Having previously turned its 30 verdant acres into a "museum without walls" for the sculpture of Henry Moore and Dale Chihuly, the Atlanta Botanical Garden will present nine nationally noted artists this summer in the exhibition "Independent Visions: Sculpture in the Garden."
While the exhibit opening in May doesn't boast household names such as Moore or Chihuly, the nine included artists are well represented in museums nationally and internationally. Presented in an exclusive arrangement with New York's Marlborough Gallery, "Independent Visions" comprises 19 pieces by sculptors including Red Grooms, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Beverly Pepper.
Calling Moore's largest show ever to tour the U.S. a "once in a lifetime" event, garden executive director Mary Pat Matheson acknowledged a "unique challenge" ahead in marketing this summer's group show.
"We're finding new way to do really dramatic and exciting sculpture in the garden and can't always rely on big-name artists to be a part of that," she said in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I think it's exciting to bring artists that many people in our community may not know. So it's also part of opening up the eyes of our visitors."
Some of the "Independent Visions" pieces are more monumental than the large-scale bronze sculptures of the 2009 Moore exhibit or Niki de Saint Phalle's massive mosaic creations shown in 2006. Two works by Kenneth Snelson will be 24 and 30 feet long.
But because most of the sculptures weigh less than in those previous shows, placement of the pieces will be more radical, creating unexpected vantage points. One example: Snelson's "Key City," a 24-square-foot sculpture of stainless steel rods that will be installed in the Aquatic Plant Pond.
The expressions and material will vary, from Grooms' colorful, whimsical three-figure enamel-on-aluminum "Hot Dog Vendor" scene, to Michele Oka Doner's two cast-bronze human figures, to Pepper's abstract, gestural "Horizontal Twist" of steel.
The other participating artists are Chakaia Booker, Clement Meadmore, George Rickey and Manolo Valdes.
The garden has been aggressive about importing art since the Chihuly exhibit in 2004, which Matheson once called "our coming-out party,” repositioning the Midtown attraction not just a pretty plant place but a major cultural asset. The resulting boost in visitation and memberships helped her cultivate donors for a massive expansion completed in 2010.
While she proudly proclaimed the garden's run of presenting contemporary art as "innovative," Matheson backed off a boast attributed to her in a Botanical Garden press release: "The Garden has become the Atlanta venue to see the best in contemporary fine art."
"That's a quote our team put together that's a little bit of an exaggeration," she said cheerfully. "I think we can say we are the place to see contemporary art in the outdoors. That's one phrase we left out: ‘the outdoors.'
"One thing we can do as museum without walls is to showcase art in a really comfortable, easy place for people to view it," Matheson said, "particularly people who are not necessarily art aficionados."
EVENT
“Independent Visions: Sculpture in the Garden”
May through October at Atlanta Botanical Garden. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. Hours April-October: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays (until 10 p.m. Thursdays). $18.95; $12.95, ages 3-12; free, under 3. 1345 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-876-5859, www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org.
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