BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Sun Valley Museum of Art will unveil its summer BIG IDEA project, “Gardens: Collaborations with Nature,” tonight—Thursday, June 16--from 5 to 7 p.m.
The opening will be held in conjunction with a street party outside The Museum from 5 to 7 p.m. honoring retiring Artistic Director Kristin Poole. Refreshments will be served, and there will opportunities to purchase food and libations from Haven and Warfield Distillery & Brewery.
Several participating artists will be in attendance.
The exhibition, which will be on view through Aug. 20, considers places where people have shaped or transformed nature, in part to transform those who experience these reworked spaces. Nature is seen as a collaborator and curator. And the exhibition poses such questions as: How do gardens inspire and express artistic creativity? How do they offer solace and joy, changing our human experience of the natural world? How do flora and humans work together as partners in the creation of garden spaces?
“So many of us here in the valley look forward to working in and enjoying gardens in the summer, and it feels like that has been truer than ever during the pandemic,” said Curator of Visual Arts Courtney Gilbert. “This summer seems like the perfect moment to reflect on the ways that gardens offer so much, from the opportunity to exercise our creative expression to healing and meditative experiences. This project also reflects on the challenges and the joys that occur when humans work in collaboration with the natural world.”
The exhibition at 191 Fifth Street East in Ketchum features the work of four contemporary artists, including large-scale installations inside and outside the museum.
- Denver-based artist Ana Maria Hernando spent time in the Wood River Valley during the summer of 2021, visiting gardens and leading a workshop and film screening. Her textile work uses tulle and organza to create a sculptural work evoking lush gardens and fantastical flora. The exhibition also includes a floor piece. She tapped into the help of cloistered Argentinean nuns who cut and sewed pieces of fabric incorporated into her installations. Peruvian women made handmade petticoats she uses in her sculptures.,
- Sara Jones, a Missoula native, has created paintings of flowers made with white paint on white fabric suspended from the ceiling of The Museum like a hanging garden. The works reflect her interest in “The things that are barely there…”
- Seattle-based Katy Zone made small installations in the gardens at The Museum’s Hailey House several years ago, utilizing painted Mylar, sequins and other materials. Now she’s created new interventions in the flowerbeds outside The Museum.
- New York artist Jil Weinstock has created a body of work with plant life, fabric, thread, paper and rubber to invite viewers to consider how humans, from a plant’s point of view, might be an unwanted collaborator.
- There are a variety of events associated with this exhibition:
CRAFT SERIES WORKSHOP: “Eco Printing on Paper” with Diane Hill — Wednesday and Thursday, June 22 and 23, 10 a.m.
FREE EVENING EXHIBITION TOURS — Thursday, June 23, 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
TEEN WORKSHOP: Let’s Print Hailey! — Thursday, July 7, 12 p.m.
FREE GALLERY WALK AND MEET & GREET WITH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JENNIFER WELLS GREEN — Friday, July 8, 5 p.m.
FREE EVENING EXHIBITION TOURS — Thursday, July 14, 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
CRAFT SERIES WORKSHOP: “Art in the Garden: Drawing and Painting Flowers” with Poo Wright-Pulliam, Sunday, July 24, 8:30 a.m.
CRAFT SERIES WORKSHOP: “Embroidered Gardens” with Jeanne Wigger, Thursday, July 28, 1 p.m.
FREE GALLERY WALK — Friday, Aug. 6, 5 p.m.
FREE EVENING EXHIBITION TOURS — Thursday, Aug. 18, 4:30 & 5:30 p.m.
The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free.