Of wild materials and floral mysteries: Botanical poetics
Botany and art have always maintained a close relationship and the vibrant colors of plants have inspired artists for centuries. In the history of art, flowers and their mysterious fragility and attractiveness have been one of the favorite themes throughout time. From direct representations of the natural environment linked to scientific studies, to the very ancient Japanese wood engravings that we have seen in museums and encyclopedias, floral art has a vast history and the main artists, each in their own style, have given importance to botany in his pieces not only because of their intrinsic decorative attraction but because plants were and are food and medicine in societies. That magnificent bond is maintained today and attention to the care of nature has become a canon of our time. The suburban geography defined by a space profusely surrounded by trees and plants such as the Museocampo environment has become a special and conducive environment for the exhibition. We understand the convening botany and central theme as a prominent and key issue of an era paradigm that gives enormous importance to nature, both in its beauty and in its necessary care and protection. It is a fact that the work of artists constitutes a manifesto and fundamental testimony to raise awareness about the conservation problems facing the planet. In Wild Matters and Floral Mysteries: Botanical Poetics the curatorial strategy has been to organize a multigenerational artistic and aesthetic system where the different discursive proposals on the subject could be formed through interrelationships. The format of reflection on the issue presented by the ten invited artists marks differences and diversities both in concepts and in media and supports and allowed us to think of an installation that would reflect a joint arrangement; a deliberate visual organization of aesthetic links that is a central part of the proposal.
Patricia Rizzo
Curadora