Tree-scapes: reminiscences

Her attraction to expressing the ‘inner qualities’ of the land  stems from an affinity with the traditional Romantic Landscape notion of the sublime and her concern with the cycle of land occupation, violation and reclamation by human hands.

“Glimpses of trees in the distant landscapes while travelling always evoke art-historic memories for me.

These paintings revisit the romantic notion of the picturesque in the present world, free from the traditional burden of imposed narrative. Rather than storytelling, I’ve chosen to concentrate on the poetic creation of atmosphere and mood.

A number of works in this exhibition pay specific homage to French and Dutch Masters but most were inspired by my meandering travels through the central north island when tree lined road side picnic spots brought up memories of European Romantic Landscape imagery of the 19th century.”

Gerda Leenards
2016