22 March 2024
Offering a combination of nature, painting and poetry, 'Trees That Tell: A Tribute to Endangered Nature' presents the work of Dutch painter Christiaan Kuitwaard (b. 1965) and Dutch writer Jan Kleefstra (b. 1964). The exhibition runs from 22 March to 21 July at The Mesdag Collection in The Hague.
There are many reasons to love our trees and forests. Some people love going to the forest to unwind, others to charge their batteries or find peace and others still to enjoy nature. But the green pillars that give us life have become endangered.
Hague School
No matter what the weather conditions, Kuitwaard and Kleefstra explored forests every week for four seasons. Taking turns to select a forest, they opted mostly for those located near their homes in the north of the Netherlands. Once in the forest, they worked in silence for at least an hour, fully open to impressions. The result is both a warning against the disappearance of our forests and an ode to the beauty and ‘wisdom’ of the trees.
In Trees That Tell: A Tribute to Endangered Nature, Kuitwaard and Kleefstra’s works are presented in the context of artworks from The Mesdag Collection selected by the artists themselves. Kuitwaard’s way of working fits well with that of the painters of The Hague School. Like Kuitwaard, they liked to work outdoors and had an eye for nature. The artists of The Hague School also depicted landscapes and did so in a time of rapidly advancing industrialization, during which nature was cut back on a large scale.
'Perhaps we should exchange the concept of ‘nature’ for the all-encompassing concept of ‘life’. We are part of life, along with millions of other manifestations, so life is diversity. If you destroy diversity, you destroy life.' Christiaan Kuitwaard
Forest Work
In 2023, Kuitwaard and Kleefstra published their artistic impressions in Boswerk (Forest Work), a book about the loss of trees and forests in the Netherlands that they produced with writer Annelies Henstra. For this project, Kuitwaard painted 56 outdoor oil paintings using atmospheric colours. He did so in a range of styles and from different perspectives. Kleefstra wrote poetic texts about disappearing biodiversity and our connection with all that lives.
Some paintings in the exhibition depict trees saved from felling, for instance the beech trees lining the 200-year-old avenue leading to Broekhuizen Castle in Leersum. Thanks to the members of an action group, who took it upon themselves to manage the trees, the beeches are still there. Kuitwaard painted the trees looking very much alive and well.
Other works show the results of felling. For their final weekly session in the forest, the artists returned to Ketliker Skar forest in Friesland, where they had worked on day one of the project. According to Kleefstra, they found ‘a scene of destruction’. However, he remains hopeful, ending his texts on a positive note: ‘That is life. It just keeps going. That is how simple it is.’
The most beautiful forest is one that you can get lost in. When courage runs out, your pen is empty and darkness falls. When you feel a moment of surrender and life suddenly seems endless. When sunshine dapples the ground and the trees tell you that only life can happen to you. When you almost become reckless yet constantly stay on your guard because you don’t quite trust the sounds. When the forest appears not to be endless after all when you keep walking in a straight line. And when you’re still shivering in your bed at night from an overwhelming experience that you could hardly bear. Jan Kleefstra