Eternal Return
McNichols Civic Center Building, First Floor Community Gallery
May 8 – June 2, 2023

The philosophy of Eternal Return centers on the notion that time, events and even matter repeat themselves in an infinite loop – reoccurring in the same way in the past as they do in the present and will infinitely into the future. Inherent to this concept is the continuous cycle of destruction and rebirth. Trine Bumiller and Erika Osborne approach the occurrence of wildfire in the West from this standpoint. Although recent wildfires have been catastrophic, scorching the soil and destroying all plant life as they travel through, only moments pass before regrowth and renewal return to the forest floor, repeating a cycle that has been part of the ecology of western forests for millennia. 
 
Trine Bumiller’s works come out of direct observation of the landscape after these cataclysmic events - both the brutal reality of burnt trees in winter along with colorful new growth and regeneration in the seasons that follow. Erika Osborne sees fire as a restorative mechanism in forest ecosystems. By directly observing and learning from burnt forests in the West, Erika’s work embraces wildfire as an alternative remedy for forests in need of healing. Together their work reconciles the fear humans associate with wildfire by attempting to replace it with respect and understanding for an ecological process that is both miraculous and vital.  

About the Artists
Trine Bumiller received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and studied for a year with the European Honors Program in Rome. Her work focuses on memory and landscape in paintings and installations that merge realism and abstraction. She has exhibited widely in the U.S., Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, and has been commissioned for installations at the Colorado Convention Center, the Four Seasons Denver, the Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong, and the University of Colorado. Additionally, Trine has curated exhibitions in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Cambodia. Her artist residencies include Yaddo, Ucross, Pistoletti Foundation, Denali and Rocky Mountain National Parks, Brush Creek Ranch Foundation, and Rocky Mountain Women’s Institute, and she has received grants from the Colorado Council on the Arts, Rocky Mountain Women’s Institute, and the Colorado Federation of the Arts, among others. Trine is represented by Robischon Gallery in Denver and Zg Gallery in Chicago and her works are in the public collections of the Kirkland Museum, the University of Iowa, the University of Colorado and the city of Denver. Trine Bumiller serves on the board of the Artnauts Art Collective, a group of more than fifty artists using art as a vehicle for social change. The collective has exhibited in over 50 countries in places of contention all over the world. 

Erika Osborne received her BFA from the University of Utah in painting and drawing and her MFA from the University of New Mexico. Erika’s artwork deals with cultural connections to place and environment. She has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally, including shows at the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Nevada Museum of Art and the Chautauqua Institute. Erika has also been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a recent Fulbright fellowship to do creative research in Mexico. Her work has been highlighted in books surveying the evolution of land and environmental art in the West. She has also been a contributing author for books and journals and featured in national publications and international art magazines. In addition to creating art, she is a professor in the Art and Art History department at Colorado State University. For the past 18 years, Erika has taught painting and drawing alongside environmental field courses for artists and has had her pedagogical work published in books and journals.

Related Events:
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 11, 4-6 p.m.
Tour and Discussion, Thursday, May 18, noon-1 p.m.

Eterno Retorno 
Edificio “McNichols” del Centro Cívico, galería comunitaria del primer piso
Mayo 8 – Junio 2, 2023

La filosofía de Eternal Return (Eterno Retorno) se centra en la noción de que el tiempo, los eventos e incluso la materia, se repiten en un ciclo infinito reapareciendo de la misma manera en el pasado que en el presente y lo hará infinitamente en el futuro. Inherente a este concepto es el ciclo continuo de destrucción y renacimiento. Trine Bumiller y Erika Osborne abordan la ocurrencia de incendios forestales en el Oeste desde este punto de vista. Aunque los incendios forestales recientes han sido catastróficos, quemando el suelo y destruyendo toda la vida vegetal a su paso, solo pasan unos momentos antes de que el nuevo crecimiento y la renovación regresen al suelo del bosque, repitiendo un ciclo que ha sido parte de la ecología de los bosques occidentales durante milenios.
 
Las obras de Trine Bumiller surgen de la observación directa del paisaje después de estos eventos catastróficos, tanto la brutal realidad de los árboles quemados en invierno como el nuevo y colorido crecimiento y la regeneración en las estaciones siguientes. Erika Osborne ve el fuego como un mecanismo restaurador en los ecosistemas forestales. Al observar directamente y aprender de los bosques quemados en Occidente, el trabajo de Erika adopta los incendios forestales como un remedio alternativo para los bosques que necesitan sanación. Juntos, su trabajo reconcilia el miedo que los humanos asocian con los incendios forestales al intentar reemplazarlo con respeto y comprensión por un proceso ecológico que es a la vez milagroso y vital.  

Eventos relacionados:
Recepción de Apertura: Jueves 11 de mayo, 4 p.m. a 6 p.m.
Visita virtual y debate: 18 de mayo, 12 h.