Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time & Technology
Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg with their sculpture,Tree of Knowledge. The artists used pyrography to burn over nearly 200 historical questions that underlie our collective pursuit of knowledge into a 10,000-pound, salvaged Eucalyptus tree section. Questions include: “Do we have free will?”, “Is there a grand unified theory of physics?”, “Can machines be truly intelligent?”, "What is the meaning of life?"
"7 Must-See Museum Shows in San Francisco"
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The critically acclaimed exhibition debuted in Los Angeles last fall as part of
Getty's PST ART: Art & Science Collide
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A significantly expanded version of “Ancient Wisdom” is on view at
di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art museum location in San Francisco, 1150 25th Street
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January 22 – April 11, 2026
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In Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time, and Technology, artists Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg invite visitors to consider nature and temporality in new and surprising ways. Drawing inspiration from dendrochronology (the science of tree ring dating), and contemporary developments in data science and artificial intelligence, the artists present a series of sculptural and media installations that offer new interpretations of the past, the present, and imagined futures.
The presentation at di Rosa expands on the original exhibition, which originated in 2024 as part of the Getty Museum’s PST ART: Art and Science Collide initiative at Skirball Cultural Center co-curated by Selma Holo and Skirball Associate Curator Vicki Phung Smith. The expanded presentation includes new collaborative artworks that are site-specific to the Bay Area and related works from each artist’s career. It was organized by Twyla Ruby, di Rosa Curator of Exhibitions + Programs.
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Exhibition Sponsors:
Upcoming Public Programs​
"...This exhibition delivered insight, knowledge, new ways of seeing, experiencing, and enhancing the health of our cities.... its works and the ideas animating it are deep, large and expansive." - Tom Teicholz
“Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg, who both understand the power of art to raise questions.
This exhibition is a rare combination of exquisite craftsmanship and dedicated scholarship…” - Lita Barrie
"Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg harness the beauty and power of trees." - Jessica Gelt & Carren Jao
“Artists Ken Goldberg and Tiffany Shlain transform centuries of tree rings into a stunning exploration of humanity’s evolving relationship with nature and technology.” - Vittoria Benzine
“Shlain’s arresting and philosophically charged sculptures made with salvaged wood and fire-writing, with Goldberg’s artistically expressed data-gathering and AI-enhanced “tree census,” in a tech-driven and human-sourced case for an expanded way of looking at time and human history” - Shana Nys Dambrot
