The Landscape of Our Dreams

Nin Kabikawa, by Wisconsin artist Tom Uttech, means "I pass him" in Ojibway. "This painting," Uttech says, "is the product of a lifelong love of the north woods, all the creatures I have met there, and the emotional responses they have given me." Like all his work, it's infused with a blend of hyperrealistic detail and an otherworldly mysticism. The bear regards us with utter self-possession and an unmistakable hint of "What are you doing here?"