Artist Toots Zynsky was a student of nature from her early years, and that thoughtful connection has long come through in her work. For the Past/Present exhibition at Heller Gallery, the artist brought together pieces spanning 40 years of her career for what she describes as a “partially retrospective show.”
aspire: Tell us about these pieces and how this showing took shape.
Toots Zynsky: I had almost never saved examples of my own work because I was always making more, but a friend suggested I should think about earmarking pieces for my children. So as my children reached a certain age, I let them choose favorites for their birthdays and Christmas. These pieces eventually grew into an archive. All of the earlier works, save one, are from their archive. The recent works are from research I have been pursuing based on endangered species of birds.
“My most recent works are based on birds – and flight. There’s a powerful desire for freedom I think we all experience the first time we see birds in the sky. We all wish we could fly – right?” – Toots Zynsky
aspire: How do we see nature come through in your work and in these pieces in particular?
TZ: I was very fortunate to have grown up for my entire childhood in the midst of a natural wonderland – woodlands, streams and ponds giving way to an extensive marshland located on an important North Atlantic migratory flyway for waterfowl. They were safe there. My parents were serious conservationists, and all the kids in the neighborhood learned to revere the wildlife and natural beauty. Inevitably, that has manifested itself over the years in my work.
aspire: What is next for you creatively?
TZ: I’m currently still very busy, through my work and lectures, with bringing attention to the vast diminishment of bird populations around the world. They are, after all, our “canaries in the mine.” I trust that I, and my work, will continue to evolve and change.
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