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Andres Gonzalez
Sequoia, Amador Street, 2020
Archival pigment print, 10 x 8 inches
Edition 1/7, signed, on card
Framed
Courtesy of the artist
Estimated value: $3,000
When the pandemic arrived I experienced what felt like both an expanding and a sharpening of time. Despite all the technologies, the world seemed to have returned to the speed of the carrier pigeon. Walking became a meditative and essential act—feet on the ground, muscles, air. New silhouettes were revealed in the landscape every day, and on one of those days I decided to stop and make a photograph of a lone sequoia near my home in Vallejo. That led me to this series.
When a redwood is traumatized it can spontaneously generate new growth from the burls in its roots. A redwood grove emerges from the earth to create a family that shares the same DNA. Some see this as life beyond time—at least beyond human time. I have not found any redwood groves on my walks. I imagine the cracked concrete and asphalt that surround these trees are a sign of strain, a struggle to breathe. Majestic, orphaned, lovely, ancient creatures, they stand in place as if waiting patiently for their grove, or to disappear into the ocean fog.
This image was on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as part of the exhibition Close to Home: Creativity in Crisis (March 6 - September 5, 2021).
About the Artist:
Andres Gonzalez
Andres Gonzalez is an artist living and working in Vallejo, California. His work synthesizes in-depth research with the poetics of photography to illuminate overlooked narratives in the American landscape. His most recent book, American Origami, received recognition nationally and internationally from Light Work, the Pulitzer Foundation, Aperture Foundation–Paris Photo Book Awards, and Bildband Berlin.
In fall 2021 American Origami will be exhibited as a large-scale installation at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, where Andres will also be collaborating with members of Tectonic Theater Project on a staged performance of American Origami.
Website: andresgonzalezphoto.com
Venmo: @andres-gonzalez-78718
