There is a certain comfort that nature brings us that we only experience when we truly live as a part of it. This attachment was what American essayist and poet Henry David Thoreau aimed to impart in his 1854 autobiographical work “Walden, or Life in the Woods.”
Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard. He wrote two books, one of which was “Walden.”
“Walden” narrates his two-year experiment in self-sufficiency by living in a hut he built at the edge of Walden Pond. The book gives its readers a glimpse into the life of raw splendor, planted with words that grow with wisdom.
Contemporary artists have now gone far and wide in simply painting nature (or landscape) on canvas.
Six artists visit their own Walden Pond and present their own stories that flow parallel with Thoreau’s ideas. “Walden Revisited” group show consists of artworks by Indonesian artists Roby Dwi Antono and Imam Santoso, and local artists Emman Acasio, Lawrence Cervantes, Sarah Geneblazo and Lyndon Maglalang.
With these six different styles of visual expression emphasizing the importance of our environmental responsibilities, Galerie Stephanie expresses its belief in the human-nature connection.
This connection is manifested through Antono’s surrealistic eyes; Santoso’s cautionary advice on climate change; Acasio’s hopeful shorelines; Cervantes’ stark natural fusions; Geneblazo’s eerie yet alluring fauna; and Maglalang’s human musings.
All their artworks strangely converge into a subtle remake of Thoreau’s experiment.
—CONTRIBUTED
“Walden Revisited” will hold its opening reception on June 24, 6 p.m., Galerie Stephanie, Unit 1B Parc Plaza Bldg., 183 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Libis, Quezon City. The group exhibition will be on view starting June 22-July 8. Call 7091488.