Exploring Time: A Painter's Perspective
April 16, 2027 through August 15, 2027
Tony Foster, Giant Sequoia · c.3000 Years Old. Photo by Paul Mounsey, Courtesy of The Foster Museum.
Since 1982, British artist and environmentalist Tony Foster has painted “en plein air” in the wild places of the world, undertaking expeditions to rainforests, icebergs, deserts and mountains. His Journeys explore specific themes or ideas and require multiple expeditions, often taking years to complete. These Journeys or exhibitions can be specific to a particular place while others span entire regions or global concepts. Foster’s 19th Journey, Exploring Time: A Painter’s Perspective, brings together a remarkable series of watercolor diaries focused on continuity and transformation in ourselves and the world around us, posing the question of how our own lifespans relate to both the timeless and the transient. Across this body of work, Foster investigates how time shapes the land—from the quick shifts of light and weather to the slow rhythms of seasons and the immense scales of biological and geological transformation. With a discerning eye, he records not only nature’s strength and resilience but also its vulnerability, even in landscapes once dominated by industry and later reclaimed.
In a world where environmental change is often conveyed through striking images of global warming, Foster offers a different perspective, one that considers Earth’s continual evolution and the visible traces of time’s passage. Organized into four themes: geological, biological, human, and the fleeting, this exhibition invites viewers to engage with time at every scale, from the span of a moment to the stretch of millennia, while reflecting on the enduring impact of human presence.
Tony Foster painting the giant sequoias in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. California, US, September 2023. Photo by David Schendel. Courtesy of The Foster Museum.
Exploring Time: A Painter’s Perspective is organized by The Foster Museum, Palo Alto, CA. Local presentation is supported by generous donors to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s endowment.
