Arbores Venerabiles is Glyndor Gallery’s contribution to 2009 Year of the Trees, honoring the majestic trees that anchor Wave Hill’s gardens. On view are paintings and drawings based on our collection and created for this occasion. Drawing on traditions of tree portraiture and landscape painting, the exhibition offers varied modes of contemporary interpretation, employing artistic techniques from the pencil to the computer stylus. While many exhibitions at Wave Hill mix media, in Arbores Venerabiles we focused on representation through painting and drawing as a way of underscoring the multiple ways of interpreting a subject.

The twelve artists were selected based on a previous engagement with landscape or a longstanding interest in trees. Interpretive horticulture staff introduced them to the tremendous variety and well-considered placement of the trees that make up this landscape. Over the fall and winter they made multiple visits to observe, sketch and photograph. Some delved into the characteristics of a particular species. Others took the opportunity to observe how the trees resonate, relating to each other and the vistas.

Wave Hill’s renowned tree collection is a pleasure to explore in any season and in all weather conditions. After viewing the exhibition, roam the grounds to observe magnificent specimens of copper beech, spruce, lacebark pine, American elm, sugar maple, red oak, dogwood, linden, redwood, and magnolia, some more than a century old.

View press release

Reception

Arbores Venerabiles opening reception:
April 5, 1 – 4PM

Tours
Weekly exhibition tours: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 12NOON, Saturdays at 2PM
Weekly tree tours: Tuesdays, 11AM (March – May). Meets at the Perkins Visitor Center, concludes in Glyndor Gallery.
April 25, 10AM – 3PM: Notable Trees Trolley Tour – Includes curator-led tour of Arbores Venerabiles and a tree tour on the Bronx Culture Trolley. Call for fee information and to register: 718.549.3200 x305.
April 25 & 26, 2PM: Arbor Day exhibition tour led by artists and curators.

Workshops
March 22, 12:30 – 4PM: Art Workshop with Ilene Sunshine – Collage
March 28 & 29, 1 – 4PM: Family Art Project with Joel Adas – Branches Against the Sky
April 19, 12:30 – 4PM: Art Workshop with Emily Brown – Drawing from the Landscape
May 16 & 17, 1 – 4PM: Family Art Project with Ilene Sunshine – Conversations with a Leaf
May 17, 12:30 – 4PM: Art Workshop with Rebecca Allan – Trees from Charcoal; Charcoal from Trees

Family Art Projects: free with admissions to grounds; no registration required.
Art Workshops: $30 Member; $40 Non-member. Registration required; call 718.549.3200 x305.

Gallery Hours: Tuesdays – Sundays, 10AM – 4:30PM

Wave Hill expresses sincere gratitude to each artist for engaging in a mission of discovery to create these new paintings and drawings on view. Thank you to Carroll and Sons, Boston, MA; Mixed Greens, New York, NY; Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM; and Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY.

Support for the Visual Arts Program is provided by the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, Target, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts–a state agency. Sustaining support for Wave Hill is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Target Free Days

Target sponsors free Tuesday and Saturday morning admission to Wave Hill, providing public access to the arts in our community.