Museum’s Newest Exhibition, ‘Rooted in Place’, Features Georgia O’Keeffe’s Sketches and Paintings of Foliage
Rooted in Place was curated in partnership with the Santa Fe Botanical Garden and will be on view until April 15, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–November 9, 2023 (Santa Fe, NM)– Leaf peepers are in for a late-season treat as the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum presents Rooted in Place, a new exhibition highlighting Georgia O’Keeffe’s works of trees, shrubs, stumps, and other botanic delights. Curated in partnership with the Santa Fe Botanical Garden, the exhibition provides scientific insight into some of the featured flora.
“Rooted in Place is a testament to O’Keeffe’s deep relationship with nature,” Bess Murphy, Luce Curator of Art and Social Practice, said. “Many of us are familiar with Georgia O’Keeffe’s explorations of flowers, however, an even more persistent botanical subject in her work was trees, especially during her time in New Mexico.”
The exhibition spotlights “keystone species” from New Mexico with expert input from the Santa Fe Botanical Garden on the origin and unique characteristics of these species. A keystone species helps to define and support an entire ecosystem, and without these species, those ecosystems may drastically change or even collapse. O’Keeffe painted many versions of piñon, juniper, and cottonwood, all of which are keystone species in northern New Mexico, as well as those of countries and regions to which she traveled.
“O’Keeffe sketched banyan trees in Bermuda, redwood trees in California, and palm trees in Antigua. She also painted piñon, juniper, and cottonwood in New Mexico many times. Rooted in Place is a unique display of an iconic artist who portrayed the iconic flora of a region she lived in or visited,” Murphy said.
Rooted in Place will be on view until April 15, 2023. See it free! Join the Museum for First Friday on December 1, 2023. First Fridays are free all day for New Mexico residents and free for everyone from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Free spotlight tours of the exhibition will be available with an art activity led by teaching artist Morgan Jones. For more information, visit gokm.org.
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For media inquiries, contact:
Renee Lucero
Public Relations Manager 505-946-1063 rlucero@gokm.org
Image credits: 1. Georgia O’Keeffe. Stump in Red Hills, 1940. Oil on canvas, 30 1/8 x 24 inches. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Gift of The Stéphane Janssen Trust in memory of R. Michael Johns. © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. [1996.7.2] Photo: Tim Nighswander/IMAGING4ART 2. Rooted in Place, 2023. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico. © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
ABOUT THE GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MUSEUM: Since 1997, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum celebrates the art, life, and independent spirit of Georgia O’Keeffe. Located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Georgia O’Keeffe lived the final decades of her life, the O’Keeffe has sites and experiences in two historic destinations, Santa Fe and Abiquiú. For more information, please visit gokm.org.
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