Conservation

In ‘Zoophites,’ Les Lalanne Hybridize Beasts and Botany into Functional Sculptures

‘Les Lalanne: Zoophites,’ Kasmin, New York. All photos by Charlie Rubin, courtesy of Kasmin, shared with permission Now obsolete, the term zoophytes once referred to organisms that exhibited both animal and plant characteristics. It’s also an apt title for a poetic exhibition of sculptures blending beastly and botanical forms by the late Claude (1925-2019) and […]

Conservation

Used Envelopes Hold Thriving Potted Plants in Fidencio Fifield-Perez’s ‘Dacaments’

All images © Fidencio Fifield-Perez, shared with permission Fidencio Fifield-Perez’s Dacaments series began as a response to the bureaucracy of the U.S. immigration system. The Oaxaca-born artist immigrated with his family as a child, making him eligible for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). To qualify and retain his status, he needed to collect official […]

Conservation

Flip Through More than 5,000 Pages of This Sprawling 19th-Century Atlas of Natural History

Courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library In the early 19th century, German naturalist Lorenz Oken quickly established himself as a leader in the Naturphilosophie movement, a current of Idealism, which attempted to comprehend a total view of nature by investigating its theoretical structure—a precursor to the natural sciences as we know them today. Oken’s seminal […]

Conservation

Kaleidoscopic Paintings by Edie Fake Invoke the Spiritual Wisdom of Plants

“Bustle” (2024), acrylic and gouache on wood panel, 48 x 48 inches. All images courtesy of Western Exhibitions, shared with permission In Persuasions, artist Edie Fake turns their attention to the wise, enduring insights of plants. The new series of acrylic and gouache paintings expands Fake’s bold visual language to incorporate flowers, which they render […]

Conservation

Unprecedented Footage Shows Plants ‘Talking’ to Their Neighbors about Potential Predators

The touch-me-not plant, officially known as mimosa pudica, quickly contracts its leaves when shaken or brushed by assumed predators. When one of these specimens senses danger like a nearby herbivore ready to take a bite, calcium erupts within its system, prompting exposed areas to recoil. Scientists have known since the 1980s that other plants, not […]

Conservation

Through Delicate Glass Sprouts, Nataliya Vladychko Emphasizes the Wild Resiliency of Seeds

“Triticum” (2020), wooden platform and flame-shaped borosilicate glass,
26 x 27 centimeters.
Photo by Steven van Kooijk. All images © Nataliya Vladychko, shared with permission “After the fire brigades rescued the London Natural History Museum from German incendiaries, Albizia silk-tree seeds bloomed on their herbarium sheets, liberated from two hundred years of dormancy by the precise combination […]

Conservation

Otherworldly Plants Sprout Colorful Stems and Blooms in Kaori Kurihara’s Incredibly Detailed Ceramics

“Clown verdoyant” (2023). All images © Kaori Kurihara, shared with permission Elegant petals, scalloped fans, and seed-like textures coat the Kaori Kurihara’s whimsical ceramic sculptures (previously). She incorporates delicate botanical details with eccentric forms, melding realism with fiction. “I try to associate imaginary plants with a more realistic feeling, so I observe more consciously the […]

Conservation

Otherworldly Plants Sprout Colorful Stems and Blooms in Kaori Kurihara’s Incredibly Detailed Ceramics

“Clown verdoyant” (2023). All images © Kaori Kurihara, shared with permission Elegant petals, scalloped fans, and seed-like textures coat the Kaori Kurihara’s whimsical ceramic sculptures (previously). She incorporates delicate botanical details with eccentric forms, melding realism with fiction. “I try to associate imaginary plants with a more realistic feeling, so I observe more consciously the […]