Canadian artist, Paul Smylie, plain air on the French River

Ilona Irmina Iwanska, Broken Forests Group artist from Poland

                              A Tree, where the roots reach the deepest and the crown rises the highest towards the sun   (2019)                                                                                                                 oil on canvas, 146 cm. by 114 cm.

                            Stand barefoot in the middle of a forest; with your feet, feel the warmth and pulse of the earth    (2019)                                                                                                             oil on canvas, 146 cm. by 114 cm.

Ruth Vigueras Bravo, Broken Forests Group artist from Switzerland and Canada

From the series the Hidden Landscapes of the Eros,               2006-2009  analog and digital photographs

The body constitutes for me the strangest, most difficult and unknown object. I decontextualize the current stereotypes and canons of beauty, through the feminine / masculine social roles, by presenting the body as a screen/object and overlaying people and places that are an important part of my life including my mother, friends and couples. In each of the works I am looking for experiential confluences.

Undoubtedly, the camera is a voyeuristic eye with which I shoot again and again. For me, it is like a rifle loaded with emotions, where the contemporary notions of the viewer are challenged by individual’s innate desires; in this way the series exhibits the psyche of the observer. The gaze and visual truth are both called into question. Often these works begin to reflect animistic and fetishistic thoughts in the observer..

Ernest Daetwyler, Broken Forests Group artist from Switzerland and Canada

    Bubbles (2004) –   Conceptually based on the tradition of ice huts and ice fishing, ICE BUBBLES allowed people to catch dreams instead of catching fish. The installation, built on the frozen Lake Nippissing invited people to enter its five spheres. A dream catcher built with chains, locks and baits allowed for “safe” dreams.

         Forest Cell Sph[air]es (2006) – This installation for Laboratory, the 3rd International Forest Art Path was developed in collaboration with a physicist from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany and reminded of a scientific experience in the forest. Seven spheres in various sizes were installed in various heights in the forest of Darmstadt.

               time bomb [Im Hoelzernen Himmel] (2008) – In the sculptural work, TIME BOMB, discarded used furniture was collected in the city to be returned to the forest, the origin of the material and used to construct a large sphere. Located a stone’s throw away from the U.S. army base, the project evoked associations on many levels.                  The Tree of Life (2011-2012) – This permanent public art project in bronze for the Sunnyside Campus, a retirement and nursing home complex, consists of a wild apple tree carefully excavated and taken apart to be assembled to a spherical tree where branches and roots are connected. The Tree of Life appears in most spiritual traditions, religions and faiths including Judaism, Christianity as well as ancient Egyptian, Chinese, Hindu and Norse mythology as well as pre-Colombian Mesoamerican and Japanese Cultures as a symbol of rebirth and wholeness.       Pasewalk Police Phoenix (2009) – The history of the region of Pommern includes episodes of extreme violence with foreign armies invading or passing through in almost every generation. During the Second World War, Pasewalk – the place where Hitler recovered from a mustard gas attack in the First World War, was analyzed as a psychopath and decided to become a politician – was destroyed for the third time and its partner city in neighbouring Poland, Police, suffered heavy damage, particularly the “Hydrierwerke”, where in labour and concentration camps synthetic gas was produced. The region faces today a new capitalist reality, the highest unemployment rate in Germany with the resulting social problems and a rising Neo-Nazi movement. Given this context, the project PASEWALK POLICE PHOENIX invited young people to participate and transform Second World War rubble into a large contemporary Artwork – a symbol of transformation and renewal – which serves as a forum and
can be entered by the public.                   The Boat Project/everythingwillbefine (2018/20) – A temporary site-specific installation for the Artist Garden
THE BOAT PROJECT/ EVERYTHINGWILLBEFINE transforms driftwood pieces into a large boat form, creating an environment for both active engagement and reflection. This surreal, poetic installation symbolizes a time of change, challenges, and the existential fluctuations that life can present.

Marek Mikrut, Broken Forests Group artist from Poland

      Bieszczadzki-pejzaż-oil-canvas-300×300                       Nad-rzeką-oil-canvas-300×300

        Bieszczdzka-wieś-oil-canvas-251×300

      Bieszczadach-Zatwarnica-oil-canvas-300×300

Bieszczadach.oil-canvas-255×300

Simon Frank, Broken Forests Group artist from Canada

Ernest Daetwyler, Broken Forests Group artist from Canada

 

Oliwia Hildebrandt, Broken Forests Group artist from Poland

Biały Kamien/ White Stone. 120×200, akryl on canvas, 2018

Czarny Kamien/ Black stone. 120×200, akryl on canvas, 2018

Five elements. Abstraction I, 80×80, mixed technics on MDF, 2019

Five elements. Abstraction II, 80×80, mixed technics on MDF, 2019

Jacek Balicki, Broken Forests Group artist from Poland

                        Idąc w chmurach, akryl ,80 x100 cm, Jacek Balicki              Skaliście, akryl, 80×100 cm, Jacek Balicki                      Trwanie w czasie akryl ,80 x100 cm, Jacek Balicki               Przełęcz, akryl, 90x100cm, Jacek Balicki

Leszek Zuber Zebrowski, Broken Forests Group European Project Leader

Project Leader for the Polish Broken Forests Project, Leszek Zuber Zebrowski is also an accomplished professional photographer. Below is a selection of his images from the recent Residency/Symposium Series conducted in various locations in Poland.

 

Some New Works for the upcoming Broken Forests Exhibition in Poland by – Cesare Forero, Performance, Dance, Spoken Word and Visual Artist from Canada.

Installation works by Taiwanese artist and curator, Yun-shan Lee

Installation works by Taiwanese artist and curator, Yun-shan Lee

a performance dedicated to focusing public attention on caring for sacred sites.

Rubbings from the Grand Table at Obabika River Provincial Park campground

 

Digital painting that Don Chretien, Anishinabe artist living in Ontario, Canada completed recently after our amazing Broken Forests, “Wilderness Killers” Residency and Symposium in Bieczkady, Poland.