chashama presents Michael Sherman’s A Million More Trees, an exhibition of drawing with cardboard.

Driven by the force the artist sees in architecture and urban nature, “A million more trees” attempts to reconstitute this vision to form a simple gesture. Using everyday supplies like cardboard boxes and copper tacks, this work addresses concepts of sustainability through the responsible use of materials.

Responding to the history and architecture of the Donnell Library, this project is about tearing down and reconstruction of space and unearthing the underlying structure. The trees are formed by tearing away the top layer of paper from found cardboard boxes – revealing the inner corrugation – and reusing the sheered paper to build the trunks. The reworking of the cardboard boxes reinterprets the original form of the material: trees.

This project is about recycling cardboard and was inspired from walking past piles of discarded boxes all over the city. The title ‘A million more trees’ is a reference to the PlaNYC initiative to plant trees to beautify neighborhoods and clean NYC’s air. While we plant trees, recycling rates in NYC and across the country are incredibly low. Unless we decrease the amount of waste produced, a million more trees does little to off-set the greater cost of American life to the global environment.

Micheal Sherman received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Michael is a recipient of an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, a Greater Columbus Arts Council Grant, a National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts in NYC Residency, and an Edwin Austin Abbey Mural Workshop Award. He works out of his Brooklyn Navy Yard Studio and exhibits extensively.