On the necessity of gardening: an abc of art, botany and cultivation

On the necessity of gardening: an abc of art, botany and cultivation, Editor: Laurie Cluitmans
Contributors: Maria Barnas, Jonny Bruce, Laurie Cluitmans, Thiëmo Heilbron, Liesbeth M. Helmus, Erik A. de Jong, René de Kam, Alhena Katsof, Jamaica Kincaid, Bart Rutten, Catriona Sandilands, Patricia de Vries. Design: Bart de Baets

On the Necessity of Gardening appears simultaneous with the exhibition The botanical revolution, on the necessity of art and gardening that will be on view from 11 September 2021 to 9 January 2022 in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht (NL). The publication is categorically not an exhibition catalogue, but is positioned as an autonomous project. Both the exhibition and publication stem from a longer-term research by Laurie Cluitmans into the development of the cultural-historical, philosophical and social significance of the garden in relation to our current way of life. valiz.nl

Henk Wildschut, Rooted, Zaatari Camp, Jordan-April-2018. Henk Wildschut photographed the improvised gardens of people who have lost their homes and ended up in refugee camps.
KJM in botanical revolution

The garden as a place of hope and resilience


Parallel to the exhibition in the Centraal Museum, the exhibition Is it possible to be a revolutionary and like flowers? can be seen in Nest art space in The Hague.

Adopted Landscapes

Adopted Landscapes, an exhibition co-curated by Dina Mitrani with Marina Font–gallery artist and resident of Collective 62. This exhibition features the work of twenty-two artists pushing beyond the boundaries of the photographed landscape and will be on view through November 15, 2022.

In the history of art, the landscape has been one of the most explored subjects of representation. Adopted Landscapes brings together contemporary works of photography-based art that depict the landscape as a departure point for unique conceptual and narrative works. Disinterested in the photographic landscape as a conclusion, these works offer answers to the question: How does the traditional photographic landscape serve multidisciplinary artists today

Combining mediums as well as interlacing techniques, the artists build upon the formal qualities of the genre. In some cases, the landscape is transformed before the camera captures the image. In others, the image undergoes digital manipulation; while in many of the works, the printed image is the base layer where multimedia elements are manually applied to the surface.  Each artist offers a different vantage point, but their intentions are similar: to transmute the pure retinal experience of capturing nature and re-interpreting it in a way that is connected with the human experience.

These works inspire us to contemplate the ever-changing, ancient relationship between person and place.  They suggest a range of themes including climate change, erasure, nostalgia, and in some cases, a sense of displacement. Through innovative experimentation, each artist inspires different ways of seeing, making us more aware of our roles and responsibilities in this dynamic world we all share.

The Collective 62 Art Studios, founded by Nina Surel, is an independent art space devoted to creation outside of the traditional circuits of art.  Located in Liberty City, Collective 62 also seeks to reverse the growing phenomenon of gentrification through regeneration that derives from creation and community-based workshops.  

Adler Guerrier, Adriene Hughes, Aline Smithson, Amy Gelb, Charlotta Hauksdottir, Christa Blackwood, Colleen Plumb, Deryn Cowdy, Gabriela Gamboa, Ingrid Weyland, Luciana Abait, Lujan Candria, Marina Font, Marina Gonella, Manuel Nores, Phil Toledano, Roberto Huarcaya, Silvia Lizama, Tatiana Parcero, Thomas Jackson, Vanessa Marsh, and Veronica Pasman.

September 15 – November 15, 2022

Collective 62, 901 NW 62nd Street, Miami, FL 33150


Vini kouzen map mennen’w

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“Vini kouzen map mennen’w!”, in the title of the exhibition, translates as “Come on cousin, I’ll take you!”.  The bit of dialogue parallels a moment toward the end of Toni Morrison’s Tar Baby, when Thérèse volunteers to take Son to Isle de Chevaliers. Though partly blind, Thérèse insists on leading the way to a place where she thinks Son needs to be in order to make a better choice about his life, future, and in service to blackness; she encourages him to run toward the ancient and enchanted. It is, in essence, the best way to navigate this formulation of the Caribbean, through kinship and with the help of those we share deep affinities.

