Ulf Buentgen and Alan Crivellaro

Artworks can be compared to tree rings – the structures that record the environmental conditions in a specific moment of time. The microscopic study of wood – a material that could be described as the temporal amalgamation of cellulose and lignin – opens a largely unknown universe of art and science that was entirely concealed until the invention of optical magnification some centuries ago. Describing the myriad anatomical traits of wood and engaging with their individual and collective beauty is another way of being true to nature. Like open-air paintings, the digital display of high-resolution thin sections creates memory and inspiration.