Josh Maxwell's Working Woods: Altered But Not Erased
Category: Event Calendar
Date and Time
- Wed, Jun 10, 2026 - Sat, Jul 18, 2026
Location
Akron Soul Train
191 S Main St
Details
In Working Woods: Altered but Not Erased, Josh Maxwell examines Northeast Ohio’s forests as living records of change, resilience, and interconnected systems. Through a combination of painting and sculptural works, Maxwell approaches the landscape not as a static subject, but as an evolving archive shaped by time, human impact, and ecological processes.
His paintings focus on moments of encounter—tree wounds, hollows, and surface textures—revealing layered histories embedded within a single form. Sculptural works extend this inquiry, transforming timber into physical translations that move between observation and interpretation.
Rooted in long-term engagement with regional landscapes, the exhibition reflects a practice of attention and stewardship. Maxwell invites viewers to reconsider their relationship to the natural world, positioning themselves not as observers, but as participants within cycles of loss, renewal, and care.
“A central section of the exhibition considers hollows, tunnels, and openings as active spaces. Cavities, tunnels, and hollows are not voids; they are architectures of survival. In a forest, what is missing can become shelter. A puncture can become a nesting place. A fallen trunk can become a nurse log: a fallen body becoming ground for what comes next. The mood is not one of catastrophe, but of reverence after rupture: a quiet recognition that change is already underway, and that life continues to organize itself through cycles of loss, shelter, decay, resilience, and renewal.”
– Josh Maxwell
