Kirk Maxson | Leaves
Current exhibition
Overview
The Botanical Art of Kirk Maxson
Kirk Maxson, was raised along nature in Oregon. He lived on Spencer’s Butte outside of the city limits of Eugene, where he would foster his deep connection to nature. Here he found a fascination with the foliage, formed through memories, such as finding mushrooms with his mother, beneath the leaf litter under the trees, looking for the distinct orange color of chanterelles. -It was she who taught him, from which trees these fungi grew under. Allowing him to actively participate in nature’s cycle by learning and eating these found treasures.- (optional to remove this part)
Years later, he would find himself immersed in the culture and metropolitan lifestyle that San Francisco had to offer him. As a young artist in the '90s, he found himself affordable accommodation that allowed him to practice his art, but this presented a severe limitation when it came to exposing himself to the natural world he longed for.
His need to be surrounded by wilderness again, pushed him to start collecting leaves from his neighborhood, which allowed him the opportunity to pay attention and appreciate everything that grew beyond the cement constraints. In order to reconnect with this innate feeling, he started his homage to it through paper plants, soon after Kirk lost himself in the discovery and research of the endless botanic paths that the Golden Gate Park Library extended.
This was the beginning of his herbariums, which through gathering and observation, allowed him to develop an appreciation of the nature that presented itself in this new environment, such as the dandelions, or wild geraniums, and Oxalis, originally from South Africa and New Zealand, that grew in sidewalks under trees far from their native lands.
His magnetic compulsion towards the outdoors, allowed Maxson to capture his memories and nostalgia, and vessel it in the impact of his work, making each piece a reflection of his profound relationship to nature and the raw emotions it stirred within him.
Years later, he would find himself immersed in the culture and metropolitan lifestyle that San Francisco had to offer him. As a young artist in the '90s, he found himself affordable accommodation that allowed him to practice his art, but this presented a severe limitation when it came to exposing himself to the natural world he longed for.
His need to be surrounded by wilderness again, pushed him to start collecting leaves from his neighborhood, which allowed him the opportunity to pay attention and appreciate everything that grew beyond the cement constraints. In order to reconnect with this innate feeling, he started his homage to it through paper plants, soon after Kirk lost himself in the discovery and research of the endless botanic paths that the Golden Gate Park Library extended.
This was the beginning of his herbariums, which through gathering and observation, allowed him to develop an appreciation of the nature that presented itself in this new environment, such as the dandelions, or wild geraniums, and Oxalis, originally from South Africa and New Zealand, that grew in sidewalks under trees far from their native lands.
His magnetic compulsion towards the outdoors, allowed Maxson to capture his memories and nostalgia, and vessel it in the impact of his work, making each piece a reflection of his profound relationship to nature and the raw emotions it stirred within him.
