The Mighty Oak

The Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia is presenting “Gina Siepel: To Understand a Tree” through July 21 in its main gallery. The multi-disciplinary project focuses on the dignity of a living tree, its network of eco-systemic relationships, and uses of the material of wood in design and daily life.

Siepel, an interdisciplinary artist, designer and woodworker, presents the project through an immersive video installation, sculptural works, original music by composer and cellist Vernon David, and research artifacts and ephemera, according to the museum. It is the result of years spent at the MacLeish Field Station, a 260-acre forest and research site in West Whately, Mass., observing a 100-year-old northern red oak tree and its immediate habitat.

“In inviting the public to share in her investigation of a single red oak tree, Gina Siepel helps restore this missing connection with the source of the material and the balance between tree, forest, and ecology upon which humankind is so dependent,” says Jennifer-Navva Milliken, the museum’s executive director and chief curator.

“To Understand a Tree demonstrates how art can close the gap, open minds, and inspire us to work to be better stewards of the natural world.”

Learn more at museumforartinwood.org.