Central Park

Losing Paradise? Endangered Plants Here and Around the World, a traveling exhibition curated by the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) in collaboration with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, explores conservation efforts around the globe. Through these illustrations, artists focus on the pivotal role plant diversity plays in overall environmental health. In this presentation, ASBA will explore how artists worldwide depict endangered plants with the help of botanical institutions, scientists, conservationists, and horticulturists. The resulting artworks illuminate numerous stories about how plants became endangered and the novel approaches taken to retain them. During this documentation of loss, we a find a growing number of encouraging stories thanks to the diverse coalition of conservation networks, business associations, and individuals preserving the world’s flora.

Carol Woodin, Director of Exhibitions for the American Society of Botanical Artists, organizes an active calendar of juried exhibitions throughout the United States. The ASBA, with offices at The New York Botanical Garden, was founded in 1995 and has over 1,100 members in the United States and twenty-five other countries. Woodin is also a free-lance botanical artist specializing in rare plants, mainly orchids, whose work has appeared in exhibitions in New York City and around the world. She is an RHS Gold Medalist whose work is held by the Smithsonian, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, American Orchid Society, and numerous private and corporate collections.

Reception to follow
Seating is limited.
To RSVP, please email:
artantantiquities@parks.nyc.gov

In conjunction with the exhibition
A Window on Nature: Art of Asuka Hishiki
In the Arsenal Gallery, April 26 – June 6, 2012