Short Film on Bryan Nash Gill

I’d like to turn our collective attention now to an American sculptor who has altered his medium of creativity and found heart in the art of printmaking, not through illustrations of his own but that of the natural world with an ongoing series of woodcuts from a great diversity of tree species. The individual I’m referring to is Connecticut born and based Bryan Nash Gill who’s works document the life and growth of one of the worlds oldest living organisms on our planet.

His first print, which he put together over a decade ago now, was from the belly of a fifty inch Ash tree, the clarity of the print intrigued him, bitten by the bug he’s continued upon a journey to compare and contrast the lives of various close and distant relatives of this 82 year old beauty. Luckily for us he’s been documented in a short interview that I thought many of you would benefit from taking in today as a little creative inspiration. Not only as an introduction to those that haven’t come across his works before, but also as an insight into the process he undertakes to create these delicate masterpieces.

In many respects Bryan curates these works under a pretence of respect and admiration for these living giants that stand guard and purify the world around us. Visiting wooden graveyards of trees that have already fallen to the axe or chain he looks to find stories of survival, surmount or extreme weathering to fascinate and intrigue his audience. In his book “woodcut” he displays a Norwegian Spuce struck by lighting and empaled with a metal rod which provided an entry for insect invasion. All these elements are detectable within the final print with the trail of the insects, strike of the rod and lighting visible, not to mention telling of the tree’s 97 years.

I did consider bringing a selection of prints across to accommodate the film below but in the end I decided it best you head across yourself and consider his portfolio as a whole on the creatives dedicated website. As I mentioned above Mr Gill is quite the accomplished sculptor alongside his printed works, both delightfully drawing vocabulary from the world of New England’s forests which he explored as a boy.

www.bryannashgill.com

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