News
Media Contact:
Steve Christensen
Manager, Communications
Loyola University Chicago
312-915-6164
"Arts Botanica," One-Week Exhibition to Coincide with 2006 Chicago Flower & Garden Show
CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2006 — The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) announces plans to bring together the visual art and floral worlds in a special one-week exhibition of 18 contemporary painters, photographers and sculptors who work with flower and landscape imagery. Arts Botanica will run from March 12-17, 2006.
Arts Botanica is a variation on a theme that began years ago at Loyola University Chicago's former Martin D'Arcy Gallery. In the exhibit, local artists are paired with innovative floral designers from the Chicago area who are charged with creating a living floral composition inspired by the fine arts. The artists' works range from still life to installation, and approach traditional botanical subject matter with edgy twists.
"This year, with the opening of our new museum, we wanted to engage artists, collectors and galleries by illustrating how nature, particularly flowers, remains valid subject matter for contemporary artists," said Pamela Ambrose, director of cultural affairs, LUMA. "In this exhibition of 18 artists, our floral design firms become equal partners in bringing art to life. It's definitely a challenge for the florists, but it provides surprising and unique results that will open our minds to how we look at nature."
Flowers and foliage have long been used as iconographic symbols of rebirth, death, sexuality and noble personages, specifically in mythological and religious art from antiquity to the present. In this week long exhibition, museum goers will experience examples of how artists today draw upon precedents in art history.
Participating Artists:
Tom Baril, Amy Lowry Poole, Kate Breakey, Gabriella Morawetz, Jose Cobo, David Kessler, Katherine Daniels, Shelly Reed, Bean Finneran, Victor Skrebneski, Linda Girven, Jiwon Son, Winifred Godfrey, Ron Van Dongen, Christina Haglid, Margaret Wharton, Jo-Ann Lowney and John Wickenberg.
Floral Designer Firms:
A New Leaf, Flower Firm, Initial Tropical Plants, Blumen, Gloria Baker Events and Flowers, Mille Fiori, Blumgarten, Ixia, Oliver-Dogwood, Bukeity, Inc., Janes' Blue Iris, Stems and Flora.
Opening Reception:
A private reception will be held on Saturday, March 11 at LUMA. Guests attending the reception will have the opportunity to meet the artists and florists of Arts Botanica and will be one of the first to view the exhibit. Tickets are required for the event and can be purchased by calling (312) 915-7630.
Public Program:
Sunday, March 12 at 3:00 p.m.
When A Rose Was More Than A Rose: The Victorian Culture of Flowers: Free
Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling (312) 915-7630 William B. and Marilyn M. Simpson Lecture Hall (LUMA)
Debra Mancoff, School of the Chicago Art Institute, will explore the symbolic use of flowers in art, culture and history in a time when a rose was more than a rose. Though the language of flowers in the 21st Century seems little more than a charming relic of the Victorian era, the practice of assigning meanings to flowers was part of a rich floral culture that ranged from botany and folklore to interior decoration and gender identity.
About LUMA
Opened in 2005, the Loyola University Museum of Art is dedicated to exploring, promoting, and understanding art and artistic expression that illuminates the enduring spiritual questions of all cultures and societies. As a museum with an interest in education and educational programming, LUMA reflects the University’s Jesuit mission and is dedicated to helping people of all creeds explore the roots of their faith and spiritual quests. Located at Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower Campus, the museum occupies the first three floors of the University’s historic Lewis Towers on Chicago’s famous Michigan Avenue. For more information, visit the museum’s website at LUC.edu/luma.
Art illuminating the spirit!
-LUMA-
