Art in Bloom combines art and nature for unique experience
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Art in Bloom allows guests at Newfields to experience art through the lens of floral design.
This year, 39 works of art were selected as inspiration and assigned to floral artists who got to work sculpting pieces inspired by the more traditional mediums of paintings, sculptures, and pottery.
“Artists have been inspired by nature and florals for centuries, if not longer,” Jonathan Wright, the Ruth Lilly Director of the Garden and Fairbanks Park said. “To be able to give current artists who work in florals as their medium to be inspired by works of art, it really does bring that full circle.”
The Lume exhibit features an original Claude Monet painting which was incorporated into the Art in Bloom event with a floral arrangement by the Newfields staff.
“The woman was the highlight of that picture so we made her the highlight of our arrangement and made her the star of the show and everything is kind of focused on her,” Deborah Summers, an Art in Bloom Floral Designer said. “So that’s what we tried to mimic, just take the vibe of his piece and bring it to life with flowers.”
This installation allowed Newfields, the home of the Indianapolis Art Museum, to feature local artists.
“There is extraordinary talent here and that’s what Newfields is all about, giving the community a place to come and see an amazing talent right here in our own community and see the amazing works of art that have been gifted to this community over the years in the IMA [Indianapolis Museum of Art] collection,” Wright said.
Guests say this is an exciting new way to view the art.
“We loved how it has drawn us through the museum in places we haven’t seen before,” Skylar Wooden, an IMA member said. “My mother growing up did a lot of flower arrangements so it’s fun watching something she’s so passionate about in settings like this.”
“It’s neat in a lot of ways because it is so transient as opposed to the permanence of some of the pieces here, so it’s capturing a lot of the same energy, but we can see we’re nearing the end of the exhibit,” James Westbrooks, another IMA member said.
This is the third year Newfields has held art in bloom and it continues to grow each year.