Tree Speech
March 30 - May 12, 2023
About the Show
Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life. - Hermann Hesse
Trees are ancient. They evolved from the plants that formed the first life on land over 350 million years ago. Over three trillion trees are alive today, dwarfing the number of humans on the planet. And their importance to other life on land cannot be overstated. Our forests and jungles are the lungs of the planet, absorbing carbon dioxide while releasing oxygen. Trees provide us food, fuel, and shelter. Dozens of medicinal drugs are derived from their bark, including cancer medications. The tree form is not simply terrestrial; their branching form is universal, representing the optimal flow of energy, and can be seen repeated everywhere in the natural world, including at the largest scales of the universe.
Trees have long been a source of artistic inspiration as well as a resource for producing artmaking materials (wood, paper, turpentine, etc.) In fact, in bonsai and topiary, trees themselves serve as a living, organic medium. In Tree Speech, sixteen artists pay tribute and give voice to these wondrous, aesthetically pleasing and ecologically crucial organisms. Not so much as component parts of a forest or landscape, but with a focus on the unique presence and personality of individual trees, each with a personal history inscribed in the poesy of its form.
Who Will Speak for the Trees?
Judith Allen Efstathiou, Chris Beneman, Stephen Burt, Victoria Elbroch, Alan Fishman, Eileen Gillespie, Tom Hall, Conley Harris, Maret Hensick, Joanna Logue, Karen Olson, Tom Paiement, Whitney River, Lesia Sochor, Neil Welliver, David Wilson, and Jeff Woodbury
Preview the Exhibition
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