The Measure of Man

Natalia Garcia-Lee‘s exhibition (April 22, 2022 – June 25, 2022), The Measure of Man,  featured twelve grand oil on canvas renderings, a series of intimate oil gems, and a mixed-media installation titled The War Machine to interpret the tactical ‘complexities’ burrowed within the human psyche. Inspired by the findings of American psychologist Edward C. Tolman, and behavioral research of ethologist John B. Calhoun, the exploration of mammalian behavior and the cognitive reactions to both physical and societal structures provide the foundation on which the paintings emerge. The output of both Tolman and Calhoun serve as landing points in Garcia-Lee’s interpretation of the paradoxical nature of the human experience, assumed on the basis that living creatures are inherently alike.

The collection of paintings, drawings and collages are the artist’s first solo exhibition at LnS Gallery. In tandem with the show, a comprehensive exhibition catalogue will feature informative essays by Dr. Carol Damian, emeritus Professor of Art History at Florida International University, and former Director and Chief Curator of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (Miami, Florida) and Melissa Diaz, Cultural Arts Curator at Deering Estate (Miami, Florida).

The First Death, 2021
oil on canvas
60 x 72 inches
Low Level Learning, 2021
oil on canvas
72 x 96 inches

Symbiosis at Berkshire Botanical Garden

Berkshire Botanical Garden presents Symbiosis, the first of a four-part art exhibition.

Including outdoor sculptures in the gardens and indoor artwork in the Leonhardt Galleries, “Symbiosis” aesthetically merges art and the botanical world. Curated by renowned art collector Beth Rudin DeWoody, “Symbiosis” will not only focus on the interaction between two organisms that mutually benefit each other, but also will speak in a greater sense about the overall interconnectivity of living things. 

“I am thrilled to continue my ongoing collaboration with the Berkshire Botanical Garden — this time with ‘Symbiosis,”’ said DeWoody, who curated last year’s “Taking Flight” sculpture exhibit at BBG. “Throughout my collecting, I see patterns in the works that artists are creating. This exhibition focuses on the natural world and the relationships among living things and is reflective of what I have been seeing within the greater art world.”

“I am bringing to BBG lots of exciting, emerging artists that have been on my radar for a while,” DeWoody continued. “I’m also happy to show artists within this exhibition that are more world-renowned. Curating always gives me the opportunity to support and share my vision beyond just my collection. Enjoy!”

Chairman of The Rudin Family Foundations and Executive Vice President of Rudin Management, DeWoody is known for her vast art collection, which she houses and exhibits by appointment at The Bunker Artspace in West Palm Beach, Fla. She is the Vice Chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art and Life Trustee at The New School in New York City. Her board affiliations also include Empowers Africa, Save A Child India, Inc, The Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

The outdoor sculpture portion of “Symbiosis” is on exhibit from June 10 through Oct. 28. It will feature works by Michele Oka Doner, Daniel Gordon, Brandon Lomax, Yassi Mazandi, Thaddeus Mosley, Ben Wolf Noam, Kiki Smith, Ned Smyth, Wade Tullier, and Erwin Wurm.

The first of three indoor “Symbiosis” exhibits this season in BBG’s Leonhardt Galleries will run from June 10 through July 24. It will feature works by Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.), Ann Craven, Michele Benjamin, William Binnie, DABSMYLA, Robert Davis, E.V. Day, Jordan Doner, Walton Ford, Daniel Gordon, Karen Gunderson, Judi Harvest, Steven & William Ladd, Lee Relvas, Kathy Ruttenberg, Sean Mellyn, Dana Sherwood, Alan Sonfist, Ana María Velasco, Paul Villinski, LeRone Wilson, Rob Wynne, and Firooz Zahedi.

The second indoor exhibition will run from July 29 through Sept. 11, and feature works by Christopher Adams, Charles Arnoldi, L.C. Armstrong, Madeleine Bialke, David Brooks, Leidy Churchman, Peter Dayton, Margot Glass, Mimi Gross, Paula Hayes, Robert Hawkins, Marc Horowitz, Kathy Klein, Seffa Klein, Nancy Monk, Charles Ray, Tomás Saraceno, Max Hooper Schneider, Katherine Sherwood, Simone Shubuck, Coleen Sterritt, and Tabboo!

The third indoor exhibition will run from Sept. 16 through Oct. 30, and feature works by John McAllister, Lou Beach, Helen Chung, Elliot Green, Adler Guerrier, Sophia Heymans, Marsia Holzer, Max Jansons, Poppy Jones, Iran Issa-Khan, Lacey Leonard, Matt Murphy, Peter Nadin, Rose Nestler, Jonathan Peck, Alexandra Penney, Rob Raphael, Megumi Shinozaki, Elizabeth Thompson, Celina Teague, Henry Vincent, Gabrielle Vitollo, Shanna Waddell, Faith Wilding, and Anna Zemánková.

