After the Burn: Beauty and Renewal on Isle Royale

An oil painting of a large boulder protruding from a burnt landscape. — Above Monument Rock No. 2 by Matt Kania (Cropped)
Matt Kania

Arial view of wild fire burning on an island in a lake. — The 2021 Horne Fire was the biggest fire on Isle Royale since 1948.
NPS

Island Ablaze

In 2021, the Horne Fire on Isle Royale’s northeastern end burned approximately 335 acres, becoming the third largest wildfire in recorded Isle Royale history.

In its wake, the Horne Fire left only remains of what used to be a dense boreal forest. Monument Rock, previously shrouded by dense vegetation, reclaimed its position as an icon on the ridge. The thick layer of moss and lichen extending from spruce and fir turned to ash, leaving the area exposed and marked by burnt snags, naked boulders, and a charred understory.

The area may look different, but wildfire is an agent of necessary change. The living laboratory that is the Horne Fire burn area not only offers opportunities for research, but also creativity – the chance to make something beautiful out of destruction.

An easel with a painting in progress on it is set up in a burned landscape. The subject of the painting is in the background. — Kania's plein air painting box and work in progress at Monument Rock.
Matt Kania

Wildfire Through A Creative Lens

Over the course of three years, artist Matt Kania investigated this fire-impacted landscape through the lens of creativity. For two weeks in June 2022 and two weeks in June 2023, Kania traveled the trails and areas affected by the wildfire, inspecting the land for regrowth and change.

“Each day I would explore the burned landscape and “set up shop” – to paint en plein air, using either artist oil paints or Conté charcoal paint sticks.” – Matt Kania

The result of Kania's exploration was After the Burn: Beauty and Renewal on Isle Royale – 24 plein air and 7 studio oil paintings and drawings documenting the visual scars of the Horne Fire and the subsequent process of vegetative renewal. Originally on exhibition at the Merrill Lynch Fine Arts Gallery in Duluth, Minnesota, After the Burn is now featured here as a digital exhibit.