Nature Designs Itself

Nature Designs Itself: new paintings on paper and prints on wood by Cole Gerst

About Cole Gerst: In this series I continue to promote nature and the environment as in the past, but I wanted to also show it in a more personal way by focusing in on human dwellings and objects. These serene settings hint at abandonment or at a time in history that has been forgotten. The idea came to me as I read back-to-back articles about important pieces of architecture being threatened by demolition. I'm a vocal advocate of historical preservation and in particular when it comes to mid-century modern architecture. I wanted to find a way for the pieces to strike conversations about preservation of historical design and the environment simultaneously. In the end, if places are abandoned, nature will take over and do its thing. It might take time, but nature is always "designing itself". The style of these pieces are influenced by various 1950's real estate ads I found with artist's renderings of what a house will look like when it's finished. Often in these ads, they would try to sell one on a house by adding cute animals or putting some sort of a nature element into the setting.