Photographer Don Holtz’s new solo show at the Topanga Canyon Gallery is an homage to one of Topanga Canyon’s ancient and storied oaks.
“I have a love affair with this tree,” he writes. “It sits about a hundred yards behind my house in Topanga Canyon, and since 2007 I’ve spent at least an hour a day sheltered under the embrace of her elegant limbs. I come here when I’m sad, when I’m happy, when I’m anxious and life feels so overwhelming that I just want to take a six-month nap. I come here when I’ve been a jerk to my family and no one wants to look at my dopey face. And there she is, waiting, for me and my petty problems. Too pure and unselfish to rightfully object. I call her simply, “T R E E,” and of all the beautiful trees I’ve come across in these mountains, this one is my favorite. My one and only.”
Don uses high resolution digital cameras to create large, archival pigment prints that tell a story of his relationship with an oak tree that’s been on this planet for at least 500 years. “Feelings of joy, loneliness, elation, and grief have all been brought to her feet,” he writes. Those emotions are in every detailed and emotionally rich image. “Tree: A 14-Year Love Affair,” the Heartfelt Story of a Photographer’s Daily Visits with a 500-Year-Old Oak Tree And the Impact It’s Made on His Life, is on display through Sunday, April 11 at the Topanga Canyon Gallery Opening Reception is Saturday, April 3 from 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. 120 N Topanga Canyon Blvd, #109, Topanga, CA 90290, 310-455-3108, www.topangacanyongallery.com. For more information on photographer Don Holtz, visit www.donholtz.com
