Pamela Rosenkranz. Old Tree

About

For the third High Line Plinth commission, Rosenkranz presents Old Tree, a bright red-and-pink sculpture that animates myriad historical archetypes wherein the tree of life connects heaven and earth. The tree’s sanguine color resembles the branching systems of human organs, blood vessels, and tissue, inviting viewers to consider the indivisible connection between human and plant life. Old Tree evokes metaphors for the ancient wisdom of human evolution as well as a future in which the synthetic has become nature. On the High Line—a contemporary urban park built on a relic of industry—Old Tree raises questions about what is truly “artificial” or “natural” in our world. Made of man-made materials and standing at a height of 25 feet atop the Plinth, it provides a social space, creating shade while casting an ever-changing, luminous aura amid New York’s changing seasons.

Pamela Rosenkranz creates sculptures, paintings, videos, and installations that reflect on the human need to anthropomorphize our surroundings in order to understand them. In doing so, she investigates the codes through which people give meaning to the natural world. Her projects center synthetic materials created in the image of nature: a swimming pool filled with viscous fluid, collections of mineral water bottles filled with silicone, or a kitchen faucet streaming water colored with E131 “sky blue” synthetic dye. Color is paramount for Rosenkranz, who employs fabricated colors intended to reflect unblemished and idealized nature. She elaborates on the condition of the body as a malleable system. Questioning the worldview that centers human beings, Rosenkranz addresses our relentless attempts to domesticate and tame the other living beings around us, as well as our own bodies.

Artist bio

Pamela Rosenkranz (b. 1979, Uri, Switzerland) lives and works in Zürich, Switzerland. She has held solo exhibitions at institutions including Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria (2021); Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy (2017); Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland (2012); and Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland (2010). Her work was featured in recent group exhibitions at the Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany (2021); Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California (2021); Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (2020); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia (2019); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (2019); and Museo Espacio, Aguascalientes, Mexico (2016). She has participated in major international group exhibitions including the Okayama Art Summit, Japan (2019) and the 15th Biennale de Lyon, France (2019). In 2015, she presented the Swiss Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. Her work is featured in the collections of major institutions around the world, including K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong; Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois; Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York; and Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany.