cabbage, or the way a single toe of a chicken determinedly wraps around a fence rail. The incongruity of deep, universal truths hiding behind the seemingly simple or obvious inspires me. Nature is a vehicle to explore these concepts, as the natural world illustrates that what first seems simple is often not simple at all.   The incongruity of deep, universal truths hiding behind the simple or obvious inspires me.

I recognize that identity is often tied into things not immediately visible, which lends itself well to my use of infrared photography since infrared captures light invisible to the human eye.  Finished images often reveal features that were not initially visible. What first appears in my camera as a hazy, red image is transformed into a detailed study subtly shaded with colors that reveal themselves as the creative process progresses in the studio. Infrared serves as a metaphor for how the concept of self is connected to nature, and from that literal grounding, further discoveries of identity and community can flourish. 

These days, I wryly refer to myself as a subversive eco-spiritual artist. I create work that addresses relationships (to ourselves, our community and also the divine) but I do so in a way that might, at first, just seem like a pretty picture. While my work might address issues of grief or climate change or the aging process, I also strive for my work to be deliberately subtle and relatable because people's initial response of responding positively to nature provides a doorway to greater awareness and understanding. People want to connect with themselves, each other, with nature and with God. If the start of that connection is just appreciating the beauty of nature in one of my images, that’s a good start.