Tree Stories (2018) - Dilmos Milano

by Richard Woods

TREE STORIES is a unique installation exclusively created for Dilmos by British artist Richard Woods, whose well-documented work famously crosses boundaries between art, architecture and design.

The aim of the installation is to open a dialogue between the natural world (the outside) and an artificial environment (the gallery space), while describing the meeting point between a creative story and its practical function.
The table lamps, cylindrical stools, low tables, paintings and mirror featured in TREE STORIES are recent works showcasing the new creative directions taken by the artist while exploring textures and shapes with his signature use of woodblock printed patterns.
The patterns are obtained using the technique of xilography, where wood blocks of various sizes are engraved, painted and printed on the surface of objects to achieve the desired effect.
At the center of the installation, a large freestanding pilaster lined with panels of black and green trees dominates Dilmos’ core exhibition space and forms the axis around which all other objects appear to rotate.

Table lamps
The table lamps are thick shapes of cut wood heavily coated in acrylic paints. The shapes are anthropomorphic, suggesting fleeting figures, wild animals or plantlife one glimpses at night when walking through woods.
Dimensions: cm 20 x 20 x 87 H

Cylindrical stools
The low cylindrical stools are wood-turned and decorated with the artist’s trademark woodblock printed wooden plank motif. The surfaces are then coated with multiple layers of resin and acrylics applied with spinning gestural brushstrokes which obliterate the printed wood grain while imitating the textural direction of the woodturning process.
Dimensions: cm Ø 46 x 41 H

Low Tables
On display are also low wooden tables with structures patterned in black and white trees and tabletops heavily blocked in brightly colored leaf patterns that bring to mind carpets of leaves blanketing wooded grounds.
Dimensions: cm 122 x 91 x 32 H

Paintings
The two framed paintings describe the manipulation of the natural world where timber is cut, bent and twisted to find new shapes and forms.
Dimensions: cm 93 x 8 X 124 H

Mirror
The rectangular mirror is constructed using a technique of inlay combining large geometric tassels of mirrored glass and of wood decorated with woodblock printed patterns.
Dimensions: cm 40 x 200 H

All individual works featured in TREE STORIES, including the panels lining the central pilaster, are one of a kind pieces created by Richard Woods in his London studio.