Gradient (Maple Tree)

Brandywine River Museum of Art commissioned James Welling to create his first photo-based sculptures in 2015. These works—titled Gradients—were installed at nine sites around the Museum’s 200-acre campus. Welling’s process began with photographs taken in July 2015 at sites the artist chose specifically for their importance to the life and work of Andrew Wyeth. He then took digital samples of the colors found in the photographs and placed them into a digital file using a process known as gradient mapping. The resulting "map" is a smooth gradation of color representing bits of the chromatic spectrum from the original photographed site. The gradient itself was then printed using the dye sublimation process, which fused the ink directly onto a metal plate.

Mounted to walls or fastened to perforated steel supports, the printed images on metal create enigmatic signage that ties back both to Welling’s photographs on display in the Museum and to the palette of the environment in which Wyeth lived. This gradient was based on a photo of a maple tree and blooming wildflowers near the Museum’s entrance. The sculpture is installed seasonally at the location of the photograph, bringing a remembrance of July blossoms at other times of year.