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Hudson Valley Word of Mouth: artist Tristan Fitch of Catskill (Audio)

Nov 12, 2021
Produced by Julia Joern.

In the latest Hudson Valley Word of Mouth segment, Julia Joern interviews artist Tristan Fitch. He originally discovered the Catskills when he was an actor with the Ensemble Studio Theater, a New York City-based theater that also owned the Lexington House throughout the 1990s. Located in Greene County in the town of Lexington and right on the Schoharie Creek, this historic riverfront hotel was part of a larger property that included an old barn-turned-theater and cabins for artist housing. Along with writers, directors, and other actors, Fitch participated in the theater’s upstate programs, workshops, and plays every summer for close to a decade.

Eventually settling in Catskill, Fitch is now a self-taught painter and sculptor. His works are both architectural and abstract, whether it’s a large-scale canvas layered with pigment to create a non-representational landscape, or brightly-colored folly-like geometric wooden objects that playfully exist in nature.

His work has been exhibited throughout the Catskills and Hudson Valley, including at Wassaic Project in Wassaic; Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli; LABspace in Hillsdale; Arts Upstairs in Phoenicia; Abeel House in Catskill; Greene County Council on the Arts (now known as CREATE), HiLo, and Kaaterskill Market, all on Main Street in Catskill; and at the Lexington House, which has recently been acquired by new owners and is currently being converted into art and exhibition spaces.