Florida Artists Win at the 2022 Winter Silhouette Show

Photos by Rob Kempinski

Every December, in Kannapolis NC, Steven Zeisel and Bill Valavanis hold a uniquely themed exhibit at the North Carolina Research Campus, The Winter Silhouette Show. The theme, guessing by its name, is how trees look during the winter.

As usual, this year we had several Florida Bonsai artists join in the show.

Above is Rob Kempinski’s Slash Pine/Florida Elm display. Here’s a detail of the companion, below

Rob tends toward high concept displays, with what looks like two native plants for companions, some turpentine (made from pine trees, like in his display) a pine cone and what looks like a chisel, and lastly, I’m sure he painted the tree landscape with the orange sky. Pure Florida.

And this year, several Florida bonsai artists win in a few categories.

The award winners are:

Bruce Hartman’s Brazilian Raintree won best Tropical

And Rob Kempinski won Best Flowering tree with his purple bougainvillea

Congratulations to you both, you’ve made Florida proud!