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Nicholas Metivier Gallery
Toronto, ON

This Spring, in the early days of the pandemic, Edward Burtynsky found himself in Grey County, Ontario, as a result of the government-mandated isolation. He began shooting the surrounding forests using a new camera that captures unprecedented detail and density. Burtynsky photographed this area in the early 1980s and his return to this subject nearly 40 years later marks a full circle in his career. This most recent approach to nature is more painterly and abstract than ever before.   

During this time spent in isolation and while reflecting on this historic moment and the gravity of these events, I have taken the opportunity to once again turn my lens to the natural landscape as subject matter. The result is this new series, made during the time of year when the cycle of renewal exerts itself on the Earth. From the frigid sleep of winter to the fecund urgency of spring, these images are an affirmation of the complexity, wonder and resilience of the natural order in all things. I find myself gazing into an infinity of apparent chaos, but through that selective contemplation, an order emerges — an enduring order that remains intact regardless of our own human fate. These images are all from a place called Grey County, Ontario. They are also from a place in my mind that aspires to wrest order out of chaos and to act as a salve in these uncertain times.

–  EDWARD BURTYNSKY

© David Hartman, Hayfire