Exhibitions Celebrate the Wonder of our Natural World

Back to back exhibitions at ZIA Gallery celebrate the wonder of our natural world.

The current exhibition “The Elephant in the Room” was conceived slowly over the past few years as ZIA Gallery began to notice a number of artists making reference to elephants in their works. One of the first artists was Mary Burke who subtly included a phrase along with a small sketch in her abstract painting “Natural Order.”

More elephants appeared in a number of Fumiko Toda’s paintings as part of the magic of her world. Then a sequin elephant served as a formative element in a collage and mixed media miniature “Elephant Notes” by Anne Hughes. Elephants are clearly on the minds of artists. “The Elephant in the Room” opened January 20th with contributions by Brian McDonald, Preston Jackson, Jonathan Ricci, Bob Krist in addition to Mary Burke, Anne Hughes and Fumiko Toda.

Next up “The Floral Show” opens March 3rd. In a jaded era, those words suggest something so seemingly common and staid we no longer grasp the amazing transformation of a world that specifically resulted from the evolution of flowering plants. Naturalist scientist and essayist Loren Eiseley brings this appreciation to life in his essay “How Flowers Changed the World.” Visual artists, too, through flourishing creativity, re-energize the words “floral show” as seen through the unexpected universe of Mary Burke, Melissa Jay Craig, Lisa A. Frank, Karina Noel Hean, Anne Hughes, Ted Preuss, Jonathan Ricci, Fumiko Toda, John Vlahakis, Carl Wilen and invited artists Kevin Veara and Phil Ponce.

Contact ZIA Gallery and check out the website for more information. Better still, come enjoy the art.