Watercolors and sepia ink drawings by Yanosh KALDY, architect and graphic artist
About the exhibition For an architect or a painter, Paris and its trees are sources of inspiration: parks, gardens, squares, avenues, secret alleyways, schoolyards, secluded plazas, cemeteries and community gardens. Every arrondissement strives to weave nature into the cobblestones, raise trees between buildings and cultivate foliage that protects residents and moderates the climate. Admired throughout history for its strength, substance and noble forms, the tree is now—particularly in urban environments—recognized and respected for its ability to regulate, protect and repair in the face of the many forms of pollution created by humankind in less than two centuries. My paternal grandmother’s house—in a small village in Transdanubie—stood 500 meters from a large state-owned forest. As a child, I would often go there to pick porcini mushrooms or wander around, watching and listening to the trees in their natural environment, “in their own home”! As an adult living in an urban environment—an artificial world—I have come to appreciate the “humanizing” contribution of trees. More than ever, our hyperactive society needs the Beauty, serenity and calm of trees. Trees have always inspired—and continue to inspire—our buildings and our Architecture: the “trunk, body and column,” with the “branches, arms and ribbed arches” of our cathedrals, as well as the modern structures of contemporary architecture, organic architecture, timber frames and steel frames. Through observation and drawing, I have learned empirically that trees are as varied as human beings. Every tree has its own character; no two on Earth are alike. Beauty in difference. Postscript Paris is one of Europe’s most tree-filled capitals. Paris’s tree heritage consists of: 100,000 street trees extending over approximately 700 km along Paris’s 1,650 public roads; 40,000 trees in its 490 municipal parks, gardens and squares; 30,000 trees in the 6 cemeteries outside the city and the 14 cemeteries within the city managed by the Ville de Paris; 6,000 trees on the embankments of the boulevard périphérique; 7,000 trees at municipal schools and early-childhood facilities, and 4,000 at sports facilities. As part of the Mental Health Information Weeks The mental health information weeks in - Ville de Paris The SISM 2026 - SISM Opening reception and meeting with the artist on Wednesday, October 14, from 7 p.m.
Source: paris.fr — photo: Yanosh KALDY