On View in Milwaukee

“When entering a forest, whether urban or wild, I am keenly aware not only of their beauty but their intricate and vulnerable connection to climate.”

Ecological processes, deforestation, and the relationships between forests and climate change are palpable in Rosing’s vividly hued, immersive paintings. Envisioned within these richly surfaced paintings is a fascination with invisible processes and complex ecological relationships.

The history of the forest and the figurative nature of the individual trees, narrated through rhythmic patterns of lines, dots, and space, can be witnessed as metaphors for human interactions and environmental interference. Stages of life are evident, from slender saplings to massive grandmother trees and fallen, broken trunks supporting mosses, insects, and animals before decaying into rich soil.

Rosing’s scroll drawings document tree species endangered by invasive insects and climate change. Hundreds of unique leaves are recorded through graphite rubbings, immortalizing individual trees before their loss.

Rosing’s work has been exhibited and collected widely throughout the US and abroad, including Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, Beijing, and Tokyo. In 2018, she received a MAC Individual Artist Grant and was awarded the Forward Art Prize in 2022. Rosing taught studio art for 25 years at colleges and universities in Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin where she lives and maintains her studio. She holds an MFA from Northern Illinois University and a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Image: Resonance, 2019