Wild Harvest: Illustrating Ethnobotanicals exhibit at Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport presents Wild Harvest: Illustrating Ethnobotanicals featuring 32 botanical illustrations from the Botanical Art and Illustration Program at Denver Botanic Gardens and material culture from the University of Denver Museum of Anthropology. The installation explores ethnobotany, the relationship between people and their uses of plants.

(Populus tremuloides by Jan Boyd Haring)

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Terry Maker Artwork Installed at the Gardens

As Denver Botanic Gardens celebrates the re-opening of Marnie’s Pavilion, another meaningful addition has been installed in the grand staircase of the renovated orchid house. Artist Terry Maker’s Garden of Nineveh: Sweet now glows against the cool tones of freshly painted white walls. The work was originally created for installation at MCA Denver in 2008 and represents only half of the two-part mixed media work. Relying on found objects as source material, Maker has a “desire to challenge herself and the viewer to investigate her complex surfaces and meanings.” 

 Courtesy of the artist and Robischon Gallery.  

Pictured Above:  Terry Maker participating in the installation and a glimpse of the end result.

Explore Moore’s Modernism with Michael Parke-Taylor, Art Gallery of Ontario

Pictured here: Moore, Warrior with Shield, 1953-54 (LH 360), bronze, edition of 5 + 1. Height: 152.5cm. Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift from the Junior Women's Committee Fund, 1955. #54/12.

Join Art Gallery of Ontario’s Curator of Modern Art, Michael Parke-Taylor, at the Gardens this Thursday, June 10 at 7 p.m. for the Curator Lecture Series: “Henry Moore: Reputation/Reception/Recuperation.” Examine a darker side to Henry Moore that comes to the fore in the 1930s, informed by contemporary developments from both surrealist and abstract camps (Picasso, Giacometti and Arp).

Once Moore had achieved international fame after WWII, what was his reception in the U.K. and particularly in Toronto? How does his reputation need to be recuperated in order to assess his true achievement? How have contemporary artists responded to Moore? Turner Prize winning British artist Simon Starling will provide the test case.

Last Chance to See Southwest Paintings by Joellyn Duesberry

As weather acts as a catalyst for spring fever, visitors to the Gardens won’t want to miss the final days of “Joellyn Duesberry’s Southwest: Sharpening the Edge.” The renowned Colorado artist’s methods of blending plein-air painting with abstracted forms result in unique landscapes. Last day to view the exhibition is this Sunday, April 4. Click here for more information.

Art Exhibit: Mid-Century Modern Interpreted

A Final Celebration of 50 Years at the York Street Site 

Sharon Feder, Denver Botanic Gardens North, 24" x 36", oil on panel

Opening this Saturday, November 21 in Gates Garden Court Gallery is an art exhibition featuring the work of nine Colorado artists celebrating Denver Botanic Gardens’ unique architectural features. Working in a variety of media, artists in the group show include: Jamie Bolane (Boulder), Eric Dallimore (Denver), Sharon Feder (Denver), Amy Giertz (Lakewood), Dan Hartline (Erie), John Lencicki (Denver), Christopher Phelps (Centennial), Cheryl Price (Conifer), and Katharine Smith-Warren (Denver).

Be sure to visit the El Pomar Room to experience an exhibition component that explores the important design contributions of Victor Hornbein and Edward White, Garrett Eckbo, Koichi Kawana, Saco DeBoer and new structures by Tryba Architects.

A cell phone audio tour highlighting architectural details both inside and outside is available. 

Botanical Art & Illustration Exhibition – Last Day on Sunday, November 8

"Cecropia palmata" by Constance Sayas. Watercolor.

Be sure to visit the Gates Garden Court Gallery this weekend to view this year’s annual exhibition of botanical illustration by students and instructors. A range of media are presented in the show, ranging from colored pencil and watercolor, to graphite and pen and ink. Many of these original works are available for sale and purchases support Denver Botanic Gardens.
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Technology + Nature = Great Art

Boulder artist Bonny Lhotka combines innovative printing methods with an age-old subject matter in the “Alchemy Garden” exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens. Her mixed media artworks blend the precise methodology of laser engraving with soft, natural forms such as flowers to achieve an effect that begs investigation. When not referencing the natural world directly, Lhotka’s work addresses the passing of time and the change it brings.

 “Alchemy Garden” presents 13 works created specifically for installation in the Gates Garden Court gallery space. On view through September 20; free with Gardens’ admission. Pictured here is Lhotka’s “Lavender,” mixed media engraving on birch boxes.

Denver Botanic Gardens is at the Beijing Olympics!

No, not in pole-vault (with sunflowers) or fencing (with pruning sheers) or swimming (among the lilies), but as a part of an international exhibit of botanic gardens called  “Homes for plants, Gardens for humans” located at the Science & Technology Park at the Olympic Village, Beijing. This exhibit highlights what over 70 botanic gardens (including ours) are doing to conserve species and resources around the world. Each botanic garden is represented by a large color panel, describing their contributions.  Kudos to the staff of the Research, Herbaria & Records Department at Denver Botanic Gardens for giving us so much to talk about on our panel for the exhibit!  Check out the Conservation and Research navigation link on our Web site to learn more about what we are doing to protect plants of the Rocky Mountain region.

Here is a link to a PDF of the panel shown below.