An example of ephemeral "Wild Art": University of Richmond students Liza Morrison and Robert Hicks created a mandala out of items from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's compost. Inspired by the teleidoscope in the Conservatory's East Wing, the work was at the rear of the building for about two weeks. (Photo courtesy Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden)
Can you imagine walking through an art museum where nature isn't represented? You'd see no intricate watercolor paintings of beautiful flowers blooming under the bright spring sun, no canvases portraying a babbling stream in gorgeous shades of blue and green, and not a single animal sculpture. Nature is everywhere in art. But while nature’s beauty surrounds us, it takes a special eye to turn nature into artwork. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has picked seven artists with that talent to display their creations in its "Wild Art" exhibition.
"Wild Art: A Journey Off-Canvas" opens May 26 and runs through Oct. 1. In preparation for the summerlong event, the garden is transforming into a living mosaic of natural art, featuring 12 large-scale art installations created using materials found in nature. The artists have taken materials such as bamboo, sod, herbs, moss and sticks, and reconfigured them into a variety of artistic structures, including a vertical tapestry of sod and earth “stitched together” using a log-cabin quilt pattern, a large multisensory sound sculpture composed entirely of bamboo, and a female figure constructed of sod, herbs and earth.
“We really want to celebrate the creativity in our community, so we’re featuring local artists, celebrating our local arts community and allowing its focus to be on the natural world,” says Jonah Holland, Lewis Ginter’s public relations and marketing coordinator.
Visit during the exhibition’s opening weekend to take part in some highly interactive activities, including a theatrical performance teaching guests about mindful eating, Scrap RVA’s STEAM stations, plus screen-printed works by students, staff and faculty of Studio Two Three focusing on the connection between humans and plants.
Throughout its run, the exhibition will also feature pop-up events that add ephemeral art to the landscape so that every time you visit, there is something new. Guests can spend time at three Creation Stations that play on the beauty of seasonal blooms, allowing them to appreciate their beauty in the moment and then let it go as they fade away.
The artists in the exhibition were chosen from a pool of applicants across Virginia by a jury consisting of representatives from the Richmond Public Art Commission, the garden staff and the community.
Leila Ehtesham builds "Gonbad" at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden with help from Kenny Parker and Sonia Silveira. Gonbad is the Persian word for "dome." (Photo courtesy Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden)
One such artist is Leila Ehtesham, the creator of "Gonbad," an igloo-like domed structure constructed from nearly 1,000 bricks made out of ornamental grass from the garden and recycled paper, some of which comes from Richmond magazine. Ehtesham has experience working with large industrial materials, but she created this particular sculpture at a larger scale than her past work, allowing visitors to actually enter it and explore.
Tickets to "Wild Art: A Journey Off-Canvas," running May 26 through Oct. 1, are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors 55 and older, $8 for children between the ages of 3 and 12, free for children under 3, and also free for garden members. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online. For a full list of events for the remainder of 2017, visit Lewis Ginter's website.
