From Root to Rain

Lucy + Jorge Orta are pleased to present from root to rain, their third solo exhibition at Jane Lombard Gallery in New York. From the Amazon rainforest to the desert of Saudi Arabia, this exhibition spans painting, embroidery, tapestry, and film to examine environments shaped by ecological instability, translating fieldwork into poetic visual forms.

At the center of the exhibition are three woven tapestries, which function as maps, drawing on celestial navigation and ancient cosmologies to understand humanity’s place within the natural world. The Wadi Hanifah Embroidery Landscape intertwine an abstract narrative of desert survival. Resilient desert plants, shrubs, and trees are embroidered onto coloured canvas paired with geometric motifs derived from Al Sadu, the traditional weaving practice of Bedouin women. Through triangles and lozenge clusters referencing star formations and desert flora, the works articulate a visual language of adaptation and resilience amid accelerating urbanization and climate change. Fabulae Naturae paintings extend the artists’ inquiry into the mythic and symbolic dimensions of nature. Enlarged petals and botanical forms dissolve into layered fields of saturated pigment, hovering between figuration and abstraction. The film Amazonia situates the exhibition within the artists’ broader investigation of interwoven ecosystems.

Through textiles, paintings, poetry, and film, 'from root to rain' presents a meditation on species and the accelerating transformations of our natural world. The interlacing of mediums throughout the exhibition mirrors the interconnectedness of environmental systems, offering a visual reflection on coexistence, fragility, and the urgent need for ecological care.

Please join us for the opening reception on 13 March from 6 - 8 PM. Further information