Untitled

Alison Moritsugu demonstrates the disjointed relationship between humans and the environment by painting on cut sections of naturally fallen trees in the style of the Hudson River School. Moritsugu’s meticulous views create the illusion of windows into the log and illustrate the life it no longer has, or indeed the greater landscape that may also be lost. The natural cracks that disrupt the images reinforce this sense of displacement and draw our attention back to the physicality and preciousness of the log itself. Which is broken: the painting or the window through which we view the past?

Moritsugu remarks, “Painters throughout art history . . . tailored their depictions of nature to serve an artistic narrative. Today, photoshopped images of verdant forests and unspoiled beaches invite us to vacation and sightsee, providing a false sense of assurance that the wilderness will always exist. By exploring idealized views of nature, my work acknowledges our more complex and precarious relationship with the environment.”