photo by: University of Kansas

Kay WalkingStick, “Winter Flight,” is pictured.

A pair of landscape paintings meant to highlight themes of how nature and the universe are interconnected have been chosen as the KU Common Work of Art for the upcoming school year.

Both landscape panels were created by Kay WalkingStick, a former art professor at Cornell University and a member of the Cherokee Nation who often uses her art to convey both natural and abstract scenes side-by-side to examine life and its mysteries.

The two panels that KU has chosen for its Common Work of Art project follow that theme. Created in 1988-1989, the two panel piece is entitled “Winter Flight” and was created in the period following the sudden death of WalkingStick’s first husband.

One panel, according to WalkingStick, evokes the the waters of a deep gorge near the Cornell campus in Ithaca, New York. The other panel is a dark, dense, textured abstraction.

“The two canvases create more together than on their own. Like Earth and the solar system, they are mutually dependent,” said Celka Straughn, director of academic programs at KU’s Spencer Museum of Art.

photo by: Submitted

“Orbital” has been chosen as the KU Common Book for the 2026-2027 school year.

The artwork will be taught in various KU classes over the course of the upcoming academic year. It will be paired with the KU Common Book, which this year is “Orbital” by Samantha Harvey.

Harvey’s novel presents a snapshot of one day in the lives of six astronauts on a space station mission. The mission brings together astronauts from America, Russia, Italy, Britain and Japan who form bonds and share contemplations about their planet.

Those themes about the planet and interconnections are complemented by WalkingStick’s work, KU officials said in making the announcements of the art and book selections.

“The churning of grief felt in WalkingStick’s thick application of paint and representation of the powerful force of a waterfall evoke the awe, uncertainty and fragility of life, themes ever-present in life aboard the space station,” Straughn said.

“Winter Flight” currently is on display in the Michaelis Gallery at the Spencer Museum of Art on KU’s campus. Members of the public can view the work and the gallery free of charge.