THE BEAUTIFUL ART OF ROOTS NOW

Roots symbolize the very essence of life. They are like anchors holding us tight to the earth, giving us a sense of place and nourishment. Whether we’re talking about our ancestry or, more literally, about the roots of plants and trees, they play an essential role in our lives. Today we are featuring several artists as they explore the beauty of roots. Check them out below.

LAETITIA SOULIER

Laetitia Soulier is a French-born, NYC-based multimedia artist who meticulously constructs miniature domestic tableaux, often incorporating roots as a theme. Soulier is fascinated by the fractal nature of roots, which she mimics in her design and structure.

Her most recent series, “The Square Roots 3,” is an homage to how roots intertwine with our daily lives.

Soulier’s “Fractal Architectures” series includes roots coming through the floorboards, as if to remind us that they are always there in our lives, whether we consciously pay attention to them or not.

Soulier’s hand-crafted pieces can take up to a year to build. Soulier then uses a large-format camera to capture her vision in vivid detail.

Check out Soulier’s exhibition at the Claire Oliver Gallery, in New York. And see more on her website.

JORGE MAYET

Artist Jorge Mayet suspends miniature sculpted replications of trees, with their roots exposed, as metaphorical symbols of his homeland, Cuba. 

Mayet’s sculptures, made from electrical wire, paper, acrylics, and fabric, spring from what he calls a photographic memory of the trees of his youth.

Currently living in Mallorca, Spain, Mayet’s beautifully rooted trees celebrate his spiritual attachment to a country from which he has been exiled. Their suspended state reflects a geography and a political landscape in flux.

Certain trees in Cuba are powerfully associated with a symbolic mysticism that originates with the Yoruba religion, brought over from Africa by slaves. Many people pray to the trees, burying offering among  their roots.

Mayet’s work can be viewed on exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, in London, and RFT Fine Art, in Miami.

HENRIQUE OLIVEIRA

Brazilian sculptor Henrique Oliveira creates monumental interactive hollow root sculptures that can be experienced from the inside.

Oliveira’s pieces are made of artfully constructed layers of discarded wood found throughout his native city of Sao Paulo. By recycling the wood, which he attaches to metal frames, the artist is essentially reimagines them in their original tree-like state.

The long, cavernous roots of “Transarquitetonica” snake through several gallery rooms at Sao Paulo’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Visitors are able to crawl through and explore the space.

You can see Oliveira’s works currently on view at Palais de Tokyo, in Paris and Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, in France.

Read more about Beautiful Roots in 10 Wonderful Images & Ideas About the Roots of Beautiful Now, So Important: Save These Beautiful Roots Now and The Warm Fragrant Spicy Beauty of Ginger Roots Now.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Laetitia Soulier. The Square Roots. Fractal Architectures.
2. Image: by Laetitia Soulier. The Square Roots. Fractal Architectures.
3. Image: by Laetitia Soulier. The Square Roots. Fractal Architectures.
4. Image: by Laetitia Soulier. The Square Roots. Fractal Architectures.
5. Image: Courtesy of Jorge Mayet. Me desprendo de ti. Mobile Sculpture by Jorge Mayet.
6. Image: Courtesy of Jorge Mayet. Mobile Sculpture by Jorge Mayet.
7. Image: Courtesy of Jorge Mayet. Mobile Sculpture by Jorge Mayet.
8. Image: Courtesy of Jorge Mayet. Sólo con la mirada. Wall Sculptures by Jorge Mayet.
9. Image: Courtesy of Jorge Mayet. Entre Dos. Mobile Sculpture by Jorge Mayet.
10. Image: Courtesy of  Henrique Oliveira. Transarquitetonica.
11. Image: Courtesy of  Henrique Oliveira. Transarquitetonica.
12. Image: Courtesy of  Henrique Oliveira. Transarquitetonica.
13. Image: Courtesy of  Henrique Oliveira. Transarquitetonica.
14. Image: Courtesy of  Henrique Oliveira. Transarquitetonica.
15. Image: Courtesy of  Henrique Oliveira. Transarquitetonica.
16. Image: by BN App - Download now!
17. Image: Courtesy of Jorge Mayet. Mobile Sculpture by Jorge Mayet.