CONCORD, MASS.- Beginning Thursday, March 31, Concord Art presents Becoming Trees, curated by Fritz Horstman. This exhibition brings together the work of 15 artists whose depictions of trees explore a wide variety of approaches to the subject. It will be on view through May 8, 2022.

Says curator Fritz Horstman, “Present in some form in nearly every landscape that supports human life, trees have been intertwined in our stories, metaphors, myths, and religions for as long as such discourse and rituals have existed.
When fully grown, they are typically much taller than a human, but with a little imagination, their trunks and branches easily resemble the human body and limbs. In Greek mythology, Daphne turns into a tree during her escape from Apollo, representing a prominent early example of the human body reflecting arboreal form. Trees carry, or perhaps embody, a charisma that invites us to identify with them and ascribe ideas about ourselves onto them.”

The work in Becoming Trees spans a variety of material, technique, and scale. As Horstman notes, “The threshold between what is human and what is nature is critiqued, massaged, and permeated; poked at with fingers and with branches; hugged and held at arm’s length. Each approach evinces a degree of empathy.”

Artists featured in the exhibition include Alan Sonfist, Katrina Bello, Rachael Vaters-Carr, Jeff Slomba, Richard Barlow, Katie DeGroot, Kathleen O’Hara, Meg Alexander, James Prosek, Laura McPhee, Claire Sherman, Howard el-Yasin, Jon Cowan, and Gina Siepel.

Honoring Concord Arts’ centennial year and founder, Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts, who drew inspiration from trees in her artwork, Becoming Trees is part of the Concord Art Centennial Exhibition Series.