Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain and Roslindale is hosting openly LGBTQ artist Laura Fantini’s solo exhibition “Seeds for Tomorrow: Woody Plants of the Arnold Arboretum” from May 3 to 30. Admission is free, and there’s an opening reception on May 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Plus, a stroll through the beautiful grounds before or after you take in the show should be a given!
“Seeds are an integral part of who we are. In fact, seeds have always been considered a metaphor for survival and rebirth. Seeds are small, but complicated and mysterious. They have the ability to pause their growth for months or years and yet still be alive and come out of their inactivity at the right moment,” says Laura Fantini in a press release for the show.
“What they do is extraordinary and magnificent,” she says. “Without seeds, life would be threatened, from human beings to plants and animals. Sometimes a seed is all that remains of a plant. It is the beginning and the end, but also the hope for the next generation. It is a powerful message to understand how important nature is and how art can be as powerful as a tiny seed in nature.”
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University — which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year — is a museum of trees teaching the world about plants. In the Arboretum’s newest exhibition, Laura Fantini introduces the public to 40 of her hyper-realistic colored pencil drawings of seeds.
She illustrates “hope” in each seed she discovers, draws, and records. Her “hope” is for the future of our world. Each of her drawings includes the word “hope” in its title, each bears her plea to hope for each plant to endure and thrive through the life of its seed.
Seeds for Fantini are the messengers of life. Their DNA promises a continuation of a species, a thread that the earth can hold onto, and a promise for tomorrow.
Visit the exhibition web page for more.
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