Anders Knutsson Pays Tribute to Trees

This is artist Anders Knutsson’s portrait of a Caucasian wingnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia) at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Steinhardt Conservatory Gallery is showcasing the tree portraits of Swedish born artist Anders Knutsson in a solo exhibition September 21 through Nov. 27.

Knutsson’s finely detailed tree portraits are primarily made with pencil on paper and single-color acrylic on linen. The exhibition includes works from 1992 to the present.

Though Knutsson’s portraits are from all around the world, he started his tree portrait series at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), which he began visiting when he moved his studio to Brooklyn. He was particularly inspired by several of BBG’s specimens, including the Caucasian wingnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia) and Lavalle corktree (Phellodendron lavallei).

“The tree as a topic, as inspiration and meaning is very potent to me. It symbolizes ourselves, our future, our climate,” says Knutsson

In addition to the BBG trees that inspire his art, Knutsson has found tree subjects in travels to Florida, California and as far flung as Argentina and Senegal.

Knutsson came to the U.S. in 1967. He was educated as an engineer, but has studied and developed his art throughout his life. He has lived in New York City since 1976 and currently works and lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Doris Schultz.

For more information on the exhibit visit www.bbg.org/discover/gallery/anders_knutsson/