{"id":1465,"date":"2025-08-21T18:57:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/?p=1465"},"modified":"2025-08-26T15:59:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T15:59:54","slug":"six-acclaimed-artists-interpret-ecology-and-the-landscape-for-ground-work-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/21\/six-acclaimed-artists-interpret-ecology-and-the-landscape-for-ground-work-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Acclaimed Artists Interpret Ecology and the Landscape for \u2018Ground\/work 2025\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Six<\/p>\n

Across the expansive 140-acre grounds of The Clark Institute<\/a> in Williamstown, Massachusetts, six contemporary artists have been invited to create site-specific works engaging with the property\u2019s meadows, trails, and woods, while highlighting their individual practices.<\/p>\n

Sculptures by Y\u014d Akiyama, Laura Ellen Bacon<\/a>, Aboubakar Fofana, Hugh Hayden<\/a>, Milena Naef, and Javier Senosiain dot a variety of sites, from manicured parkland to open fields to groves of trees.<\/p>\n

\"an
Laura Ellen Bacon, \u201cGathering My Thoughts.\u201d Photo by Joe Aidonidis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bacon, whose ethereal sculptures made of malleable twigs seem to move, has installed the nine-by-five-foot \u201cGathering My Thoughts\u201d in a wooded area. Made from willow sourced from Ohio, the piece appears to writhe like a living, growing form.<\/p>\n

Hayden has constructed a larger-than-life ribcage\u2014species unknown\u2014made of locally sourced hemlock punctuated by dozens of branches that poke out in every direction. Partly camouflaged amid the trees, the work invites us to consider themes of ecological vulnerability, extinction, and the climate crisis. Following the exhibition, the piece will be allowed to decompose on-site, mirroring the way animal remains also eventually vanish back into the earth.<\/p>\n

Fofana\u2019s installation of two botanical forms, titled \u201cBana Yiriw ni Shi Folow (Trees and Seeds of Life),\u201d is the artist\u2019s first public art piece. He draws upon his spiritual belief in the divinity of nature, incorporating rolls of African cotton dyed with indigo, representing seeds, into a curling metal frame.<\/p>\n

Other works include Senosiain\u2019s vibrant sea creature, installed in a pond, along with Akiyama\u2019s conical monolith evocative of scorched wood and Naef\u2019s marble slabs that merge with the negative spaces of a fallen tree.<\/p>\n

\"two
Aboubakar Fofana, \u201cBana Yiriw ni Shi Folow (Trees and Seeds of Life).\u201d Photo by Thomas Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Curated by independent scholar Glenn Adamson, the exhibition provides the opportunity to experience contemporary art in a natural setting. Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute, says:<\/p>\n

\n

The Clark\u2019s campus becomes an accomplice, of sorts, in helping us to see and appreciate each artist\u2019s particular vision and the interconnection between art and nature. With this edition of Ground\/work<\/em>, our guest curator\u2026has intentionally blurred the line that traditionally separates the consideration of art and craft, urging us to appreciate the art that is inherent in all forms of craft.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ground\/work 2025 <\/em>continues through October 2026, with free access day or night, 24\/7, on The Clark\u2019s campus. Plan your visit on the museum\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a
Hugh Hayden, \u201cThe End\u201d (detail)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Javier Senosiain, \u201cCoata III.\u201d Photo by Thomas Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Y\u014d Akiyama, \u201cOscillation: Vertical Garden.\u201d Courtesy of the artist and Joan B Mirviss LTD. Photo by Thomas Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Laura Ellen Bacon, \u201cGathering My Thoughts\u201d (detail). Photo by Joe Aidonidis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Aboubakar Fofana, \u201cBana Yiriw ni Shi Folow (Trees and Seeds of Life)\u201d (detail). Photo by Thomas Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"an
Milena Naef, \u201cThree Times Spannin.\u201d Photo by Thomas Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Y\u014d Akiyama, \u201cOscillation: Vertical Garden\u201d (detail). Courtesy of the artist and Joan B Mirviss LTD. Photo by Thomas Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Six Acclaimed Artists Interpret Ecology and the Landscape for \u2018Ground\/work 2025\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across the expansive 140-acre grounds of The Clark Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, six contemporary artists […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1465"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1478,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465\/revisions\/1478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}