Trees Of Courage
THE PROVINCETOWN INDEPENDENT BY THE INDEPENDENT May 18, 2022
Trees of Courage
Berta Walker Gallery in Provincetown will present a sprawling group show, “Trees of Courage,” featuring works from gallery artists as well as a series of photographs of forests by John Romualdi. The exhibition, running from May 20 to June 18, was conceived to honor the nation of Ukraine, with 50 percent of gallery commissions being donated to World Central Kitchen.
In a few of the pieces, trees function symbolically, as in Romolo Del Deo’s Portrait of a Dream, a bronze sculpture of wrapped branches, or Donald Beal’s luscious depiction of a forest with a tree diagonally slicing through the foreground (Woods and Cardinal).
Deb Mell, Family Tree, 1998, 17-by-25-inch mixed media. (Photo courtesy Berta Walker Gallery)
In other paintings, trees are merely part of a larger landscape, as in Brenda Horowitz’s color-saturated marsh in Shearwater III. Trees function as visionary imaginings in a matriarchal family tree by Deb Mell and in Bert Yarborough’s African-inspired palm tree encircled by a wooden frame painted in abstract patterns. A pair of Paul Resika paintings and an untitled gray painting by Joe Diggs, where trees disintegrate into drips of paint, use abstraction to approach the subject. A side gallery shows smaller, quieter watercolors and drawings, including a historical piece by Oliver Chaffee.
Romualdi’s photographs, at the center of the gallery, present the most focused body of work and revel in the textures and character of trees, weathered by time. It’s a hopeful subject, speaking of life and resilience — a fitting metaphor for “the courageous people of Ukraine,” whom the press release describes as “inspiring and changing the world.” —Abraham Storer
