Rivers Feed the Trees; The Moon Moves the Tides

"To put your hands in a river is to feel the chords that bind the earth together." – Barry Lopez

Milk Moon is pleased to present Rivers Feed the Trees; The Moon Moves the Tides, a two-part solo exhibit of work by mixed media painter Meredith Nemirov, in collaboration with national nonprofit, American Rivers.

Milk Moon's inaugural show is a reflection on rivers, their crucial role in healthy environments, and the threats they face as a result of climate change, pollution, damming, and other anthropogenic interventions. Started in 2021, Nemirov's Rivers Feed the Trees series is an ongoing body of work that imagines an American West free from drought. In a collaboration spanning over a hundred years, Nemirov paints a network of branching, intertwining waterways into the topography of maps from the early 20th and late 19th centuries. Nurtured by the abundance of rivers and streams, stands of aspen trees sprout and flourish in her rewatered landscapes, standing tall in the face of an uncertain future.

Exhibited in tandem is Nemirov's new series of nighttime scenes painted in watercolor. Based on plein air paintings from forested foothills, sandy riverbanks, and serene beaches, Nemirov reimagines sunny daytime landscapes lit instead by the cool blue glow of the moon in its many phases. Reflected in the paintings' literal transitions from warm daylight to silvery moonlight, the body of work is an ode to the celestial body and its quiet but vital influence on our earthly home and its bodies of water.

As a whole, Meredith Nemirov's two-part show is not only a tribute to the timeless cycles of nature, but a cautionary reminder of the precarious state in which they exist. Threatened by political forces and careless industrial practices, the health of our planet's ecosystems and their inhabitants stands uneasily on a knife's edge. But through collective action and the critical work of organizations like American Rivers, we can continue the fight to save our rivers, streams, and the landscapes they nourish before it's too late.

Artist’s Statement