Birch

“In his series, Birch, Matthew Brandt continues his characteristic process of facilitating dialogue between subject and material, allowing the subject to participate in the creation of the work itself. The series features photographs of birch trees around St. Petersburg, Russia, where Brandt’s interest in the cultural and national importance of the revered trees was sparked. Each image is precisely laser-engraved into a piece of 71" x 41" birch plywood. Brandt then scorches the wood, further darkening its surface, and applies gold leaf, creating a luminous opening into the image and inviting the viewer to experience the texture of the trees themselves through a photograph.”

— Juxtapoz, Carbon, Birch, Silver, Rooms: New Works by Matthew Brandt, 2021

https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/photography/carbon-birch-silver-rooms-new-works-by-matthew-brandt/

“In the selection of works comprising Birch, Brandt laser-engraves photographs of birch trees he took around St. Petersburg, Russia, into 71-inch by 41-inch pieces of birch plywood. In effect, birch stands as both the principal natural imagery of the work as well as the medium through which this imagery is conveyed. In other words, it beholds itself. Brandt then scorches the wood and applies gold leaf to it, transforming the otherwise singular idea of “birch” into a complex and dichotomous interplay between dark and light, blackened and gilded, natural and decorated.”

— Musée Mag, Exhibition Review: Matthew Brandt: Carbon, Birch Silver, Rooms by Zoha Baquar, 2021

https://museemagazine.com/culture/2021/11/10/exhibition-review-matthew-brandt-carbon-birch-silver-rooms