For over five decades, Joan Jonas has redefined artistic expression, exploring the intricate relationship between nature, art, and the human experience. As a pioneer in performance and video art, Jonas has transformed how artists approach nonlinear narratives and the interplay of images, bodies, and motion. Her work captures the ephemeral and overlooked, drawing attention to the delicate rhythms of nature while reimagining its fleeting qualities.

Jonas’s practice embraces altered perceptions of space, creating timeless moments grounded in the rhythms of nature and the human body. Through layered projections, superimposed images, and recurring motifs, she suggests cycles rather than conclusions. Her fascination with Japanese Noh theater—marked by symbolic gestures, stylized movement, and layered temporalities—permeates her work, where past, present, and future coexist within a single gesture or performance.

In this exhibition, we explore two significant works: Rivers to the Abyssal Plain, one of her most recent projects, and Wind, her very first film work created in (1968). These pieces offer a unique opportunity to delve into the transhistorical within one practice while also highlighting the role of collaboration central to Jonas’s practice.

In Wind, we immerse ourselves in a dynamic interplay between performers and the wind. The work captures the essence of movement and sound, inviting viewers to reflect on their own interactions with nature. Here, Jonas intertwines film and performance, demonstrating the fleeting, unpredictable qualities of the natural world. It’s a piece that resonates with her early experimental style and underscores her ability to create experiences that are both ephemeral and deeply impactful.

Conversely, Rivers to the Abyssal Plain transports us into a different realm, where drawing becomes a performative act in itself. Recently showcased at the Drawing Center in New York City, this work leans into natural elements from scenes captured outdoors to drawings of animals, urging us to contemplate our relationship with the earth. Jonas challenges us to rethink the boundaries between body, art, and nature, reminding us of the vital connections we share with the environment. By weaving together movement and the act of drawing, she crafts, through collaboration with scientists, and professional and non-professional performers, an immersive experience that prompts us to reflect on our perceptions of art and our role within the natural world.

Joan Jonas’s significance in art history is profound. As a forerunner in the performance and video art movements, she has paved the way for future generations of artists—particularly women—to explore the intersections of performance, video, and installation. Her innovative storytelling and engagement with ecological themes are increasingly relevant today, especially as we face pressing environmental challenges.

This exhibition highlights Jonas’s enduring legacy and centers her ongoing inquiry into how we inhabit, treat, and restore our relationship with nature, animals, and plants. Jonas continually invites us to learn from the natural world, and reconsider our place within it, through her enduring commitment to exploring the intricate relationships that bind us to nature.