FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ART GOES WILD IS AN AUTUMN ART FEAST

Don't miss the final weeks

Gathering of Grass at Art Goes Wild Image by New England Wild Flower Society/Gary Sloan

New England Wild Flower Society announces the final weeks for viewing the spectacular exhibit, ART GOES WILD:  Innovation with Native Plants. Celebrating the 75th anniversary of Garden in the Woods, the Society's premier collection of 1,500 native species is the palette of artist and landscape architect W. Gary Smith.  This is the last opportunity for the public to view the popular site-specific art installation, now framed with the fruits, berries, and foliage of 1,500 native plant species in their fall glory.   

The Society proudly hosts the first major public installation in New England of the work of W. Gary Smith, perhaps the most significant garden designer in the country today, specializing in native plantings. Smith’s award-winning works include sites at Peirce’s Woods at Longwood Gardens, Winterthur Gardens in Delaware and Calloway Gardens in Georgia, and public and private gardens nationwide.  The 75-year old Garden is elevated in the tribute to “a magical place,” as the artist describes the naturalistic style garden started by Will Curtis in 1932. The exhibition honors the greatness of the past, while offering an entrée into a new time scale as the exhibit itself and plant palette changes with the changing light through the day, and the varying seasons.  “This is a much more challenging art form than many, dealing with light and texture, serendipity and the changing aspects of nature.” Smith continues, “Ecosystems are much more complex than anyone can recreate--they are going to surprise you.  The plants themselves are beautiful, unlike what happens with much nature-based fine art, where the artists may not understand what plants need to thrive. With New England Wild Flower Society the native plants are grown beautifully, and very well suited to the various sculptural expressions.  The plants are as much part of the excitement and exuberance of the exhibition as the artistic elements. The show is open daily 9-5.

Garden in the Woods,  180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA. 508.877.7630, www.newenglandWILD.org.

 “ART GOES WILD challenges us to review our pre-conceptions about native plant design,” continues Smith. “No one does highly designed work with native plants today. The majority of people using these plant materials have been focusing on restoration or naturalistic design.”       

ART GOES WILD consists of eleven destination gardens including a Beech Colonnade, Council Ring, Idea Garden, A Woodland Parterre, Fiddlehead Labyrinth, Floating Gardens, Yin Yang Gardens, Hidden

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Valley, Mini-Dish Garden Park,  Flying Saucers, and Gathering of Grasses. Inspired by the abstract visual elements inherent in each plant, “ART GOES WILD” invites us to change our thinking about using native plants in highly ORNAMENTAL ways – a concept as innovative now as Garden in the Woods creator Will Curtis’ naturalistic landscaping was in the 1930’s.  “ART GOES WILD” invites us all to consider design where the primary purpose is to be interesting as a work of art, while still honoring ecological considerations. In sharp contrast with naturalistic garden design of the twentieth century, “ART GOES WILD” emphasizes the signs of the human intervention and the sensibility of the artist. Rather than trying to fit the environment to suit his designs, Smith is known for reading the land and ecosystems and fitting his designs to the environment, highlighting the particular beauty inherent in the location, and then tuning in to the unique qualities of that location to create playful and special environments. 

Although the exhibit presents installations in the context of a large-scale public garden space, it showcases ideas specifically designed for easy adaptation to the scale of the home garden and smaller art installations. The "Idea Garden" has been especially popular with its sedge lawns and native container plantings. ART GOES WILD event highlights include the October 14 Fall Family Festival.

New England Wild Flower Society, Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA. 508-877-7630. Visit www.newenglandWILD.org.   Cart tours for those needing mobility assistance, and group tours may be scheduled at bdrexler@newfs.org or x 3501. Garden Trails and Museum Store Hours: September 1-October 31, Open daily 9-5.  Museum Store open November 1-Dec 24 Thu-Mon 10-5.   Informal tours weekdays at 10 a.m. and weekends at 2 p.m. included with admission, no reservations required.  Adults $7; Seniors & Students $5; Youths 6-18 $3; Members and children 5 and under FREE.  New England Wild Flower Society offers the nation’s largest public native plant school, with classes open year-round.  View the complete catalog at the website.  Memberships and purchases support the award-winning conservation programs of the Society.       -- END

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