A new Film by Eric Minh Swenson
The crossover between what is natural and what is designed is at the core of Greg Rose’s work. Tree Stories explores an ongoing collection of tree images inspired by Rose’s hiking excursions in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles, where amidst the forested landscape, Rose sketches detailed renderings of various trees in gouache that he later references when building more complex compositions of singular or plural trees. Focusing on each tree as an individual story within a larger narrative, just like the diversity of members in a family, Rose dramatizes the role of each tree and highlights their unique qualities. In a sense, each tree has its own story isolated within the picture plane. When viewed as a complete exhibition, the interplay between each painting mirrors the tension and connections we find in our own lives and social relationships - an individual as a part of a larger community, distinctive yet interdependent.
TREE STORIES - ARTIST STATEMENT
For the past few years I have been building an ongoing collection of tree images found on my regular hiking excursions into the San Gabriel Mountains. The trees on this range are rugged and show off the weathering they endure in an extreme environment. Each tree is unique and has it’s own individual character, and seen together, the trees represent a diversity that is not unlike the diversity of members within a family or individuals within a community. Bonsai gardeners have trees such as these in mind when they cultivate their miniaturized versions that mimic older, more natural trees. The “theatricality” of Bonsai has always intrigued me - it’s as if the tree is an actor on the stage, acting out the drama of a “real” tree. But of course, the Bonsai is in reality, a tree. I find this crossover between what is natural and what is designed to be at the core of my work.
I always begin with a “head shot”, a detailed rendering of the tree in gouache that I can later use as a reference for more “staged” compositions that involve multiple trees (directed into a “tree drama”, as it were). These paintings take on a narrative quality, mirroring back both the tension and sense of connection that we might find in our own lives - within our families and other social relationships. I give titles to the paintings that suggest a variety of complicated exchanges between the players in these dramas. Are they stuck in the roles that they were assigned in their formative years, grounded in place and unable to change - or can they transcend these definitions and grow in their own direction, through self-determination. This same question could be asked to ourselves.
For more info on Eric Minh Swenson visit his website at emsartscene.com. His art films can be seen at vimeo.com/channels/76542
Instagram : @ericminhswenson
Eric Minh Swenson also covers the international art scene and his writings and photo essays can be seen at Huffington Post Arts : m.huffpost.com/us/author/eric-...