Heirloom tomato, Solanum lycopersicum. Watercolor on paper. © Asuka Hishiki
White Batflower, Tacca integrifolia. Watercolor on paper. © Beverly Allen
Vine-leaved Passionflower, Passiflora vitifolia. Oil on paper. © Ingrid Finnan
Milk Barrel Cactus, Euphorbia horrida. Colored pencil on paper. © Nancy Gehrig
Seed Capsules, Capparidastrum sola. Watercolor on paper. © Ann S. Hoffenberg
Violet Hedgehog Mushroom, Sarcodon fuscoindicum. Gouache and watercolor on paper. © Lucy Martin
African Blood Lily, Scadoxus puniceus. Watercolor on paper. © Lisa Pompelli
Works by international artists showcase nature's oddities
SAN MARINO, Calif.—The eccentric beauty of the plant kingdom will be celebrated in a traveling exhibition of contemporary botanical illustrations running June 13–Aug. 23, 2015 (Saturdays and Sundays only), at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. “Weird, Wild & Wonderful: The New York Botanical Garden Second Triennial Exhibition” is curated by the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA). The juried show includes 47 works, selected from a field of nearly 240 submissions, created by ASBA artists from Australia, Canada, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The show will be on view in the Flora-Legium of the Brody Botanical Center and is included with general admission to The Huntington.
“Botanical artists have traditionally depicted conventionally beautiful flora,” said Robert Hori, gardens cultural curator and program director at The Huntington. “This exhibition is meant to showcase nature’s oddities—plants of charismatic quirkiness that have a bizarre beauty all their own.”
The visually stunning artworks, from the bristly Violet Hedgehog Mushroom (Sarcodon fuscoindicum) by Lucy Martin to Asuka Hishiki’s charmingly misshapen Heirloom Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), are rendered in a range of media, including watercolor, oil, tempera, graphite, gouache, acrylic, aquatint etching, and pen and ink. Each artist’s behind-the-scenes story of their work can be found at asba-art.org/exhibitions/weird-wild-wonderful.
“Weird, Wild & Wonderful” made its debut at The New York Botanical Garden in spring of 2014. Additional venues include the Reedy Gallery at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (Feb. 6–May 17, 2015) and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (Oct. 10, 2015–Jan. 3, 2016). The New York Botanical Garden developed an audio tour which accompanies the exhibition. A full-color catalog is also available.
In conjunction with the exhibition, The Huntington will co-host a symposium July 23–26, 2015, offering a broad view of all that is weird, wild, and wonderful in the plant kingdom. The symposium is presented in partnership with the ASBA and the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC, the local ASBA chapter).
An adjunct exhibition of approximately 60 works by local BAGSC members also will be on view in the Brody Botanical Center Aug. 1–9. This supplemental show will extend the theme of weird and wonderful plants through educational outreach activities for children and families, demonstrations in different media, informal workshops, displays of botanical curiosities, and “Find Me in the Garden” links between the exhibitions and the botanical collections. During the week of this display, both exhibitions will be open to visitors daily (Wednesday through Monday) during public hours.
Related to the Exhibition
• Symposium - July 23–26, 2015
The symposium opens with a dinner and keynote lecture on Thursday evening followed by three full days of lectures and workshops. Presentations will cover a broad variety of topics ranging from sketching on Japanese papers and iPhone photography to endangered plants and the physics of cucumber tendrils. Many of the artists in the exhibition will be in attendance demonstrating their techniques. Registration options include the full symposium package of all three days and evenings, including meals and keynote lectures ($295), individual day rates ($175), three evening keynote lectures ($100, including dinner Thursday); the Thursday evening keynote lecture only ($50, including dinner); and single evening keynote lectures on Friday or Saturday ($25 each). For complete program details and registration information, go to asba-art.org/weird-wild-symposium.
Individual keynote lectures (without meals) are open to the general public for $25/evening lecture and $10/afternoon lecture. Space is limited. These single-lecture reservations can be made at brownpapertickets.com.
Symposium keynote lectures:
Thursday, July 23, 7 p.m. (Opening night dinner)
“Do You ‘See’ Plants? Using Art and Technology to Teach Science”
Jodie Holt, professor of plant physiology at the University of California, Riverside, and botanical consultant for James Cameron’s science fiction film, “Avatar.”
Friday, July 24, 12:30 p.m.
“Painting the Wonder Plants of Borneo”
Mieko Ishikawa, botanical artist.
Friday, July 24, 7 p.m.
“The Art of Orchids”
Phillip Cribb, deputy keeper of the Herbarium and curator of the Orchid Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. This keynote is generously underwritten by Orchid Digest.
Saturday, July 25, 12:30 p.m.
“The Beauty of Ancient Plant Representations: Weird or Wonderful?”
Alain Touwaide and Emanuela Appetiti of the Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions.
Saturday, July 25, 7 p.m.
“From Field to Print: Botanical Art and Photography for Conifers Around the World and the Dendrological Atlas”
Zsolt Debreczy and István Rácz of the International Dendrological Research Institute, co-authors.
• Summer Workshops
A series of workshops led by noted international botanical artists will be offered in conjunction with the "Weird, Wild & Wonderful" exhibition. The fee-based sessions are suitable for intermediate and advanced artists and are available with or without symposium registration. Register online at asba-art.org/weird-wild-symposium.
Sunday, June 14 / 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
“One Orchid, One Day: A Slipper Orchid Primer”
Carol Woodin (United States)
Graphite and colored pencil on paper
$110
Monday, July 20–Wednesday, July 22 / 9 am.–3:30 p.m.
“Nepenthes: Wonder Plant of the Southeast Asian Rainforest”
Mieko Ishikawa (Japan)
Watercolor and gouache on reindeer vellum
$375
Monday, July 20–Wednesday, July 22 / 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
“Liquid Shine: Sculpting Form with Light and Color”
Elaine Searle (United Kingdom)
Watercolor on paper
$375
Thursday, July 23 / 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
“iPhone Photography for the Botanical Artist”
Susan Rosner (United States)
$60.
Sunday, July 26–Monday, July 27 / 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
“Tackling Tangled Roots”
Asuka Hishiki (Japan)
Watercolor on paper
$250
• Catalog
“Weird, Wild & Wonderful” is accompanied by a full-color catalog that reproduces all 47 works in the exhibition. The catalog includes a foreword by Gregory Long, president of the New York Botanical Garden; an essay on “Impossible Plants” by historian Karen Reeds; and artist interviews by Myra Sourkes. Softcover, 76 pages. Available in the Huntington Store for $29.95.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: High-resolution digital images available on request for publicity use.]
Contacts
Lisa Blackburn, 626-405-2140, lblackburn@huntington.org
Thea M. Page, 626-405-2260, tpage@huntington.org
# # #
Images
Request Images