Exhibition: "Trees of Paris" - Nature as a source of inspiration

Presentation of the exhibition

For an architect or a painter, Paris and its trees are sources of inspiration: parks, gardens, squares, avenues, secret alleys, schoolyards, discreet plazas, cemeteries, or community gardens—every district strives to plant nature between the cobblestones, to raise trees between buildings, and to cultivate foliage that protects inhabitants and moderates the climate. The tree, admired throughout time for its power, its substance, and the nobility of its forms, is now—especially in urban environments—recognized and respected for its regulatory, protective, and restorative virtues in the face of the many forms of pollution created by humans in less than two centuries.

My paternal grandmother's house—in a small village in Transdanubia—was located 500 meters from a large national forest. As a child, I often went there to pick porcini mushrooms or to walk, observe, and listen to the trees in their natural environment, "at home"! As an adult, living in an urban environment—an artificial world—I note the "humanizing" contribution of trees. Our hyperactive society needs the beauty, serenity, and calm of trees more than ever.

Trees inspired and still inspire our constructions, our architecture: it is "the trunk, the body, the column" with its "branches, its arms, the ogival arches" of our cathedrals, but also the modern structures of contemporary architecture, organic architecture, wood framing, or metal framework.

I have learned, empirically, through observation and drawing them, that trees are as varied as human beings. Each tree has its own character; there are no two alike on Earth. Beauty in difference.

Postscript

Paris is one of the most wooded capitals in Europe. The tree heritage of Paris consists of: 100,000 alignment trees representing about 700 km planted along the 1,650 public roads of Paris; 40,000 trees in the 490 municipal parks, gardens, and squares; 30,000 trees in the 6 extra-mural and 14 intra-mural cemeteries managed by the City of Paris; 6,000 trees on the embankments of the ring road; 7,000 trees in municipal schools and early childhood facilities, and 4,000 in sports facilities.

As part of the Information Weeks on Mental Health

Information weeks on mental health in Parisian libraries - City of Paris

SISM 2026 - SISM

Vernissage and meeting with the artist on Wednesday, October 14, starting at 7:00 PM