Twenty-twenty was a year of tumult, isolation, and upheaval. The instability which pushed us away from each other also serendipitously pushed many of us back into the arms of humanity’s great muse and long-time comfort: the natural world. Artists, in particular, have always sought inspiration and solace in the natural world, but in the unprecedented isolation of a global pandemic, the physical acts of painting and spending time in nature have become vital coping strategies. Staring uncertainty and bubbling social tension in the face, what was once a deep aesthetic appreciation has become an imperative, existential reminder: we are all, together, of the land.

Coming together as artists, Camille Warmington and Brenda Ciardiello share their visual meditations on finding renewal in nature in this exhibition titled Of the Land: Two Artists Find Renewal in Nature. Both artists create immersive natural scenes exploring personal connections to nature using original photographs they take while traveling. One working in acrylic, the other in watercolor, the two artists conjure scenes that evoke hope, comfort, memory while exploring the autographic marks that place makes on a person. These contemporary – almost surreal – botanical scenes are simultaneously striking and meditative; using perspective and abstraction, they ask questions about humans’ role in nature, and how we can work to better coexist with ourselves and other species.