Philip Koch with his daughter's cat Sammy, Jan. 2022

Why Landscape?

Every generation sees and feels a little differently. America has a long tradition of painting the landscape. And it is still evolving. Each generation needs new answers to how our world feels to us. 

In my early years as an artist I painted bright and bold abstract paintings. Learned a huge amount about making unexpected shapes and hues come to life. 

But over time I felt pulled toward powerful but elusive feelings that came when I contemplated natural light and deep panoramic spaces. It was as if the landscape tapped me on the shoulder, telling me to use my abstract painting tools to tell a new story.


Starting out as an abstract painter gave me a perfect vantage point to hone a contemporary vision of our landscape.

My paintings are a new installment in the long tradition of landscape art. My work embraces some of the tools of an earlier generation but creates others that are brand new. They help people feel at home with how the earth and sky appear to us in our time. 

Brief Bio:

Koch (sounds like "watch") is well known for his colorful, panoramic landscapes. Less known is that he was originally an abstract artist. A pivotal event for him was seeing the work of Edward Hopper. It inspired him early in his career to change to painting in a realist direction. Koch has been given unprecedented access to Hopper’s studio on Cape Cod, enjoying 17 residencies there since 1983, an honor granted to no other living American artist.

Eighteen American art museums hold Koch’s work in their permanent collections. He has had his work featured in seventeen solo museum exhibitions. He is an emeritus professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Koch’s grandfather, John Capstaff, was the inventor of the original Kodachrome color film process. He is the great grandson of the Scottish landscape painter John Wallace (1841-1905).