In Palo Alto, CA? Stop by and see Ysabel LeMay’s recent commission on view at Bloomingdale’s!

The diptych, The Cathedral Part A and The Cathedral Part B, illustrates a visual tribute to the local California Redwood Forest. Read Ysabel’s description about each image below:

THE CATHEDRAL – Part A

The Tallest Tree in the World lives in the Redwood Forests of Northern California. Botanists have named him ”Hyperion”. Back when Hyperion was just a tiny seedling, about eight hundred years ago, human ingenuity and architectural savoir-faire was allowing our ancestors to reach new breathtaking heights with the construction of magnificent gothic cathedrals.

Meanwhile, Nature had quietly been building its own cathedrals for a million years.

It is one such Sanctuary that I had the chance to discover when I was doing research for this project. It is impossible to describe with words the feelings that washed over me when I was in the middle of these majestic giants. At the same time colossal and elementary, peaceful and lively, these surroundings fill you with a sense of wonder, humility and reverence. I could not help but thinking that these monumental trees were communicating with each other, through their complex network of roots and the rustling of their leaves, like an immortal council pondering, with ancient wisdom, the eternal passing of time.

Another aspect I wanted to convey with this piece is the veritable symphony of Life, supported and protected by these Titans: Moss, flowering shrubs, orchids, ferns, berries, myriads of butterflies and birds.

THE CATHEDRAL – Part B

The stage is set. We may now enter this place of Wonders and discover a few of the fascinating characters who inhabit it. While the first mural conveyed the awe-inspiring quality of the Redwood Forest, with this second one, I wanted the viewer to walk into the Cathedral, to have a more intimate connection with the flora and fauna of this ecosystem, to feel this Life through the surreal vision that characterizes my work.

Lively and colorful, it also expresses peace and serenity, and hints at the subtle interactions between all the creatures living harmoniously in this World.

See more work by Ysabel LeMay.