Mitch Kolbe

During his senior year at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, Mitch Kolbe was caught staring out the window during geometry class. A creative soul raised by a commercial freelance artist and an accomplished pianist, Kolbe politely explained he was contemplating how to paint the smog billowing from the school’s smokestack. Impressed, Kolbe’s teacher released him to art class. Today, decades later, it’s unclear whether or not Kolbe knows the Pythagorean Theorem. But one thing is for sure: He knows how to paint. Based in Fairview, Kolbe captures bucolic scenes using what he describes as a “looser and more painterly style.” From rhododendron blooms blushing pink on Roan Mountain to a brush pile blazing orange under a fall sky, his portfolio “strives more for suggestion rather than the literal, so as to bring the observer into the process.” A signature artist of The Kessler Collection, a brand of luxury hotels developed by entrepreneur Richard Kessler, Kolbe will exhibit new work at the Grand Bohemian Gallery in Biltmore Village this autumn. In late October, the gallery will also present jewelry displays by artists Melinda Lawton and Karen Birchmier.