Published September 19, 2024
Each summer, the Conservatory provides visitors with innovative artistic exhibitions that creatively merge plants, natural elements and art. This summer, the Conservatory introduced two immersive installations for all ages: Through The Vines: A Seasonal Journey and Color, Fly, Butterfly.
Through the Vines: A Seasonal Journey
Through The Vines: A Seasonal Journey is a collaboration between the Conservatory and Applied Imagination, an art studio that creates botanical installations and garden railways by crafting intricate sculptures made entirely from botanical materials. The installation features 12 giant vine arches, each intentionally created to represent the sights, sounds and creatures of the four seasons. As you walk through the arches, you are greeted by artistically crafted scenes – birds and insects with wings created from leaves and pinecones, mushrooms formed from sticks and gourds, and the sounds of nature all around. The soft hum of buzzing insects and the chatter of squirrels fill the air as a soft mist gently cools you, creating an immersive experience that feels alive with the energy of the natural world. Located in the Grand Mallway, these arches are designed to be accessible to everyone.
Through the Vines: A Seasonal Journey
Inside the Conservatory, the Color, Fly, Butterfly exhibition transforms the Cardinal Health Gallery into a lively, hands-on art studio. Here, you become the artist, designing and coloring your own butterfly before watching it take flight on the gallery walls. Utilizing innovative technology, these creations come to life in a digital Pacific Island Water Garden Biome, fluttering alongside the butterfly creations of other visitors. This interactive experience fosters artistic inspiration, offering families a fun and different way to engage with nature and art.
Color, Fly, Butterfly
In efforts to provide the community with more lasting, unique and innovative artistic experiences that connect to nature, the Conservatory arranged to purchase both exhibitions – making Through the Vines: A Seasonal Journey and Color, Fly, Butterfly part of the Conservatory’s permanent exhibition collection. The purchase of these exhibitions was made possible through the generous support of the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC). Their funding has been essential in securing these exhibitions and supporting the associated costs of creation, labor, technology and installation. GCAC plays a key role in enriching Columbus’s cultural landscape and their support guarantees these innovative and memorable encounters with art and nature will continue to enhance the Conservatory experience for years to come.
Color, Fly, Butterfly
These exhibitions go beyond the visual and interactive elements as they inspire curiosity and artistic expression while demonstrating that art can be found in all aspects of life, not just within gallery walls. Through the Vines: A Seasonal Journey and Color, Fly, Butterfly encourage guests to explore and think about art and nature, separately and together, in new ways, challenging the traditional interpretation of nature within art. These exhibitions enrich visitors’ experiences by integrating art with everyday life, inspiring curiosity and fostering deeper relationships with the natural world and art.
Thank you to the Greater Columbus Arts Council for their support and Applied Imagination for their creative collaboration. We hope you will visit the Conservatory and experience these captivating exhibitions for yourself before they close. Color, Fly, Butterfly will close on November 17th and Through the Vines: A Seasonal Journey will close on January 5th.