Portfolio

Trees

John S. Hallett's tree sculptures honor time, memory, and place. From bark and branch to ancient wood and fallen giants, each piece holds the stories of a tree's life and the landscapes we share. Through bronze, glass, and texture, these works capture the essence of resilience, transformation, and connection.

Temple Tree: a bronze trunk crowned with blue cast glass, installed outdoors

Tree Time · MCAD thesis exhibition

The MFA thesis show at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, May 2024.

Tree Time — Touchable Sculpture. The MFA thesis show: bronze and cast glass built from bark molds collected without harming the tree.

MCAD MFA Gallery · 2201 1st Avenue S, Minneapolis · reception May 10, 2024

The Tree Time exhibition card: Averara Arc beside the show details — The exhibition card

Tree sculptures

The ongoing body of work: bark, branch and fallen wood cast in bronze, glass and gypsum cement.

I think of tree time as a time scale that is vastly different than a human lifespan, like deep time or geologic time. Tree time also refers to the time that I spend with trees. Each sculpture begins with my own tree time; sitting, looking, listening, touching, experiencing and wondering. What has this tree experienced during its lifetime? What challenges has it overcome? Who has walked past this tree before me?

During my personal tree time, I collect silicone molds of small sections of tree bark without harming the tree. Back in my studio, I combine these small molds to construct sculptures that are eventually cast in bronze and glass. Each sculpture is a reflection of my own imagination coupled with memories and feelings of being with the tree in its natural environment.

J. S. Hallett

Gallery panorama of the Trees exhibition at MCAD, December 2022: bark studies and Underhand Axes — Trees · MCAD gallery, December 2022

Trees of Lapham Peak

A permanent installation in Lapham Peak State Park, Waukesha County — nineteen living trees cast in place.

Every tree cast into the sculpture is a real tree still standing in the park. GPS coordinates are recorded for each one, so you can walk out and find the tree that its mold was taken from.

See the donors who made it possible →