Art / The wood art of Cosme Herrera
The work of Brooklyn artist Cosme Herrera is beautiful, subtle and imbued with a deep sense of meaning. ‘As I constantly question man-made constructs, I search for a universal language’, he says. ‘Through this body of work, I seek to define my own logos. Logos are a system of symbols designed for easy and definite recognition. Using a system of logos, I explore my relationship with wood through metaphors and parables. My use of wood is observant of the information trees contain and communicate. Their rings, like an analogical language, tell the story of the tree’s experience through starvation, growth, long winters and wet springs’. ‘Written language, in contrast to wood grain, is entirely artificial, the relationships that words have to their meanings are assigned arbitrarily. For humans, however, our elected language is very often the primary link between us, allowing for an interconnectedness of our otherwise discrete beings (trees). Exploring various natural, synthetic and man-made woods through my process, I create these works while investigating my own personal and ritualistic relationship with the material. These allegorical images illustrate a symbiotic world where man and tree coexist in peace or chaos with their environment. My narrative explores life and death through the various relationships that men and trees share ecologically, industrially, and spiritually’.
Tagged: Brooklyn artists, New York, New York artists, wood art
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