Exhibit's
bold art puts focus on nature's beauty
The
Atlanta Botanical Garden has designated 2017 as its “year of the
garden,” and to celebrate, will present an art exhibition this
spring designed to encourage guests to see, stop, experience, and
talk about nature –all in surprisingly intriguing ways.
The Curious Garden, presented May 6 – October 29, features 11
site-specific installations created to share a story about the
Garden’s plant collections and plant conservation work by prompting
visitors to make a discovery, ask questions, and provoke a
discussion. Bold, often unexpected, man-made and altered natural
materials are employed to direct the eye to focus on the simple
beauty of nature. Think dozens of multi-colored spray-painted
trees. A mysterious display of scientific lab glassware filled with
an array of colorful liquids. Dozens of sparkly old chandeliers
dripping with plants.
“This is the
year of the garden, one that emphasizes all of our recent
enhancements here, with unexpected experiences aimed at generating
conversations, to get people curious and talking about nature,”
said Mary Pat Matheson, the Garden’s President & CEO.
“The show will provide unique opportunities for sharing the
Garden’s story, such as our important work in conservation and the
preservation of trees.” The unique and
unconventional installations are the work of guest artist and
design director Adam Schwerner, known for his bold, and sometimes
evocative, enhancements to city parks in Chicago and elsewhere.
Among the
“unexpected” look for:
- Dozens of bare trees, harvested off site from
an overcrowded location and “planted” throughout the Garden,
painted in brilliant pink, orange, blue, and green that draw
the eye, inspiring conversations about color, form and natural
beauty, and value of trees.
- The Levy Parterre transformed into an elegant
white garden, emphasizing plants with flowers and foliage in
white, gray, and silver – a salute to great gardens around the
world, such as England’s famed white garden at Sissinghurst
castle.
- The Fuqua Conservatory adorned with dozens of
sparkly old chandeliers dripping with plants.
Over the years, the Garden has staged carefully curated exhibitions featuring
installations of existing art. The Curious Garden, however, is unique in that it is site specific,
meaning the concepts all originated from within the Garden and are
designed to be integrated with the landscape and plants in a way
that focuses attention on the Garden’s resources and mission,
helping to tell those stories. The exhibition
also coincides with the opening of the Garden’s newest space, the Skyline Garden, designed to showcase the diversity of plants that
can be grown in the Southeast while emphasizing its stunning
location as an urban oasis in the heart of bustling Midtown.
Schwerner, who
is director of Disneyland Resort Horticulture & Resort
Enhancement, previously was director of the Chicago Park District’s
Department of Cultural and Natural Resources. There, he spearheaded
initiatives to increase the presence of public art in city parks,
including painting trees and providing artists the opportunity to
carve standing dead trees into works of art.
“All my life I
have pursued my dual loves of art and horticulture,” Schwerner
said.nn“With this series of site-specific art installations and the
gardens, there is a coming together of these two great pursuits. And what better place is there to undertake this botanical-art
adventure than the botanical garden, which so fully engages
visitors with these two areas of expertise?”
Visitors may
enjoy the exhibition in the evening every Thursday during Cocktails in the Garden, the popular garden party featuring live music,
cash bars, and adult games. The Garden’s onsite restaurant, Longleaf,
will be serving a special dinner menu every Thursday as well
(reservations are recommended).
The Curious Garden is presented with support from The Home Depot
Foundation and the Isdell Family Foundation.
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