Patricia Laspino, contemporary American painter and founder of the “Orchid Alliance Project-Bridging Art & Science”, will be showing recent paintings in a solo exhibition entitled, “Orchids in the Realm of the Sublime” in the Monsanto Hall Gallery at the Missouri Botanical Garden through March 8, 2015.
Laspino’s provocative large scale oil paintings will highlight orchids subjects found in some of the 35 countries and six continents where the Garden is actively engaged in research. The Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and one of the world’s leading research centers for plant science, conservation and education, with a strong commitment to the arts and humanities. The artist will also unveil two new paintings created specifically for the Garden representing orchid species found in South Africa and Madagascar.
Laspino’s exhibition coincides with the Garden’s annual orchid show, whose theme this year is “Orchids and their Pollinators”. The artist views orchids as a flagship plant family or ambassador to tell stories about the interconnectedness of humanity and the natural world.
Laspino’s thirty-five year career has been inspired by the beauty and diversity of the natural world and the orchid’s extraordinary influence on art and culture. The artist uses orchids as metaphor, to explore cultural and biological evolution, biodiversity and environmental stewardship. Her paintings uncover the fundamental attractive shapes and designs of nature where symmetry, color and pattern all play important roles on nature’s grand stage of attraction. The artist’s signature style interweaves 60-80 layers of transparent oil color over a textural groundwork of fossilized botanical impressions. Her painted surfaces capture light and are animated from within to achieve vibrancy, luminosity and drama.
The exhibit is included with Missouri Botanical Garden admission of $8 for adults and free for children ages 12 and under. St. Louis City and County residents enjoy discounted admission of $4 and free admission on most Wednesday and Saturday mornings until noon. Missouri Botanical Garden members are free.The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in south St. Louis, accessible from Interstate 44 at the Vandeventer exit and from Interstate 64 at the Kingshighway North and South exit. Free parking is available on site and two blocks west at the corner of Shaw and Vandeventer.
For general information, visit www.mobot.org or call (314) 577-5100 (toll-free, 1-800-642-8842). Follow the Garden on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/missouribotanicalgarden and http://twitter.com/mobotgarden.