The landscape of the Desert Botanical Garden is looking a little different this month, but the new additions aren't plants (at least not technically).
Carolina Escobar's sculpture exhibition Whispers of a New World spans across the familiar garden trails and offers splashes here and there of something new.
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Escobar works with steel framing to create shapes that play off of the plant life in the garden. With the color, pattern, and texture of the resined cloth overlay, the pieces look like they could have come out of a Dr. Suess book.
The integration of sculpture and nature is not a new venture for the Desert Botanical Garden. This exhibition is bound to draw comparisons to the Dale Chihuly exhibit that came to the DBG a few years ago. But Escobar's sculptures stand apart with their organic presentation -- her pieces blend in so seamlessly with their surroundings, it looks like they might have just sprouted up on their own.
The show is a great opportunity to get your art and nature fix in the same place; plus, it's fun to search for the pieces hidden along the trails. The outdoor exhibition is accompanied by a selection of Escobar's two-dimensional work showcased in the DBG's Ottosen Gallery.
The indoor pieces echo the trends of her free standing works outside but allow a welcome opportunity to really get up close to the art (in the garden you risk reprimand or worse -- a cactus stuck in your foot).
Whispers of a New Wolrd: Sculptures by Carolina Escobar will be on display through May 27, 2013. Visit the Desert Botanical Garden website to find information about garden hours and admission.
