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A message from Art and Theatre Critic, and Blogger extraordinaire, 

Ed Rubin

 

"Good Morning Visual Loving Possums,   

As a stalker of fine artists I have been seriously following, as well as writing about the work of New York City/Vermont based artist and writer Mary Hrbacek, the renowned painter of trees for a decade or two. I have been watching series after series of her anthropomorphic tree portraits, one after another, like a Chekhov play brilliantly unfolding.

...Hrbacek's brain is continually overflowing with ideas on how to re-present trees. How to bring them alive, with respect and dignity, as living thinking creatures of nature who share the earth with us.

...Mary has spent a great deal of her life planting saplings, hugging trees (so to speak), working, painting and living with trees every day of her life."

For those interested is seeing the breath and scope of  Mary's works,... you can check out her 
new refreshed website:  maryhrbacek.com  

Do trees have a spiritual connection with humans? Read Walter Idlewild's essay on artist Mary Hrbacek: "Tree of Life



 

 

 


Art and Environment Panel

"Human Nature:Pefka & Sycamore" by Mary Hrbacek

Saturday, January 25th 4pm - 5pm


Artist Mary Hrbacek
Richard Vine writer, Managing Editor at Art in America
Charlotte Japp, Cirkel World


Reception to follow the panel

Please RSVP: elgawimmer2@gmail.com


Elga Wimmer PCC
526 West 26 # 310
New York NY10001
tel. 1 212 206 0006
www.elgawimmer.com

Mary Hrbacek - Panel
Mary Hrbacek, Life in Collioure, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48,” 2018

 

 
     

 

 

 

Mary Hrbacek - Exhibitions

 

 

 
ElgaWimmer PCC
 
526 West 26 Street, New York NY 10001, Suite 310, Hours 12-6, T-S • Tel: 212.206.0006 • elgawimmer.com 
 
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

I wonder if our initial relationship to trees is aesthetic rather than scientific. When we come across a beautiful tree, it is an extraordinary thing.” — Francis Halle, Botanist

MARY HRBACEK       

HUMAN NATURE: PEFKA & SYCAMORE

 Opening Reception: Thursday, January 9   6-8 pm.           

January 9 – February 1

Elga Wimmer PCC is pleased to present a one-person show by Mary Hrbacek, featuring new work consisting of drawings, paintings and painted drawings. Ms Hrbacek’s signature theme focuses on her unique depiction of trees, as they relate to the “human form in nature,” inhabiting the margin between figuration and abstraction.  Her work calls into question the status quo in society that tends to view nature as a separate entity to be exploited instead of recognizing the inherent interconnectedness of living things.

This fascination with nature and transmuted natural forms has been explored by other artists in the past, most notably Dorothea Tanning and Georgia O’Keeffe. While Tanning took a more mythological approach, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Cow’s Skull has a direct link to Hrbacek’s “Enclosed Torso.” The latter depicts a “body” of a tree that is fenced in, as if preserved or protected. Hrbacek expresses these perimeters by situating her trees within the simple architectural boundaries of cafes or restaurants. She views their setting as being “embraced,” within limits, which parallels her life experience today.

The mythological themes of transformation in Hrbacek’s works, anchored in stories suffused with feelings of regeneration by Roman poet Ovid, suggest meanings such as the universal thirst for redemption. The Pefka serve as mute witnesses to the influx of displaced persons who came to Greece following increased international conflicts. The trees serve as symbols of resistance in the face of climate change and political indifference. 
 

The much more austere charcoal drawings on paper are made of compressed tree bark, that recalls muscles and flesh, the powerful forces of nature. Here too, vertical lines encase parts of the tree which interact with contrasting zones of shadow and light. The lines zoom in on twisted sections that seem to burst out of the frame. 

The show culminates with the larger painted drawings, which offer a more abstract depiction of the tree. Ms Hrbacek applies a light hand across the canvas, and even though this work is acrylic on canvas, there is an element of drawing in play. The “bodies” of the trees seem ephemeral, shadow-like, and play beautifully with the light within a black and white ambience. 
 
 Mary Hrbacek - Exhibitions
Burgeoning, acrylic on linen, 18 x 36," 2019    
 
 
Twisted, Naxos, charcoal on paper, 22 x 30,” 2016    
 
 Mary Hrbacek - Exhibitions
Tree Dancers, acrylic, gesso on canvas, 6 x 4,’ 2019



 

 

 

Mary Hrbacek - Pari Koh Fine Arts

 

Mary Hrbacek -  Art Talk 2017

 

mary hrbacek - gallery d'arte

Mary Hrbacek Award 2015

 

 

mary hrbacek at 107 West

 

 

Mary Hrbacek - Life after life

 

Mary Hrbacek - Lifet Before Life