Left Panel: 22.25W x 42H" 

Right Panel: 24.5W x 41H"

Acrylic, Canvas, and Nails on Old-Growth Redwood

2025

"After the Fire" is made from old growth redwood cut from the same tree. Divided into two panels, the wood carries a shared history while standing independently. Giving it new life is part of the work.

Redwoods are naturally fire resistant. They endure intensity and continue to grow. That resilience anchors this piece.

The surface is layered with canvas and paper, fastened with nails and sealed in resin. It reads dark, almost charred, but color quietly peeks through the seams. Small flashes of red, blue, and yellow emerge from beneath the black surface. The color is not decoration. It is renewal. It is survival. It is life continuing after heat and pressure.

The two panels face each other in conversation. What was once one form now holds space between it. Fire changes the surface but does not erase the core. The redwood carries centuries within it, and these added layers become a contemporary continuation of its story.

Mounted on polished acrylic cleats, the pieces float slightly from the wall, allowing shadow to deepen the work. This is not a story about destruction. It is about endurance, renewal, and what continues to rise through the dark.

-Christi Meril