Uncanny Landscapes in Pen and Ink Span Wooden Panels by John Buck

From the Three Patriarchs of Zion Canyon to the swamps of Louisiana to the immense cascade of Niagara Falls, John Buck’s dreamlike landscapes evoke the juxtapositions and proportions of dreams. His solo exhibition, Mont Blanc on Wood at Zolla / Lieberman Gallery, draws us to the fuzzy boundary between the familiar and the uncanny.

The Bozeman-based artist is known for his eccentric, often life-size wooden sculptures that draw on folklore, personal memory, and daily observations. Figures are sometimes hybridized with other objects, and idiosyncratic drawings on wood panel reveal expansive landscapes populated by anthropomorphized plants and dramatic rock pinnacles.

The works in Mont Blanc on Wood span a range of places and references, emphasizing landscapes where things feel perhaps a little “off.” The desert stares back in “Cactus Grove (No. 13),” and in “Lighthouse (No. 18),” a light station in the middle of a desert lake shines mostly onto arid, rocky landforms.

“Buck reflects on social and political realities, environmental concerns, and the eccentricities of human behavior, all while maintaining a sense of humor and a deep engagement with craft,” the gallery says. “His art balances storytelling with formal clarity, inviting viewers into a world where the familiar becomes speculative and symbolic.”

Mont Blanc on Wood continues through August 8 in Chicago.

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