Artist's Statement - Zach Pine

Using materials from nature, I create abstract sculptures that are generally ephemeral. Healing, seeking balance, and accepting uncertainty and impermanence are important themes in my art and in my life.

 

My work is inspired by my desire to understand and heal the environment. By working intimately with natural materials such as rocks, branches, leaves, and sand, I deepen my knowledge of nature and natural forces.

 

In addition to working alone, I lead participatory art-making events and workshops, and create participatory installations. Collaboration with local environmentalists helps make these group efforts responsive to local ecosystems and issues. I consider these group events an art form that aims to impart a sense of discovered knowledge, to release creative energy, to arouse a sense of delight in nature, and to inspire action on behalf of the environment.

 

I'm grateful that people working with me, viewing my sculptures, or seeing photographs of my work often comment that they've learned something or seen something in a new way. One man first noticed that a tree in his neighborhood had been cut down because he saw my artwork on the remaining stump; the stump had been there at least ten years. A workshop participant described her experience making precariously balanced rock sculptures as "a gift to take and use over and over again."