Guy Nelson: Tales from the Understory at The North Dakota Museum of Art

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Guy Nelson, *The Road Not Taken,* North Dakota Museum of Art

The North Dakota Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, Guy Nelson: Tales from the Understory, is a multidisciplinary solo show focused on the woodlands and prairies of the upper Midwest. Featuring sculpture, painting and video, the exhibition will be on display through July 20, 2025. This exhibition marks the tenth in the Museum’s Art Makers Series, an annual award for artists with connections to the region, which is underwritten by Dr. William F. Wosick of Fargo.

The North Dakota Museum of Art is nationally recognized for its ground-breaking human rights exhibitions, involvement with international artists, the commissioning of landmark works of art anchored in the Northern Plains and the strength of its exhibition program. Three galleries, spanning 10,000 square feet, house exhibitions of regional, national and international art.

Guy Nelson, installation view of *Tales From the Understory* at North Dakota Museum of Art

YA: Tell us about the genesis of this show.

GS: Forests have been portrayed in various forms of culture as places of discovery, refuge, and mystery. This perception stems from the historical reality of wild and untamed forests, filled with abundant life, potential hazards, and rugged terrain. Tales from the Understory reflects on the dynamic relationship between plant life and human experience, highlighting woodlands’ mystical and enchanting qualities.

An “understory” refers to the layer of vegetation that grows beneath a forest canopy, and most of the paintings in this exhibition reflect the point of view as if standing in the woods looking forward or down, but never up. I grew up spending time planting trees, getting lost, and eventually, conservation, and now I care for woodlands and prairies in the upper Midwest. For years, I have sought discovery, determination, and a deeper understanding and connection to the natural world that transcends consciousness while navigating the delicate balance between preservation, progress, and the impact of human activities. My curiosity encompasses scientific phenomena and the unexplained moments encountered outdoors, where the boundary between the material world and something greater feels porous.

YA: What will we see at the exhibition?

GS: This exhibition features paintings, sculptures, and videos. My paintings are primarily made with acrylic on linen—enhanced by atmospheric layers of acrylic spray paint—to create a surface that feels alive with mystery. Through layers, brush strokes, and color placement, I build and disrupt fictional natural settings that feel familiar and mystical; I want viewers to slow down and, by focusing, experience an unfolding where the paintings give back, much like the natural world. The sculptures in Tales from the Understory utilize similar colors and bring to a physical form objects that feel plucked from a painting or something that might surprise you in the woods. They include small paper-mâché and resin-cast logs and stumps featuring blasts of neon color, faux plant life, a bucket hiding a ceramic gnome, and a pine tree cut and covered in rayon fiber.

Most of my works lack figures, but I occasionally include them. In Today and Tomorrow, a girl appears to be reaching into the earth, releasing a magical energy with orbs floating from the earth. Finders Keepers is a young adult exiting the woods carrying a fawn. At times, I depict myself as a monster-like character originating from a costume I created and wore outdoors, and is seen in the video Dance, Dance, Dance. The costume features a wild head of pink yarn that transitions into flowing greens and browns. Influenced by camouflage, it doesn’t quite mimic its surroundings but instead radiates energy that can seem ridiculous in a sterile environment or evoke fear when lurking in the woods.

The Understory is more than a subject – it is a source of understanding, where questions lead to deeper exploration, and my time outdoors becomes an extension of my art practice.

All photos courtesy of Guy Nelson and North Dakota Museum of Art

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About the artist: Guy Nelson is a visual artist who explores the dynamic relationship between nature and human experience. For more than two decades, Nelson has referenced the natural world—from animals to plants—investigating color’s role in attraction and defense, mutualism, mimicry, and the impact of human activity. His deep connection to the Upper Midwest is a foundation for self-reflection and discovery, shaping his artistic vision and conservation efforts.

About the writer: Yasmeen Abdallah is an interdisciplinary artist, curator and educator examining historical and contemporary culture through materiality, reuse, memory, and space. She has lectured at institutions including the New Museum; Pratt Institute; BRIC; Sarah Lawrence College; Residency Unlimited; Kean University; Parsons the New School for Design; Columbia University; Children’s Museum of NYC; Interference Archive; El Barrio Artspace; Brooklyn Arts Council; Fairleigh Dickinson University; and University of Massachusetts. Abdallah holds Bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and in Studio Art with honors, with a Minor in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies from University of Massachusetts; and also earned an MFA in Fine Arts, with distinction, from Pratt Institute. Exhibitions include ABC No Rio; Art in Odd Places; the Boiler; Bronx Art Space; Bullet Space; Chashama; Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center; Cornell University; Ed Varie; Elizabeth Foundation; Emily Harvey Foundation; Flux Factory; Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space; NARS Foundation; Open Source; Painting Space 122 Gallery; Pratt Institute; Spring Break Art Show; University of Massachusetts; and Westbeth gallery. Publications include Anthropology of Consciousness; Ante Art; Art Observed; Bust Magazine; Emergency Index; Hyperallergic; Papergirl Brooklyn; Free City Radio; Radio Alhara; Tussle Magazine; the Urban Activist; and Transborder Art. Her work is in public, private, and traveling collections in the U.S. and abroad. @86cherrycherry