“Symbiosis” is produced by Laura Dvorkin, co-curator of The Bunker Artspace and Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection.


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Untitled (Wander and Errancies–memories within; citrus in Saint Augustine). 2021. Archival pigment print. MNP.

Des grains de poussière sur la mer: Sculpture contemporaine des Caraïbes françaises et d’Haïti 

Dust Specks on the Sea: Contemporary Sculpture from the French Caribbean & Haiti opens on June 11 at Villa du Parc Contemporary Art Center in Annemasse, France; show runs through September 18, 2022. 

Raphaël Barontini, Sylvia Berté, Julie Bessard, Hervé Beuze, Jean-François Boclé, Alex Burke, Vladimir Cybil Charlier, Gaëlle Choisne, Ronald Cyrille, Jean-Ulrick Désert, Kenny Dunkan, Edouard Duval-Carrié, Adler Guerrier, Jean-Marc Hunt, Nathalie Leroy-Fiévée, Audry Liseron-Monfils, Louisa Marajo, Ricardo Ozier-Lafontaine, Jérémie Paul, Marielle Plaisir, Michelle Lisa Polissaint & Najja Moon, Tabita Rezaire, Yoan Sorin, Jude Papaloko Thegenus, Kira Tippenhauer

Des grains de poussière sur la mer – Sculpture contemporaine des Caraïbes françaises et d’Haïti présente les œuvres de vingt-six artistes issus de la Guadeloupe, de la Martinique, de la Guyane française et d’Haïti. L’exposition met en scène différentes approches matérielles et conceptuelles témoignant des pratiques des artistes de cette région du monde ; elle vise à souligner leur participation à un monde de l’art globalisé tout en poussant dans ses retranchements la question de savoir qui est au « centre » et qui est à la « périphérie ». Conçue à partir du médium de la sculpture, l’exposition présente les œuvres d’art de manière à la fois distincte et intégrée afin d’évoquer un réseau d’idées autour du patrimoine, de l’histoire, de l’identité, du corps social et de la politique.

L’exposition Des grains de poussière sur la mer – Sculpture contemporaine des Caraïbes françaises et d’Haïti a été créée par Arden Sherman pour la Hunter East Harlem Gallery du Hunter College New York en 2018. Elle a été rendue possible par le soutien généreux des services culturels de l’ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis et du Hunter College. Elle a également été soutenue par les directions des affaires culturelles de Martinique et de Guadeloupe, et la fondation FACE.

En France, l’exposition est coproduite par le Hunter College de New York, la Villa du Parc (74) et la Ferme du Buisson (77), centres d’art contemporain d’intérêt national.

Heitor dos Prazeres

Heitor dos Prazeres
(b. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1898 – d. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1966)
Sem título (A volta da roça), not dated
[Untitled (Return from the Plantation)]
Oil on canvas
15.75 × 22.8 in.
Collection Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
Gift of Maurício Buck, 2016
MASP.01651
© Patrimônio Família Heitor dos Prazeres
Digital image courtesy of Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP)
Heitor dos Prazeres
Sem título (Jogo de poker), 1963
[Untitled (Poker Game)]
Oil on canvas
19 × 23.37 in.
Collection El Museo del Barrio, New York
Gift from Gale Simmons, Craig Duncan and Lynn Tarbox in memory of Barbara Duncan,
2007
2007.6.45
© Patrimônio Família Heitor dos Prazeres
Digital Image © El Museo del Barrio, N.Y. | Photo: Martin Seck
Heitor dos Prazeres
Festa de São João, 1942
[St. John’s Festival]
Oil on canvas
25.5 × 31.75 in.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Inter-American Fund, 773.1942
© Patrimônio Família Heitor dos Prazeres
Digital Image © 2018 The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y./Licensed by SCALA/Art
Resource, NY

via Popular Painters & Other Visionaries at El Museo del Barrio. Checklist (pdf). Youtube.


Heitor dos Prazeres
Untitled, 1963
Oil on canvas
17 9/10 × 21 7/10 inches.
Presented by Almeida e Dale Galeria de Arte at Expo Chicago 2022.