By Caitlin O'Brien

Opening on Oct. 4, the Franklin Park Conservatory will continue its ongoing, dynamic exhibition program with the newest display, Bending Nature.

Bending Nature is an exciting exhibit that features the work of 15 artists recognized on national and international levels. The artists take horticulture to new imaginative levels, allowing the natural beauty of the foliage to be transformed into an artistic investigation into the traditions of botanical design.

Robert Stearns, the exhibit's curator, says that when choosing which artists to feature he wanted to introduce Conservatory visitors to more challenging and dynamic concepts of this type of art work that they may have previously seen.

“I considered specific traditions of human interaction with growing plants and plant material, namely Western topiary and Oriental bonsai,” Stearns says.

The exhibit was even partially supported by a $35,000 grant awarded to the Franklin Park Conservatory though the National Endowments for the Arts. Illustrating the parallels between art and horticulture, the pieces will range from photography, drawing, sculpture, painting and will include three new works commissioned just for Bending Nature.

“This is an interesting collection of work by highly regarded contemporary artists,” says Bruce Harkey, executive director of Franklin Park Conservatory.

Some of the internationally recognized artists include Dennis Oppenheim, Andy Goldsworthy, Pearl Fryar, Shigeo Kawashima, Herb Parker, Robert Smithson and David Byrne, among others.

Dennis Oppenheim is an internationally known sculptor and photographer who has been a key figure in several art movements including land, body and conceptual art, as well as his large architectonic constructions.

Andy Goldsworthy is a sculptor, photographer and environmentalist who is known for producing site-specific sculptures and land art. He is known for utilizing his natural surroundings and energies to created an art form, experimenting with various natural materials such as leaves, wood, clay, ice and sand. Because his artwork is dependent upon seasons and weather conditions, the exhibit will feature a collection of his photographs used to document his work. The Conservatory will also screen a 90 minute film about Goldsworthy and his work.

Pearl Fryer is a self-taught artist who made his mark as a nationally-regarded topiary artist right from his own backyard. While working at an aluminum can plant, Fryar transformed his three acres around his home, placing more than 1,000 plants into the largest private topiary in the world. A topiary typically is a garden where characterized by the trimming and shaping of plants into forms or designs.

Shigeo Kawashima is a bamboo sculptor whose works have now entered more than 30 collections throughout Japan, Europe and the United States, including the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. Assisted by Columbus-area artists and interns and using bamboo that has been grown in the Conservatory, the sculptor will create a new piece that will be suspended in the atrium.

All of the other featured artists have equally impressive resumes in their fields and will bring their exciting and creative visions to Columbus residents. Through March 29, several of the artists will actually visit or remain in residence during the exhibition. Meet the artist events are scheduled. For a complete list of events surrounding this exhibit, visit www.fpconservatory.org.

While some of the artwork will be recognizable shapes, figures and even persons, Stearns urges visitors to see beyond the outward natural beauty to try and appreciate the many layers and facets to nature.

“We want visitors to use their imaginations about what’s being depicted in these works of art,” says Stearns.