María Elena Gonzáles, The Tree Talk, 31st Biennal of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, 2015, installation view of the exhibition of the Grand Prize Winner at Cankarjev dom Gallery.
Photo: Jaka Babnik. MGLC Archive.
María Elena González was the recipient of the 2013 Grand Prize, the Biennial’s main prize, for her series of works entitled Tree Talk, exhibited at the 30th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana. The award-winning series in the artist’s solo exhibition displayed in the Gallery of Cankarjev dom was supplemented with her most recent production made especially for the Ljubljana show.
María Elena González is actually a sculptor who uses innovative ways to expand her projects into the field of the graphic arts, music composition and performance. The exhibition The Tree Talk Series stemmed from the artist’s inspiration when faced with a fallen birch. She flattened the bark of the birch with its specific structure, produced a series of drawings and etchings, and then scanned the furrowed patterns and had them laser cut into rolls for the mechanical piano (pianola). The exhibition featured the most recent drawings, etchings, fine art graphic prints, a video projection and rolls for the mechanical piano, which revealed the artistic process and fascination with the forms that the artist had encountered in nature. In cooperation with local musicians, a part of the exhibition was also a musical event, where visitors could listen to and hear the music of the birch trees. The scores, which were full of phrasing, polyphony and rhythm, were surprisingly modern for the times.
Curator: Božidar Zrinski.