TREE

​This engaging exhibition by Poole & East Dorset Art Society is currently running at The Gallery Upstairs and continues until 7th June. An artistic celebration of the tree - trees in the landscape, trees as the lungs of the world; roots, bark, leaves in forensic detail. All diverse personal interpretations.
Abi Kremer, good friend of the club, helped inspire the project, and has written the following review.

"When I first heard of this choice of topic for Dorset Art Weeks I guessed it was because of the ecological significance of this largest of plants in our 21st Century lives. Subsequently, with the emergence of the pandemic, the tree has taken on a new role in our locked down lives. It has become our guardian and mentor in times of emotional torment, and we in turn have come to appreciate the miracle of nature. This spirit of wonder and celebration is richly evident in TREE, so varied, vibrant and beautifully curated, many congratulations.

In recent times we have learned much about the hidden life of trees, thanks in part to Peter Wohlleben, the German forester. In his book he documents the touching communication and support systems that exist in an underground network. Roots have proved a great source of inspiration to many of this group including John Biggs’ powerful red composition Above and Below and structural analysis from Jacqui Gush in pencil Hanging in There and watercolour Coppice. Textures and patterns abound, with the sensual feel of bark as experienced by Steph Jones’s squirrel in Nuts, and Janet Blisset’s painting which exalts in the lush Subtropical Gardens, chilling down for Greg Duncan’s snow laden firs. Engrossing patterns are emanating from Sandra Dale’s Tree Zentangle to soothe the spirit and a tangle of ghostly branches leads us for a Walk in the Woods with Teresa Senior.

​Surrealism rears its head with Maureen Franklin’s Californian Dreams palm trees, and do I detect a note of Paul Nash with Liz Magee’s dramatic purple trees Climbing up from Worbarrow? A single tree is celebrated with Pam Marshall’s Old Olive Tree with rich revealing light and shadow and Jeneta Bird’s evocation of Cezanne with her Evening Hill View. Post-Impressionist colour infuses Sally Holland’s study of Trees on the Heath with glowing glimpses of the sky between the branches. Heather Macgregor takes us further afield to Sheffield with her painterly expressionist piece, and John Flint also creates thrilling colour with his Autumn Trees.  Some great drawing skills – I loved the energetic mark making in Dawn Goodson’s The Oak Wood Badbury and Norma Rawling’s Ents 2.

​A woodland sculptural enclosure was created with Barry Kavanagh’s wooden mobile Omega Three Tree suspended over Sarah Moore’s exquisite carved Green Man, who gazes appreciatively at her Forest vessel made of oak leaves.

Too many interesting works to mention, but I feel privileged to be involved with this engaging exhibition and am sure it will prove a huge success. I hope this gives all the members courage to be experimental, and develop their own ideas. Many thanks for the invitation to show my watercolours Warleigh Wood 1 and 2".   
 
Abi Kremer.
 
The exhibition continues until 7th June.
​ A Dorset Art Weeks exhibition, venue 229