Boundary takes the shape of the work it depicts: its fresco panel is arched at the top, the form of an altarpiece or an ancient doorway, echoing the tall vertical monument at the composition's center. That monument, rising from a rugged landscape in muted blues, greens, and greys, is wrapped by a red line that runs the full height of the panel: a gesture of binding, or marking, or warning. The fresco surface makes the boundary feel very old.
Boundary takes the shape of the work it depicts: its fresco panel is arched at the top, the form of an altarpiece or an ancient doorway, echoing the tall vertical monument at the composition's center. That monument, rising from a rugged landscape in muted blues, greens, and greys, is wrapped by a red line that runs the full height of the panel: a gesture of binding, or marking, or warning. The fresco surface makes the boundary feel very old.
The arched panel format places the work in a specific tradition: before perspective unified the picture plane into a coherent window, altarpiece painting organized its sacred content within shaped supports that were themselves architectural, the arched top echoing the rounded windows and doorways of medieval and Byzantine churches. Kitterle works in fresco, the medium of those churches; his panel takes their shape. The reference is not nostalgic but structural: the shaped support assigns the object a function that flat rectangular panels cannot quite claim, the sense that the boundary depicted is also enacted.
Kitterle’s Boundary invites comparison to the works of artists like Nicolas de Staël, who similarly used abstraction to explore landscape through a blend of structured and organic forms. However, Kitterle’s use of fresco sets his work apart, emphasizing texture and surface irregularities that bring the composition closer to an aged, weathered artifact. The roughness of the fresco’s surface enhances the idea of boundaries—where things meet, wear down, or are transformed over time.
The title Boundary suggests both a literal and metaphorical interpretation. The monument-like structure could represent a division between past and present, natural and man-made, or even a boundary within the self. Kitterle’s unique ability to convey these layered meanings through surface, texture, and form makes Boundary a compelling piece, urging the viewer to contemplate not just the visual boundaries in the work, but also those that exist in the world and within ourselves.
