Finished! Testing a new idea with road and movement. Find it at ‘Finally’ @castorgallery new group exhibition Thursday, 6-9 pm. 548 W 28th St, 2nd Flr.

New painting in progress…

Remnant of the Oak

A moment of lasting history can be glimpsed from the remnant of the Treaty Oak, which stands on the edge of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum property.  This black ink on paper drawing, done on site, reveals a view of a mature tree surrounded by an iron fence enveloped by layers of dense foliage.

At this location, Siwanoy American Indians signed an agreement granting lands to Thomas Pell in 1654.  Through the treaty, Mr. Pell acquired territory that includes Pelham, New Rochelle, portions of the Bronx and land east of the Hutchinson River, New York.  Examining the site itself can, therefore, can raise questions about the possession / dispossession of land in colonial history.

The ink drawing is heavy with brush marks and the scene seems to fill up with dark shadows.  On site, the flush of natural growth nearly obscures this protected location, and it is not immediately clear that the current elm tree in the center is actually a replacement for the original white oak that was burnt in a fire in 1906. We can only understand the physicality of the historic site from illustrations and photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries.  As such, this observation painting remains a vital link to our experience of this history today.  
 

“Remnant of the Oak” 2016
India ink on paper
36 x 32 inches (painting) with wood stand 82 x 44 x 40 inches

The site of the Treaty Oak, currently occupied by an elm tree which is grown in the same place as the historic oak tree.

Beginning a project at the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum in Pelham Bay, Bronx.

Road drawings 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper
Road drawings 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper

Road drawings 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper

Through the gallery window, installing at Castor Gallery, NYC.

Hold still in the studio with Hi-Fructose Magazine.

Running on The Default Network
by Boyce