Woodcut

If there is, indeed, nothing lovelier than a tree, Connecticut-based artist Bryan Nash Gill shows us why. Creating large-scale relief prints from cross sections of trees, Gill reveals the sublime power locked inside their arboreal rings, patterns not only of great beauty, but also a year-by-year record of the life and times of the fallen or damaged logs. The artist rescues the wood from the property surrounding his studio and neighboring land, extracts and prepares blocks of various species'including ash, maple, oak, spruce, and willow---and then prints them by carefully following and pressing the contours of the rings until the intricate designs transfer from tree to paper. These exquisitely detailed prints are collected and published here for the first time, with an introduction by esteemed nature writer Verlyn Klinkenborg and an interview with the artist describing his labor-intensive printmaking process. Also featured are Gill's series of printed lumber and offcuts, such as burls, branches, knots, and scrubs. Woodcut will appeal to anybody who appreciates the grandeur and mystery of trees, as well as those who work with wood and marvel at the rich history embedded in its growth.