Jessica Stockholder: Hollow Places Court in Ash-Tree Wood September 4, 2011

In the spring of 2009, The Aldrich cut down a 100-year-old ash tree in its sculpture garden. Sculptor Jessica Stockholder, not primarily known for working with natural materials, has collaborated with local cabinetmaker Clifford Moran to utilize the wood from the tree to create a new installation that will be seen in two of The Aldrich's galleries. 'Hollow Places Court in Ash-Tree Wood' connects her continuing interest in ephemeral abstraction with the solidity, continuity of place, and sense of time that trees represent. The major elements in the exhibition are two large freestanding sculptures that resemble folding screens. Fabricated from boards cut from the wood of the tree, they were conceived by Stockholder as static armatures that she will activate with various types of paint, from auto lacquer to acrylic, visually suggesting walls (or a gallery) filled with pictures. The forms represented reference eyes (among other things), mirroring the viewer's gaze and suggesting both the accumulated experience of the tree and the fleeting experience of the viewer.