CURATOR'S SELECTION:
ARBOR

The tree has endured as a powerful symbol and source of inspiration to artists for centuries. Depictions appear in all artistic traditions – from early murals, decorative mosaics and scrolls to modern branding and animation - and have remained a point of study for human contemplation to this day. It is likely that you, yourself, have even drawn or painted a tree at one point in your life!

Trees and their seasonal cycles deeply affect a multitude of aspects of human life. They are foundational in religion and mythology, venerated for their connection between humans and the divine. The harvest of trees for wood and pulp are directly connected to art production - the traditional media and tools of an artist often composed of wood byproducts. Their presence is responsible for everything from simplistic, decorative elements to providing life to entire communities of many of the world’s species, including our own.

For artists, the tree is most often associated with the genre of landscape. They are challenging to depict, and their forms have produced fascinating studies throughout art history. Trees can be backgrounds to narrative scenes or the subject themselves – another quality universal to all artistic traditions. The unfolding consequences of climate change have forced us to re-examine our long-existing view of trees as eternally available products for us to consume. As such, landscape painting is taking on a new and pivotal role as a means of raising and expanding environmental awareness. 

Life-giving and nurturing, omnipresent but endangered, the tree is respectfully, earnestly, and diversely represented in the collection of artist works below.