Out of the Woods: Celebrating Trees in Public Gardens
by Deb Shaw
The Third New York Botanical Garden Triennial, Out of the Woods: Celebrating Trees in Public Gardens is on display at the The New York Botanical Garden, in Bronx, New York from November 18, 2017 – April 22, 2018. Information about the exhibition, including images of all the artworks is on the ASBA website.
Forty-four artworks were selected from more than two hundred submissions, depicting one of the planet’s most important and beautiful resources: trees. Each of these subjects have been found in botanical gardens and arboreta throughout the United States and around the world.
Artists have been working on this project for the past three years, not only capturing images of trees, but also drawing attention to the institutions that shelter them: botanical gardens and arboreta. A central goal of the exhibition is to highlight the role of botanical gardens and arboreta in the research/scholarship they provide, as well as their education and outreach to the public.
The artists respond aesthetically to these inspiring subjects, and have depicted everything from seedpods to branches and bark to an entire forest floor. Each artist has written a statement about their artwork; artists’ statements can be read on the ASBA website.
Jurors for the exhibition were:
Joanna Groarke, Director of Public Engagement and Library Exhibitions Curator, The New York Botanical Garden
Todd Forrest, Arthur Ross VP for Horticulture and Living Collections, The New York Botanical Garden
Robin A. Jess, Past Executive Director, ASBA
Barbara Macklowe, Photographer, former Principal, Macklowe Gallery
Congratulations go to all artists participating, including BAGSC artists Akiko Enokido, Deborah Friedman, Asuka Hishiki, Olga Ryabtsova, and Mitsuko Schultz. (Clicking on the names of the artists goes to their artist’s statement page on the ASBA website; click on any of the images below to see them enlarged in a slide show format, with artist and painting information.)
Congratulations to the award-winners:
Gold Medal: Asuka Hishiki, Black Pine Half-Cascade Style Bonsai, Pinus nigra Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama, Japan Oil on Paper
Silver Medal: Lucy Martin Bigleaf Maple with Inky-Cap Mushrooms, Acer macrophyllum, Coprinellus sp., University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley, CA, Gouache on Paper