KRISTA TOWNSEND, FOXHAVEN, 2025
noun: un·der·sto·ry
a layer of vegetation beneath the main canopy of a forest
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English) or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent but above the forest floor.
The understory is the lush, layered world beneath the canopy—where plants adapt to low light, bloom in brief windows of opportunity, and play a crucial role in the ecosystem.
Artists Krista Townsend (Charlottesville, VA) and Niki Hare (Tewkesbury, England) illuminate the magic of the understory in their upcoming exhibition at Phaeton Gallery this March. Inspired by science journalist Zoë Schlanger’s new book, their work explores plants' layered, unseen intelligence and the quiet drama of survival beneath the trees.
"What did it take for that tree to live through those years, make thousands of leaves each spring, store sugars through the winter, turn light and water into layers and layers of wood? It is hard to underestimate the drama of being a tree, or any plant. Every one is an unimaginable feat of luck and ingenuity. Once you know that, you can't unknow it. A new moral pocket has opened in your mind." ― Zoë Schlanger, The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth.
Schlanger, staff writer at The Atlantic, was a 2022 artist in residence at Oak Spring Foundation, Upperville, Virginia.
NIKI HARE, UNDERSTORY, 2025