The stories trees tell us

MILFORD — The paintings of Marie Liu and Rosalind Hodgkins are complimentary: each artist is deeply rooted in the natural world, where they get much of their inspiration.
But their intentions differ. Hodgkins seeking to infuse the image with original perspective and an imaginative viewpoint, while Liu seeks to tell the story of a region. You can see their works together at the ARTery Gallery, located 210 Broad St. in Milford, through Oct. 8.
Liu presents new works with the theme “Tree Stories.” From the Great Oak of Walpack, witness to the demise of that community and its escape from an impending man-made flood, to the Pinchot tree guarding Gifford Pinchot's beloved Sawkill Creek, she explores the many ways trees are metaphors for the human experience and our emotional connection to them.
Benefits from trees are numerous and crucial to life and the planet's health, Liu says. They are stoic witnesses to history, providers of shelter and food to countless animals, and an invaluable resource for human existence. Their beauty an antidote to a frenzied world.
The trees around us are easy to take for granted because of the sheer abundance of them, particularly in Northeastern Pennsylvania. But Milford is daily reminded by the presence of Grey Towers, U.S. Forest Service and the enduring memory of Gifford Pinchot, first Chief Forester who began the movement to save the forests.
Painting the natural treasures and history of the Poconos has been Liu's preoccupation for a decade. She was 2015-16 Resident Artist for Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, when she painted numerous waterfalls and a subsequent tourist guide to the falls. She never tires of exploring and sharing her love of the region.
The familiar, abstractedRosalind Hodgkins’s art has a non-traditional vision of nature. Her paintings have a calm mood with a surprising perception of landscape and plants. She creates abstract forms composed with familiar images.
Each composition is developed from many working sketches. Her knowledge of painting technique has come from 50 years of painting, which gives her an understanding of the complexities of color, light and composition for the skill needed to render imagery.
In her latest series, "Windows," the fractured appearances of her images refer to the various ways nature is seen through apertures and natural kinds of visual framing that can distort the angle of view. The use of reflective surfaces also creates interesting divisions and relationships of images.
After graduating from Pratt Institute in 1965, Hodgkins moved to what was the beginning of Soho in New York City. She became immersed in that art scene as it began in the '70s. Through the '70s and '80s, she explored new, experimental, non-traditional ways of making art. Her early style was influenced by cultural images that she painted into complex patterns reflecting the iconography of advertising. She began exhibiting in solo shows in Soho and in numerous group shows in New York City, the United States, and Canada. Her art was reviewed in major art magazines and is represented in private and corporate collections. She received an Artist’s Space grant and two MacDowell Colony Fellowships. She currently lives and paints in Milford.
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