This month, in the Sisson Gallery in the Mackenzie Fine Arts Building on Henry Ford College’s main campus in Dearborn, fine arts professor Narine Kchikian held her first solo exhibit, “The Tale of Trees.” The exhibition, taking over four years to complete, features a body of work that holds a personal connection to the artist’s life. It contains portraits of trees that were cut down and taken away from a forest located at the Interlochen Center for Arts. Kchikian had been teaching visual arts at the summer camp for years and she deeply felt the loss of the trees. “The Tale of Trees” explores the relationship between nature and the preservation of memory through art.

The opening reception was on Friday, Feb. 21. The following Monday, Kchikian held a live demonstration at the gallery and invited guests to engage in conversations about creativity, inspiration, and past experiences. Beside her were two books sitting on a table with an array of tree bark and branches. These books, “The Hidden Life of Trees” by Peter Wohlleben and “Finding the Mother Tree” by Dr. Suzanne Simard, investigate how trees communicate and live amongst each other in nature. They inspired her to grow her emotional connection to the forests that shaped her life.

Kchikian said, “When I was younger, I would go to camp and travel through the mountains and pick mushrooms, berries, and fruit. I’ve always had that emotional connection with the environment. Trees are older than us and they live through all kinds of things. When you visit cathedrals in Europe, you walk in and feel wonder. You wonder what stories they have to tell. Maybe you can hear something. That book [‘The Hidden Life of Trees’] changed my life.”

Peter Wohlleben is a forester who writes about ecological communities. In his book, Wohlleben states that trees seek companionship. They grow together at the roots and form complex relationships. He wrote, “The trees in a forest care for each other, sometimes even going so far as to nourish the stump of a felled tree for centuries after it was cut down by feeding it sugars and other nutrients, and so keeping it alive.”

Wohlleben continues, “The reason trees share food and communicate is that they need each other. It takes a forest to create a microclimate suitable for tree growth and sustenance. So it’s not surprising that isolated trees have far shorter lives than those living connected together in forests.” Trees communicate through their roots, transferring water and minerals such as nitrogen and phosphorus. They can also use scent signals to warn neighboring trees of drought, insect attacks, and illnesses. Scientists are still trying to understand the soil fungi that form the “wood-wide web.”

Kchikian plans to focus on the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills for her next installation. The school is surrounded by woods, lakes, and streams. Both of her children attend the school. “There’s actually a board of people that decide which trees to cut,” she said. “I gasped when I saw that they cut them down. It just looks so different. They like to cut the unhealthy trees but they look so beautiful.”

Kchikian earned her Master in Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Cranbrook after graduating from the College of Creative Studies with a concentration in drawing and sculpture and a minor in fiber. Born in Kazakhstan, she moved to Detroit and has been an active part of the art community for over thirty years. Kchikian has been exhibiting her work nationally and internationally in the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, and South Korea.

Kchikian says, “I’m not limited to a specific medium. Often, I mix mediums and use sharpies, watercolor, and other kinds of painting. I use whatever can help me to express an idea. For the next installation, I would like to collaborate with other artists. You know, the exhibit is about collaboration.” She continues, “Trees truly care for each other. We can learn so much from them. All of these works mean something. I either live by them or work by them.”

In making “The Tale of Trees” Kchikian says, “I take the paper and put it on the tree stump. While tracing, I respond to the marks that are present. It’s similar to making a copy but that’s not really the point. I’m trying to create something that could be real but it’s my own interpretation. I returned to the Interlochen Camp after the pandemic and I remember we didn’t have to wear masks in the forest. I was happy because it made me think life still exists.”

Kchikian teaches at colleges and various art programs in Michigan. As a faculty member at Henry Ford College, she has taught classes in two-dimensional design.

“I tell my students that art takes a long time. It’s true for every sort of art, such as performing arts. If you want to be a good actor, you need to live life. You need to expose yourself to other things. I go to concerts and try to experience other things beyond visual arts. I’m always surprised when artists say they do not go to concerts or plays. Why? You have to see other people working in order to understand what you’re doing. It’s just different media discussing the same ideas, whether it’s acting on a stage or using words.”

Steve Glazer, faculty chair of Fine and Performing Arts at HFC and coordinator of the Sisson Gallery, discussed the renovation of the gallery space, which opened in 1979 and was remodeled last year at a cost of $350,000, funded partly by a technology improvement fund. The renovation included new lighting, a drop-down projector screen, and carpeted walls to prevent damage and leaks. The gallery hosts professional exhibitions in addition to student work, and Glazer is especially proud that Kchikian chose the Sisson Gallery to host her first solo show.

The Sisson Gallery is located on the first floor of the MacKenzie Fine Arts building F. Gallery hours are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.