Los Angeles, CA – TreePeople is proud to present Smoke on the Water, a new exhibition of gouache paintings by artist Merissa Mann, on view June 18–21 and June 25–28 at TreePeople’s Schuman Family Foundation Conference Center.
Drawing inspiration from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, Mann’s atmospheric and richly layered work explores the delicate boundary between destruction and rebirth.
Smoke on the Water invites viewers to experience the tension between natural beauty and environmental collapse, using lush color and intricate detail to explore themes of rupture and renewal.
Blending land and sea, smoke and sky, Mann’s paintings are both haunting and hopeful—prompting reflection on the fragility of our planet while offering a vision of resilience in the face of climate change.
Merissa Mann’s Smoke on the Water is an exciting opportunity to have art blend with nature at Coldwater Canyon Park. TreePeople hopes to do more programming like this and invites everyone to visit and enjoy.
The exhibition will be open to the public from 11:00am to 4:00pm
on the following dates:
📅 June 18–21 and June 25–28, 2025
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear directly from the artist:
🎨 Artist Walkthrough with Merissa Mann
🗓️ Saturday, June 21 at 11:00 am PT
📍 TreePeople’s Schuman Family Foundation Conference Center
- 12601 Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
📧 RSVP: events@treepeople.org
This is more than an art show—it’s a space to connect, reflect, and reimagine our relationship with the environment through the lens of creative expression.Join us at TreePeople for an unforgettable journey through the smoke and toward the water.
Drawing inspiration from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, Mann’s atmospheric and richly layered work explores the delicate boundary between destruction and rebirth.
Smoke on the Water invites viewers to experience the tension between natural beauty and environmental collapse, using lush color and intricate detail to explore themes of rupture and renewal.
Blending land and sea, smoke and sky, Mann’s paintings are both haunting and hopeful—prompting reflection on the fragility of our planet while offering a vision of resilience in the face of climate change.
Merissa Mann’s Smoke on the Water is an exciting opportunity to have art blend with nature at Coldwater Canyon Park. TreePeople hopes to do more programming like this and invites everyone to visit and enjoy.
The exhibition will be open to the public from 11:00am to 4:00pm
on the following dates:
📅 June 18–21 and June 25–28, 2025
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear directly from the artist:
🎨 Artist Walkthrough with Merissa Mann
🗓️ Saturday, June 21 at 11:00 am PT
📍 TreePeople’s Schuman Family Foundation Conference Center
- 12601 Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
📧 RSVP: events@treepeople.org
This is more than an art show—it’s a space to connect, reflect, and reimagine our relationship with the environment through the lens of creative expression.Join us at TreePeople for an unforgettable journey through the smoke and toward the water.
About TreePeople:
TreePeople is a nonprofit organization that inspires and supports the people of Southern California to come together to plant and care for trees and restore ecosystems and natural landscapes. With community at its core, TreePeople has been transforming urban and wild lands into greener, healthier environments since 1973. Visit treepeople.org for more information.
About Merissa Mann:
Merissa Mann blends her background in costume design with a passion for art history to create captivating paintings, photographs, and soft sculptures. Her work explores ecofeminism, horror, and systems of desire, highlighting the connection between body and nature.
Mann holds an MFA from Otis College of Art and a BA in Practice of Art from UC Berkeley, where she was the first to receive the Certificate in Design Innovation. She has won Best in Category at the Beverly Hills Art Show (2021, 2022) and recently performed her piece Beluga Burlesque at the Red Cat Theater for CalArts' Talent Show.
Specializing in gouache paintings on paper, Mann enjoys the medium’s fluidity and irreversibility. She often incorporates ink, washi paper, and specialty paints, with some works featuring a glossy sheen to enhance the viscous quality of her subjects. Visit www.merissamann.com for more information.
For more information, contact:
Kai McDaniel
Public Relations Specialist, TreePeople
media@treepeople.org
TreePeople is a nonprofit organization that inspires and supports the people of Southern California to come together to plant and care for trees and restore ecosystems and natural landscapes. With community at its core, TreePeople has been transforming urban and wild lands into greener, healthier environments since 1973. Visit treepeople.org for more information.
About Merissa Mann:
Merissa Mann blends her background in costume design with a passion for art history to create captivating paintings, photographs, and soft sculptures. Her work explores ecofeminism, horror, and systems of desire, highlighting the connection between body and nature.
Mann holds an MFA from Otis College of Art and a BA in Practice of Art from UC Berkeley, where she was the first to receive the Certificate in Design Innovation. She has won Best in Category at the Beverly Hills Art Show (2021, 2022) and recently performed her piece Beluga Burlesque at the Red Cat Theater for CalArts' Talent Show.
Specializing in gouache paintings on paper, Mann enjoys the medium’s fluidity and irreversibility. She often incorporates ink, washi paper, and specialty paints, with some works featuring a glossy sheen to enhance the viscous quality of her subjects. Visit www.merissamann.com for more information.
For more information, contact:
Kai McDaniel
Public Relations Specialist, TreePeople
media@treepeople.org
