KCRW - “GARDEN” at LADIES’ ROOM
Hosted by Steve Chiotakis
Many people have turned toward their gardens over the last year for sustenance, a new hobby, or a mental health break. That newfound passion has made its way into nearby art galleries, in shows focusing on nature, gardening, and the earth.
“A lot of these shows focus on women being extra connected to nature, or women as healers and providers ,” says Lindsay Preston Zappas, editor in chief at the Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles.
Proceeds from sales go towards local organizations that address food insecurity, including LA Food Policy Council, Ron Finley Project, and Summaeverythang Community Center.
“Some of the works are abstract, some deal with natural energy or force, and a lot of them include the female body, interacting or becoming entwined with nature,” says Preston Zappas.
A massive online group show at LADIES’ ROOM celebrates the cultivating and magical effects of the garden. The exhibition includes 100 women and non-binary artists. Proceeds from sales go towards local organizations that address food insecurity, including LA Food Policy Council, Ron Finley Project, and Summaeverythang Community Center.
Many of us have turned towards our gardens over the last year — whether for sustenance, a new hobby, or just the opportunity to have a physical connection with another living thing. “GARDEN” picks up on that energetic focus, delighting in sumptuous depictions of human-garden interactions that highlight the restorative and nourishing aspects of the garden.
Organic energy builds across the works, which range from painting to photography, to sculpture and video. Some works approach plant life obliquely through abstraction, as in Meike Legler’s graphic sewn fabric piece. Many other works take the form of landscape, such as Rachel Kessler’s “Wildfire” that erupts with dynamically painted layers like a complex origami creation. Many paintings and photographs feature entwined limbs interacting with plants or soil, pointing to a bodily and spiritual connection to Mother Earth. It all indicates that the practice of gardening offers deeper resonance than simply sowing seeds and tending to them.