“Native Columbine” by Art+10 artist Tasha O’Neill.
D&R Greenway Land Trust will present its new tripartite exhibit, Botanicals Illuminated, on Nov. 14.
Curator Diana Moore commissioned Art+10, an elite group of Princeton regional artists, to create multimedia works on the D&R Greenway Preserves, honoring the state’s native plans. The exhibit will also feature award-winning botanical illustrations and “Curator’s Choice Regional Botanical Artists,” a selection of works by Karen McLean, Carol Sanzalone and Madelaine Shellaby.
Linda Mead, D&R Greenway President & CEO, said the process began a year ago, with a list of New Jersey’s native plants and the D&R Greenway preserves where they are most likely to be found. Trustee Mary Leck, Ph.D., Botanist Emeritus of Rider University and Emily Blackman and Diana Rachel of the land trust’s Stewardship Staff participated in creating this guide for the artists. Artists then selected a specific site and plant to immortalize.
“We are bringing Botanicals Illuminated to the public primarily to showcase the variety and beauty of native plants everyone can find upon our preserves,” Mead explained. “In this, the darkest time of the year, we can all be illuminated by the beauty of the natural world, as depicted on the Johnson Education Center walls. As always, our exhibits are mounted to demonstrate the importance of preservation of New Jersey land and species.”
Botanicals Illuminated will be open from Nov.14 through Jan. 9, during business hours of business days. It is located in the land trust’s Marie L. Matthews Galleries, Johnson Education Center, One Preservation Place, Princeton. The exhibit is free and open to the public, but guests should first call 924-4646 to confirm the Galleries are not being rented that day.
The botanical artists will host a reception on Nov. 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Those interested should register at rsvp@drgreenway.org. All art is for sale, a percentage supporting D&R Greenway’s preservation and stewardship of New Jersey land.
