Hues & Saturation
by Kia’Rae Hanron
About the Collection
The works in this exhibition span two interconnected bodies: abstractscape paintings and digital art. They are a story of color, texture, and the act of letting go. "Abstractscape", a word Kia'Rae made up for her unique blend of abstract style with landscapes and natural elements began humbly — as a way to use up large amounts of leftover paint.
What started as practical quickly became something cathartic and whimsical. As the paintings grew, they began to resemble aerial maps of cities and landscapes — and in some works, she leaned into that, experimenting with small moments of realism tucked into shapes or implied by texture. These largely non-representational paintings also began as an answer to questions she had wondered about for years: what makes something "art", what makes art "good", and who gets to decide?
Once she stopped trying to answer those questions through planning, precision, and correctness — freed, at first, by the simple urgency of cleanup — the work opened up. Her mind opened up. She learned to let go of the expectations she imagined others had for her work — and realized that as long as she was satisfied with her creation, that was really all that mattered. The pressure to be realistic enough, proportional enough, good enough, lifted — and in its place came something more honest: play. And whimsy.
The digital works explore similar territory through a different lens — identity, femininity, and the natural world, rendered through rich color and playful, layered texture. Together, the two bodies of work share the same obsessions: saturated color, the pleasure of texture, and the beauty of the natural world. The theme of this exhibit, Hues & Saturation, is an invitation to experience color not just as something you see — but something you feel.
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Shop The Collection
"Abstractscape" is a term coined by the artist, Kia’Rae, to describe her unique blend of abstract style with landscapes and natural elements.
This piece comes from the Hues & Saturation collection, which invites you experience color not just as something you see — but something you feel. The piece embodies saturated color, the pleasure of texture, and the beauty of the natural world.
Acrylic paint on canvas
About the artistKia’Rae Hanron is a Vermont multidisciplinary artist, educator, and community-carer located in South Burlington. Her explorative, creative, and compassionate nature was encouraged and nurtured from a young age, and creative expression, art-making, and community-building continue to play a large role in her life today.
As a prolific practicing artist, a proud mental health advocate, and a Jack-of-Most Trades, Kia’Rae practices in drawing, painting, collage, assemblage, printing, digital art, embroidery, jewelry, crochet, poetry, creative writing, and various combinations thereof. She often is working on multiple projects across mediums at once, and is always looking for ways to make life more artful.
She is the owner of Kias Art Room, a “mobile art room” providing arts and culture programming, workshops, and classes to schools and communities across Vermont.
