A forest holds many meanings—from precious wildlife habitat and vital natural resource to poet’s wonderland and hiker’s retreat. A forest is also a process: it is an ever-evolving negotiation of five life-giving elements—sunlight, soil, air, water, and space.

Forest Geometries brings our attention to these dynamic, often unseen or unnoticed forces that shape a forest. The project is the culmination of a year-long engagement with the Langlais Art Preserve by interdisciplinary artist and woodworker Gina Siepel. It comprises five constructed sculptures, installed with minimal environmental impact in locations along the Preserve’s 2.3-mile Langlais Woodland Trail, a companion walking map–zine, and this online gallery. 

We invite you to experience the installation through our extensive, seasonal photo-documentation of Siepel’s sculptures, regularly updated wildlife camera footage from the installation sites, and a short documentary film about the project.

About Gina Siepel

Gina Siepel (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist and woodworker whose creative practice reflects an engagement with place, history, queer experience, and ecology. Their work integrates conceptual concerns and craftsmanship with a focus on wood as a natural and cultural material. Based in Greenfield, MA, Siepel holds a BFA from the School of Art + Design at SUNY Purchase and an MFA from the Maine College of Art and Design. They have shown in museums and galleries nationally, including the Colby College Museum of Art, the DeCordova Museum, the Museum for Art in Wood, and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. While Siepel has made numerous artworks in response to forests and waterways in New England, Forest Geometries is their first outdoor, site-specific installation. 

The artist wishes to thank Surf Point Foundation, Kahn Liberal Arts Institute at Smith College, Hannah Blunt, Melanie Essex, Hope Ginsburg, Dustin Glidden, Ron Harvey, Mitch Kihn, Kamil Peters, Rick Possee, Heinz and Susan Sell, George Shapiro, Sara Smith, Aaron Stephan, Mónika Sziládi, Luke Thombs, and Anna Weber

  • Walking Map-Zine

  • The Sculptures

  • Process & Development

  • Film

    Coming soon!

Funding for Forest Geometries has been provided by the Lunder Family Foundation, the Onion Foundation, and many generous individuals who support the Langlais Art Preserve, a program of Georges River Land Trust.