The inaugural exhibition of Jenny up the Hill on Syros, Tree of Life, brings together the work of four contemporary painters. They come from different parts of the world, but they share an interest in elementary, natural motifs which, transformed in paint, become reflections on life and mortality and on questions of roots and belonging.
‘Today it is nature that is being crucified,’ Lucas Reiner remarked, when asked about his Stations of the Cross series. Each piece of the series depicts a tree in a distinct, solitary pose, be crooked, slender or resilient. It is hard not to think about human appearances while looking at the trees.
Over the centuries, artists have found a starting point in nature from which to create their art. Whereas, in the nineteenth century, painters inspired by nature were almost automatically landscape painters, in contemporary art there are many ways in which an eye for nature, or a foot in it, or a magnifying glass on it, is expressed. The four artists in the exhibition have a connection with nature that has taken various forms over the years, be it a focus on the dynamics of perception, on spiritual meaning, on a connecting to older sources of wisdom, or on environmental issues.
Through their work the artists evoke different ways of being rooted, or aligning with the environment. The shapes that life takes cannot be separated from what is around.
The works are celebrations of paint, color, balanced form and they show the difference that art can make, even in times that as a whole seem dark and adrift.
Participating artists: Béatrice Dreux (Vienna), Marc Mulders (Baest, the Netherlands), Lucas Reiner (Los Angeles/Porto) and Maria Vyrra (Athens). Curated by Jurriaan Benschop at Jenny up the Hill in Ermoupoli, Syros. On view till 6 July 2025.
