Bowers 657 Eco Grief Deforestation Series Old Growth Stump2 hires

Trees, we breathe

When

May 31 – September 1, 2025 All Day

Where

Glyndor Gallery

Price

Free

Organized as part of Wave Hill’s 60th Anniversary as a public garden and cultural center, the group exhibition Trees, we breathe honors trees in all their splendor. The exhibition features works by Sarah Ahmad, Andrea Bowers, Sari Carel, Michelle Frick, Ben Gould, Sara Jimenez, Weihui Lu, Julia Oldham, Yoko Ono, Yeseul Song and Jesse Simpson, Rose B. Simpson, Rachel Sussman, Carlie Trosclair, and Sam Van Aken, who take up a variety of tree species and media, including sculpture, sound, drawing, site-responsive installation, video, and living artwork. Mining deep time, revisiting the ancient past and glimpsing into the speculative future, the artists in the exhibition consider the full extent of trees’ unique independence and symbiotic abilities beyond our often-anthropocentric view of the forest ecosystem.

Pillars of ecological balance, trees are vital to all life on Earth. In addition to providing the air that we breathe, trees sustain communities beneath their soil, provide habitats for wildlife, filter the water we drink, and even help calm our minds and promote our physical and mental wellbeing. Trees also practice self-preservation and can teach us a great deal about mutual care. If we allow ourselves to expand our understanding of animate life, we may come to recognize ourselves as entangled in the community of trees and to consider trees as sentient actors who have dignity, are able to make decisions, and deserve our respect beyond a relationship based on use value. For example, trees collect memories that inform their future responses to environmental change and stress; they can also communicate with each other and relocate themselves over time. Rather than seeing our role as keepers of trees that we alone grow, prune, own or exploit, this exhibition advocates for understanding this relationship of care as symbiotic. Yet, trees are often victims of climate change, deforestation, development, and vandalism, as well as pests and disease. Furthermore, trees are unequally distributed, resulting in urban forest inequity. The artists in the exhibition Trees, we breathe prudently consider and honor the ways in which these stalwart beings care for many organisms, including humans, while recognizing our own roles in their destruction and survival.

Wave Hill has some of the most notable trees in New York City, including the red oak (Quercus rubra) behind Glyndor Gallery, which dates back before 1850; the grand copper beech trees (Fagus sylvatica 'Atropurpurea'), which dazzle visitors with their massive trunks and root systems; and the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), which even survived a lightning strike. As we acknowledge Wave Hill’s anniversary milestone, we are continuing our obligation to not only ensure the longevity of these existing trees but also plant new trees for future generations to enjoy.

Trees, we breathe is organized by Gabriel de Guzman, Director of Arts and Chief Curator; Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, Curator of Visual Arts, and Afriti Bankwalla, Curatorial Administrative Assistant.

01 Trees we breathe 5 23 37 — Sara Jimenez, "Folding Field" (detail), 2025, commissioned by Wave Hill for the exhibition "Trees, we breathe", 2025, Wave Hill, Bronx, NY. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen.

03 Trees we breathe 5 30 04 — Yoko Ono, "Wish Tree", 1996/2025,on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

04 Trees we breathe 5 23 02 — Sam Van Aken, "Open Orchard: William Prince Trees", 2022–25, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Gift of Paul Herzan; Commissioned by Governors Island Arts. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

05 Trees we breathe 5 30 16 — Rose B. Simpson, "Sentinel in Bronze A", 2023 on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Courtesy of the artist, Jessica Silverman, San Francisco, and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

06 Trees we breathe 5 30 14 — Yeseul Song & Jesse Simpson, "Whispers of Sunken Forest", 2022 (foreground), courtesy of the artists, and Andrea Bowers, "Sun Charm Spellcaster, Grief Is Nothing Can Be Done (Quote from Deena Metzger, Burden of Light, 2019)", 2024 (background), courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

07 Trees we breathe 5 30 18 — Clockwise from bottom left: Weihui Lu, "Heartwood", 2025, commissioned by Wave Hill for the exhibition, and "The End of the World is Forever", 2021, courtesy of the artist; Sarah Ahmad, "Fractured Cosmos IV", 2017-2025, courtesy of the artist; Sari Carel, "City of Trees", 2021-ongoing, courtesy of the artist; Rachel Sussman, "Dead Huon Pine adjacent to living population segment #1211- (10,500 years old, Mount Read, Tasmania)", 2011, courtesy of the artist; Andrea Bowers, "Don’t Let Our Children Inherit Tree Stumps Coffee Table Library", 2024, courtesy of the artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

08 Trees we breathe 5 23 32 — Andrea Bowers, "Don’t Let Our Children Inherit Tree Stumps Coffee Table Library" (detail), 2024, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Courtesy of the artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

09 Trees we breathe 5 23 25 — Weihui Lu, "Heartwood", 2025, commissioned by Wave Hill for the exhibition, and "The End of the World is Forever", 2021 (background), on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

10 Trees we breathe 5 30 28 — Sarah Ahmad, "Fractured Cosmos IV", 2017-2025 (left) and Sari Carel, "City of Trees", 2021-ongoing (right) on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. All works courtesy of the artists. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

11 Trees we breathe 5 30 26 — Sarah Ahmad, "Fractured Alchemy", 2024 (Triptych) (walls) and Carlie Trosclair, "Woodland Terrains", 2022 (floor), on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. All works courtesy of the artists. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

12 Trees we breathe 5 23 15 — Ben Gould, "Cypress Conductor 2", 2025, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

13 Trees we breathe 5 30 25 — "Left to right: Ben Gould, "Cypress Conductor 1", 2025, commissioned by Wave Hill for the exhibition, Michelle Frick, "Saga of the American Chestnut Tree: The Seed", 2025, Ben Gould, "Cypress Conductor 2", 2025, commissioned by Wave Hill for the exhibition, Rachel Sussman, "Pando, Clonal Colony of Quaking Aspens #0906-4711 (80,000 years old; Fish Lake, UT)", 2011; Glencoe Baobab #0707-3307 (2,000 years old; Limpopo Province, South Africa), 2007, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. All works courtesy of the artists. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

14 Trees we breathe 5 30 22 — Clockwise from left: Andrea Bowers, "Eco Grief Deforestation Series (Old Growth Stump 2)", 2024, courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles; Ben Gould, "Cypress Conductor 1", 2025, courtesy of the artist; Sarah Ahmad, "Fractured Cosmos IV", 2017-2025, courtesy of the artist; Sari Carel, "City of Trees", 2021-ongoing, courtesy of the artist; Michelle Frick, "Saga of the American Chestnut Tree: The Seed", 2025, courtesy of the artist, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

Sara Jimenez, "Folding Field" (detail), 2025, commissioned by Wave Hill for the exhibition "Trees, we breathe", 2025, Wave Hill, Bronx, NY. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen.

Yoko Ono, "Wish Tree", 1996/2025, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.

Sam Van Aken, "Open Orchard: William Prince Trees", 2022–25, on view in "Trees, we breathe" at Wave Hill, 2025. Gift of Paul Herzan; Commissioned by Governors Island Arts. Photo: Stefan Hagen. Courtesy of Wave Hill.