Quentin Fortney Returns to the ArtBank

McCOOK Neb.- The ArtBank will soon feature "To Be Afraid of Trees," an exhibition of stunning black-and-white photographs and thoughtful poems by Nebraska artist Quentin Fortney. The show opens next week, April 26th.

Fortney, who lives in Lincoln, shared insights about his upcoming show. This marks the first time he has created a complete black-and-white collection of work.

The photographs in this series were taken during Fortney's three-month stint in Yakutat, Alaska, where he worked for the Forest Service. He described his experience there as "super sweet and jarring," highlighting the stark differences between the Alaskan landscape and Nebraska's wide-open spaces. Sharing that the horizon felt much more confined due to the obstruction of all the trees.

While most of the artwork in the exhibition centers around nature, two special pieces feature a shipwreck on an Alaskan beach. One photograph captures the wreck from the outside looking in, while the other offers a view from inside the wreck looking out. Fortney pointed out that these are the only artificial elements in the show, providing a unique perspective on the interaction between nature and human creations.

Excited to bring his work to McCook, Fortney appreciates the welcoming atmosphere of the ArtBank. He plans to attend the opening on April 26th and hopes to visit again before the show concludes.

"This is such a wonderful community space, and it's awesome to be a part of it," Fortney said. He invites everyone to come and experience his unique blend of photography and poetry.

Don't miss the chance to visit the ArtBank next week for the opening of "To Be Afraid of Trees" and witness Quentin Fortney's incredible artwork.

To see more of his work, or to purchase his recently published book of poetry “Rodeo Clown” visit QuentinFortney.com and follow him on Instagram.

TO BE AFRAID OF TREES

BY QUENTIN FORTNEY

One does not forget the first moment they felt themselves evaporate into the deep scope of natural time. In this vaporous state of trevocable essence, the Self dissolves into the systematic flow of the earth unfolding. Here, in the vast and regenerative Scale of the planet, human systems of Structure falter, revealing their obsolescence in the eye of the mind.

Human time is a blink, natural time is a mirror.

To recognize the fragile state of existence is to step beyond the boundartes of the known, into a Space where time is measured not by progress, but by cylces of erosion, rest, growth, and return. TO BE AFRAID OF TREES lingers in this threshold, where the dissolution of the self and humanity meets the immensity of the living world of Yakutat, Alaska.