Gabriele Grones

Gabriele Grones Sacred Connections (installation shot) at SARAHCROWN New York

SARAHCROWN is pleased to announce the solo exhibition, “Sacred Connections,” featuring new works by Italian artist Gabriele Grones. The exhibition will open on January 19 and run through March 2, 2024. Sacred Connections showcases a brand-new series of oil paintings on canvas that focuses on  the symbology of the four sacred plants to Northeastern Native Americans in diverse cultures: cedar, sage, sweetgrass, and tobacco. Central to the installation is a complex polyptych dedicated to the cedar tree accompanied by additional works highlighting the other three plants.

Gabriele Grones, Cedar9 (Zaō Gongen), 2023, oil on canvas, 8x6in

In his historical and anthropological research, Grones came across artifacts, ceremonial objects, and spiritual practices intrinsically associated with these sacred plants. Those findings constitute the subjects of these new paintings. For example, the wood of the Cedar tree has been used for centuries to create ceremonial artifacts (masks, rattles, vessels), as an incense and purifying herb. It has also been used to carve sculptures and funerary figurines of personalities of power and spirituality (kings, saints, shamans). In ancient paintings, architectural details (arches, frames, altar pieces) are often carved in cedar wood as a signifier of nobility and fame.

Gabriele Grones, Sage#1 (Flight into Egypt), 2023, oil on canvas 8x6in copia

Analog concepts apply to the other plants sage, tobacco, and sweetgrass which Grones uncovers through his meticulous depictions and visual associations.

Gabriele Grones, Tobacco#3 (Chinese Snuff Bottle), 2023, oil on canvas, 4x4in

The individual paintings within Sacred Connections reveal captivating tales of ancient artifacts and mystical rituals. When observed collectively, these artworks reveal deep-rooted connections shared through plants and across diverse cultures, societies, and continents.

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