Dendroism activated on Instagram, with a special approach. A photo raises a question. What do you see here? A follow-up photo provides the answer. And immediately explains what Dendroism is.
The Instagram account Dendroism has finally been activated. I had to give some thought to a playful approach. Instead of simply posting photos of wooden sculptures, on Dendroism I introduce the ideas behind this new artistic attitude through short questions and answers: Q&A.
The reason is simple: Dendroism is still a new word. Not a common word, yet. And behind the word is a new way of looking at wood.
The Instagram feed therefore works partly like a visual quiz. Each post starts with a question about a work of art. What did the artist see in this piece of wood? Which element is hidden in the sculpture? What story was already present in the tree?
The answer follows immediately, in a short and accessible explanation.
For example: “Who was the first famous artist to turn a tree trunk in sculpture?’
The answer is: Brancusi:
Or: “What did Giuseppe Penone want to show by cutting open these tree trunks?”
The answer reveals one of the central ideas in his work: inside the mature tree, the younger tree is still there. By removing layers of the trunk, Penone makes the hidden growth of the tree visible.
And another example: How would Gregor Prugger carve a heart?
These questions are not merely a playful way of presenting art. They point directly towards the central idea of Dendroism: Form follows forest.
Form Follows Forest
The form of the wood determines the artwork. The trunk, branches, knots, cracks, grain and growth rings all contain visual information. The artist does not start with a completely blank material. The story is already there.
Dendroism asks us to look at wood differently.
The Instagram account will gradually introduce artists, artworks and ideas that help explain this way of looking. Some artists consciously follow the natural form of wood. Others discover unexpected images, figures or landscapes in it. Together, they show how rich the relationship between artist and tree can be.
The Q&A format also invites followers to look before they read the answer.
What do you see?
That may ultimately be the most important question of all.
Follow Dendroism on Instagram and discover the stories that are already hidden in the wood.
Jan Bom, 9 sep. 2026
