Tweet

Curator: Edwina von Gal

Profession: Landscape Designer

About The Collection

Humans need to conquer nature to be comfortable: not hungry, hot or cold, wet or dry, bitten, broken or bruised. Not to mention eaten. We also need nature as a source of beauty and inspiration, maybe even sanity. We revere nature, we fear nature. We profess our love for nature but we are continually pushing it farther from us, into a corner, containing and destryoing it to keep ourselves fed and comfortable.

Some part of us knows that this can't go on forever, but we figure we will figure it out someday. Artists manifest our hopes and fears and put them out there to get reactions. I have chosen images that evoke for me this mix of feelings, how nature serves and surrounds us with such awesome beauty, but is ultimately uncaring of our fate.

Curator Q&A

1. Did nature always play a role in your life?
Yes, I grew up in farm country and I spent my childhood running around outdoors unsupervised. It had a huge impact on my relation to the environment. I regret that in today's world this is not the norm for children. I worry that the next generation will be more fearful of nature and less willing to make sacrifices to save it.

2. You are one of the most acclaimed landscape designers in this country, but you have a reputation of being very sure of your personal approach. Why do clients find this appealing?
I can't altogether say; my ideas aren't for everyone. I feel lucky that the ones who like what I do have found me, and give me the chance to keep doing it. I like landscapes that bring a sense of calm. If they are forced, if they require a great deal of visible manipulation, they feel to me like control, not peace.

3. Do you love art?
Oh yes. I can't say I am very knowledgeable about it, but I am lucky enough to know people who are, so they keep me informed.

4. Is there any relationship between art and nature for you?
Yes. Where else could we have gotten our sense of what is beautiful?

5. What is the first work of art you ever bought?
An old botanical print, but it wasn't pivotal. The first piece that I aboslutely treasure arrived in my office one day by surprise. A gift from my husband-to-be after our second date. A Joe Andoe of a lilly.

6. Do you have a young artist you want to recommend? And why?
Matt Jensen. Because his work is filled with so much love for natural things, and so beautifully, humbly presented.