Past Exhibitions
October 2012 – April 28, 2013Philip Haas: The Four Seasons |
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January 16 - April 1, 2012Design for a Living World |
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During the winter of 2012 an exhibition about design and sustainability was on display in Dorrance Hall. The exhibit titled, Design for a Living World, connected the natural world around the globe with people, plants, and places. Developed by The Nature Conservancy the exhibit told the story about the life-cycle of materials and the importance of considering conservation when designing new products, buildings, or landscapes. The exhibit included works by ten prominent designers that used sustainable materials from around the world to recreate everyday objects, video interviews with the designers, sketches, models, and large-scale photography by acclaimed photojournalist Ami Vitale. |
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September 12, 2011 - January 22, 2012David Rogers' Big Bugs
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September 29, 2011 - November 13, 2011Monet's Giverny and Other Edens
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Critique the CriticDuring the exhibit, guests were invited to critique some of Nilsne's work on the Garden's "Critique the Critic" blog. The "art" of being an art critic has been around since the 18th century and guests were encouraged to use such principals as description, analysis, interpretation when commenting on the blog. |
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February 25, 2011 - May 27, 2011A Desert Illuminated
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A Desert Illuminated photography exhibit featured 30 photographs of cactus flowers of the Sonoran Desert. The stunning macro photographs are wrapped in the visual and contextual embrace of a Renaissance-era illuminated manuscript that connects the human passion for science and art. By placing a sheet of black construction paper behind the cactus, he is able to isolate the subject, intensifying the composition of the richly hued and delicate flower. Schaefer, president emeritus of University of Arizona, is a conservationist, avid bird watcher and founder of the Nature Conservancy in Arizona. He is a talented photography who, with Ansel Adams, established the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson. |
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November 19, 2010 - May 30, 2011Steel Jam Sesion by Ludvic |
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This whimsical sculpture exhibit by local artist Ludvic highlighted ten works from his "Steel Jam Session" series. Ludvic uses materials he finds in junkyards—steel, car parts, tools—and gathers and reworks them into lively, impromptu compositions. Ludvic reassembles, reshapes, sandbalsts and paints these improbable materials to create fun and vibrant sculptures. Born in 1944 in Sudan and educated in Egypt and Switzerland, Ludvic Saleh has had a diverse career. A one-time employee of Andy Warhol and fabric designer for Yves Saint Laurent, Ludvic has exhibited his paintings and sculptures widely in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. and is best known for his still-life food paintings. |
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October 1, 2010 to January 2, 2011Gwynn Popovac: BioMythic Masks |
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November 21, 2009 - May 30, 2010Allan Houser: Tradition to Abstraction |
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The Desert Botanical Garden and Heard Museum presented a major exhibition of the works of Apache master sculptor Allan Houser. For the first time ever, visitors were able to see the breadth of Houser’s work at two of the Valley’s most prestigious destinations. The Desert Botanical Garden featured 18 sculptures in bronze that reflect the modernist influences from which Houser drew inspiration for his work, as well as a collection of his two-dimensional drawings for children’s books. The Heard Museum exhibition featured paintings, sketches and small-scale sculptures from their collection. Born on June 30, 1914, Allan Capron Haozous become known to the world as Allan Houser. Houser was a descendant from the Fort Sill survivors of the Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache tribe. He was immersed in the history and community of Indian people, is considered one of the best-known and celebrated American artists of the 20th century and is often referred to as the “father” of American Indian sculpture. Houser, who died in 1994, became famous for his bold statements in stone and bronze. He was also an illustrator and painter and never failed to create innovative new works of art. |
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October 15, 2009 - January 3, 2010Legacy |
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May 5, 2006 - August 3, 2009Illustrating Nature: The Tradition Continues |
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September 5, 2008 - October 19, 2008The Spirit of the Saguaro |
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February 1, 2007 - August 20, 2008Patrick Dougherty: Childhood Dreams |
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 With the help of Garden volunteers, world-renowned artist Patrick Dougherty spent the month of February 2007 creating a one-of-a-kind sculpture. Hundreds of willow branches were transformed into a magnificent large-scale sculpture at Desert Botanical Garden. The finished work of art, Childhood Dreams was located on the Harriet K. Maxwell Desert Wildflower Trail. |
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November 24, 2007 - May 30, 2008Mayme Kratz – Artist in Residence: The Breathing Room |
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April 18 - May 30, 2008Mayme Kratz – Artist in Residence |
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Art critic Richard Nilsen has spent 40 years photographing gardens around the world. His exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden featured images from Impressionist painter Claude Monet's famous garden in Giverny, 40 miles outside Paris, along with images taken at a dozen other gardens, private and public, from around the U.S. and Europe.
Artist Gwynn Popovac's biomythic masks were on display in Ottosen Gallery in Dorrance Hall from October 1 through January 2. Each mask blended the textures, shapes and hues of natural habitats such as deserts, wetland and tide pools with human features. These intricate three dimensional masks incorporated a variety of man-made and found objects such as wire, plaster, beads, fabric and stones.
Legacy featured some of the finest works from artists given the Diane Bouchier Founder's Award for Excellence in Botanical Art from the American Society of Botanical Artists. Never before had the works of these artists been exhibited together. The 27 paintings and illustrations displayed highlighted both the scientific foundation and artistic expression of this unique art form.
Illustrating Nature: The Tradition Continues examined the history of botanical illustration, as well as the techniques and processes used to create these works of art. Artwork from the students and instructors of the Desert Botanical Garden Botanical Art and Illustration Program were included in the exhibition.
The Desert Botanical Garden presented an exhibition of photographs from Arizona photographer, Holly Metz. The large black and white images, taken in the desert, celebrated the beauty and uniqueness of this ancient desert plant.
The Breathing Room, a living art installation by Arizona artist Mayme Kratz, was located on the 
The Desert Botanical Garden presented an exhibition of the artwork of Mayme Kratz. Created from organic materials, her work celebrates nature and the cycles of change. Mayme’s creations of organic material suspended in resin create dynamic sculptural and two-dimensional works of art.
