Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center

Art Blooms Gala Reception for Treasured - Friday, Juy 13, 6-9pm; tickets required

Treasured reveals the beauty and vulnerability of the endangered and the threatened.  From disappearing plant and animal species, to vanishing languages and cultures, to threatened ecosystems, the exhibit highlights the intricacies and fragility of precious and vanishing worlds.  

   
Sasha Zhitneva                                                     Stephanie Garmey                            Riccardo Berlingeri   

 JURORS:
Dr. Joshua A. Bell, Curator of Globalization, Department of Anthropology,
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Instituion

Lisa Scheer, Professor of Art, Department of Art & Art History, St. Mary's College of Maryland

Juror's Statement: 

 Nothing ever stays the same. From the moment-to-moment passing of time to the larger changes fueled by advances in knowledge, technology, and ever shifting global dynamics, change sometimes feels like the only constant we can count on.  Loss of various dimensions always accompanies change; loss on the personal level as memories of past generations fade over time, loss on a cultural level as traditional customs are replaced with the new trends; loss on the environmental level as species disappear and ecosystems collapse.

The impulse to make art is, at its core, a way to fix things (or feelings) in time, to preserve that which is important, to capture something before it vanishes and to reach out through time to touch those that will come later.  In this way, the theme of this exhibition might describe all artworks. But loss in our age isn’t simply a matter of change over time.  It is accelerated by an array of contemporary conditions.  Our ever-increasing demands on limited natural resources threaten the existence of certain species and habitats, while the forces of globalization push indigenous societies too often into assimilation. Our own immersion in technology endangers our direct relationship with the natural world and obscures the forces of changes that new technology embodies.

The artworks in this exhibition address, if not protest, some of these contemporary conditions. It is certainly no surprise that one of the most common subjects in this show is the natural world whether it be about threatened wildlife or simply the celebration of an unmediated experience of a natural environment.  Our depletion of natural resources is explored in a number of works  through their use of recycled materials and their subjects of global concern (deforestation and climate change) their local manifestations in the ecosystem and resources of the Chesapeake Bay.  The personal, linguistic and cultural dimensions of loss are also explored. Some artists capture an image as a way to visually retain what is precious while others physically retain by making their artworks from the very things they want to preserve. All of these artworks, whether through their playfully recasting of collecting traditions from the 19^th and 20^th century or through more confrontational images, ask of us to consider our place in an ever-changing world and how we can learn to dwell in it more ethically. The artworks in this show are a testament to the power of art to make us pause, think about what it is we treasure, and how we might collectively work to be better stewards. 

About Art Blooms Gala Reception
A special reception for Treasured, called Art Blooms Gala Reception, will take place on Friday, July 13, 6-10pm.  Art Blooms is a fund-raising event that we undertake with the Calvert Garden Club for which a floral designer is paired with a work of art from the exhibit.  The floral designers create arrangements inspired by the works from the Treasured exhibit.  The opening reception will include wine, light hors de’oeuvres, and live music.  The sculpture garden will remain open with extended hours, taking full advantage of the exceptional venue.