Let It Grow

Dates: July 14 - September 1

Playing upon the contemporary fixation on houseplants, Let It Grow was an exhibition that explored the ways in which artists frame our human and plant interdependent relationships. Plants are self-sustaining organisms—they only need sun and rain to survive. So what does it mean for us to remove these living organisms from their natural habitat, and make ourselves their sole caretakers?

The artists featured in Let It Grow investigate this relationship from various angles: NY-based collaborators Adam Frezza and Terri Chiao (known as “CHIAOZZA”) create sculptural “Cartoon Plants” out of paper pulp—returning the processed organic vegetation back to its rightful form. Dayton, Oh based artist Sydney Joslin-Knapp incorporates both celestial bodies and flowers into an oversized diorama—creating a cosmic portal in our gallery, from which to observe these faux blooms. And lastly, Columbus, Oh-based multimedia artist Danielle Julian-Norton who owns a working farm and creates installations of living plants will created new sculpture for the gallery out of cob and water plants.

As part of our programming for this exhibition, we partnered with local musicians, artists and activists Triiibe to put on a Vibe-A-Que, August 14, 5:30-8:30pm. This event consisted of urban gardening classes at our Camp Washington Community Garden, a local street sweep, and subsequent vegan potluck.