Art in Bloom provides a unique experience by fusing art and nature

Indianapolis, Indiana – Visitors to Newfields can view art through the prism of floral design thanks to Art in Bloom.

This year, 39 pieces of art were chosen as models for the floral artists, who then set to work creating works that drew influence from the more conventional media 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.”

An original Claude Monet artwork from the Lume exhibition was added to the Art in Bloom celebration with a flower arrangement by the Newfields crew.

“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.”

The Indianapolis Art Museum’s home, Newfields, was able to showcase regional artists because of this project.

“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.

Visitors laud this as a fascinating new perspective on the artwork.

“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 time that Newfields has hosted art in bloom, and it gets bigger every time.