“GHOSTS IN THE GARDEN”
June 14th - July 19th, 2025
GHOSTS IN THE GARDEN: The Enduring Edge of Bill Brand and Katy Martin
In an art world that often idolizes the new and now, two veteran artists — Bill Brand and Katy Martin — stand as vibrant exceptions. With five decades of creative practice behind them, they continue to evolve, innovate, and inspire. Their work, rooted in deep expertise, remains as relevant and cutting-edge today as ever.
Bill Brand: Animation as Experiment and Inquiry
Bill Brand is a filmmaker and animator whose career bridges experimental cinema, media installation, and public art. Known for pushing the limits of motion, time, and narrative, Brand’s films are not just seen — they are experienced. His signature work MASSTRANSISCOPE, a zoetrope installed in a New York City subway tunnel, turns urban commuting into a flickering, surreal ride through animated space.
In 2016, Brand began painting with ink and xuan paper, traditional Chinese materials, at an artist residency in Shanghai. Eventually applying these techniques to watercolor and acrylic paintings.
What keeps Brand’s work so fresh is his ability to remain curious. Even after decades, he continues to engage audiences. Whether through analog film or digital media, Brand maintains a poetic and inquisitive sensibility that resonates across generations.
Katy Martin: Painting in the Digital Era
Katy Martin is a mixed media artist whose work blends the tactile intimacy of painting with the immediacy of photography. Her process is physical, performative, and open to chance — paint becomes a language, and the body becomes a brush. She often photographs herself in motion, interacting with paint-covered surfaces, creating layered images that challenge the boundaries between gesture and image, subject and object.
Martin’s engagement with contemporary visual culture — especially its hybrid forms — keeps her work compelling. She embraces both physical materials and digital tools, reflecting a sensibility that speaks to younger artists while remaining rooted in an embodied, painterly tradition.
Fresh by Nature, Not by Trend
What makes Brand and Martin remarkable is not just their longevity — it’s their refusal to settle. Their work remains fresh not because they chase trends, but because they stay attuned to their own evolving curiosities. They collaborate, experiment, and take risks. And in doing so, they demonstrate that staying “hip” isn’t about age — it’s about engagement.
Together and separately, they embody what it means to be lifelong artists: open to change, driven by passion, and committed to making work that matters.
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“PINK SOLDIERS”
May 3rd - June 7th, 2025
Court Tree Collective is proud to present “Pink Soldiers”, a solo exhibition by ceramic artist Isolina Minjeong. Electric fusions of ancient funerary sculptures, Minjeong’s ceramic world examines cultural hybridity through craft. Life-size figures are adorned with weapons and talismans, accompanied by wild beasts guiding both her soldiers and the living through the unknown. Shameless in scale and rich in symbolism, these figures honor the ancient lineage of Korean and Peruvian stone carving. Dancing between clays, pop art, manga, and bootleg toy design, her army embodies the courageous spirit of the past and present.
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