Kate Newby, The Sound of Trees, 2026

Kate Newby’s work is grounded in exploration, conversation, and close attention to local, everyday details. Working with overlooked materials and subtle traces of human and geological activity, she creates installations that emerge through extended processes of collecting, making, and collaboration, connecting landscape, urban environments, and architecture.

The Sound of Trees is a permanent public artwork at Portland International Airport (PDX) and one of Newby’s most ambitious projects to date. Spanning 75 feet and comprising more than 1,600 handmade ceramic tiles, the work was developed over several years through collecting, making, glazing, firing, and installation.

Materials gathered across Oregon—including pine needles, leaves, and other organic matter—are embedded within the tiles. Glass fragments collected throughout Portland, many gathered during public workshops, are melted into the glaze. Some tiles also contain glass recovered from the windows of the airport’s original terminal, carrying fragments of the building’s own history into the new airport. Shaped through pressing, reworking, and at times walking across raw clay, each tile records traces of touch, pressure, and movement.

Knight Associates assisted Kate Newby Studio in providing concept visualizations for the original artwork proposal to RACC, interior design consultancy, and resolving technical installation details with ZGF Architects and KPFF Consulting Engineers.

With thanks to Kate Newby, Rob Halverson, Michael Lett, Andrew Thomas, Jim Barr & Mary Barr, Binh Minh Ha, ZGF Architects, KPFF, Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), and the Port of Portland