Curated Online Art Exhibition Honors Trees

Apr 1, 2020

We are pleased to announce our inaugural online art exhibition, Honoring Trees. The exhibition, which features the work of 14 leading contemporary artists, is now open for long-term display.

Eric Serritella, Whisper & Wander (2016). Ceramic. Dimensions: 32 h x 56 w x 32 d inches. ©2016 Eric Serritella. Photographer: Jason Dowdle. Courtesy of the artist. Serritella’s sculpture captures the interaction between two charred trees struggling to survive the aftermath of a wildfire. Whisper’s quiet negative space hints at remaining life. Wander seeks a gap in the canopy for more light to grow. Their fates are intertwined because survival depends on the health of the forest ecosystem. Whisper and Wander can support and nourish each other through a “wood wide web” of interconnected roots and fungi to assure mutual survival.

Eric Serritella, Whisper & Wander (2016). Ceramic. Dimensions: 32” h x 56” w x 32” d. ©2016 Eric Serritella. Photographer: Jason Dowdle. Courtesy of the artist.

The exhibition invites us to reflect on the splendor of trees, the challenges climate change and human stresses pose to trees, and our opportunity to respond with creativity and courage.

Curated by Lloyd E. Herman, Founding Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, and Fran Dubrowski, Director of Honoring the Future, the exhibition is cosponsored by arboretums and nonprofit organizations which help plant and care for trees and educate others about the importance of trees to our future.

Edward Burtynsky. Clearcut #1, Palm Oil Plantation, Borneo, Malaysia from the Anthropocene series (2016). Photograph. ©Edward Burtynsky. Courtesy Howard Greenberg and Bryce Wolkowitz Galleries, New York / Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto.

Edward Burtynsky. Clearcut #1, Palm Oil Plantation, Borneo, Malaysia, 2016 from the Anthropocene series. Photograph. ©Edward Burtynsky. Courtesy of Weinstein Hammons Gallery, Minneapolis / Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto.

“Art can unite and uplift us in turbulent times,” explains Dubrowski. “The corona pandemic is a grim, but powerful reminder of the need to come together to solve complex scientific challenges.  We are proud to join our amazing cosponsors to celebrate their invaluable contribution to the health of the planet and its people. We hope exhibition visitors will be inspired by their example and by the vision of these extraordinarily talented artists.”

The exhibition includes a Resource Directory with brief descriptions of, and links to, cosponsor organizations for easy access to opportunities for engagement.

Claire Kelly, Parallax: Busy Forest (2019). [Parallax: The effect whereby the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions.] Glass: Blown, sculpted, and assembled. Dimensions: 15 ¼ x 16 x 36.” © Claire Kelly Glass. Courtesy of the artist. Kelly’s playful glass sculptures invite us to enter and explore the worlds where animals dwell. She aims to stir our curiosity about the animals within this intimate kingdom: what is their role in, and value to, the larger ecosystem? What threats await them? And, most importantly, what do they see when they look back at us? Her work presents “a gentle mirror” for examining how our decisions affect our environment.

Claire Kelly, Parallax: Busy Forest  (2019). [Parallax: The effect whereby the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions.] Glass: Blown, sculpted, and assembled. Dimensions: 15 ¼ x 16 x 36.” © Claire Kelly Glass. Courtesy of the artist.

Featured artists are: James Balog, Edward Burtynsky, Judy Chicago, Jiyoung Chung, Nancy Cohen, Xavier Cortada, Dudley Edmondson, Lee Goodwin, Peter Handler, Claire Kelly, Maya Lin, Sheila Ransom, Alexis Rockman, and Eric Serritella.

Cosponsors are: The Arboretum at Flagstaff (AZ); The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky (KY); Audubon Naturalist Society (MD); Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens (CT); Chesapeake Bay Foundation (MD, PA, and VA); Delaware Center for Horticulture (DE); Edgerton Park Conservancy (CT); Keystone Ten Million Trees Partnership (PA); and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PA).