Monet landscapes, lavish tapestries and Dior dresses headline “Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination,” a showcase where art pieces highlight the many ways that gardens and nature quietly impact our lives.
The new exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA), on display until June 28, features artwork of all different media. From giant tapestries and Greek busts to impressionist paintings and modern photographs, the exhibit invokes peace, relaxation, and the quiet impact that gardens have in our lives.
One room poses dresses from Christian Dior beside Claude Monet’s landscape paintings. For visitor Carly Sullivan, this diversity was a special component of the exhibit.
“It’s wonderful that they can showcase so many different artists,” Sullivan said. “It’s fascinating to see all different pieces from all different artists all over the world all together and put in one place.”
Another visitor, Zach Warner, said that the exhibit’s focus on nature differentiated it from others on display at the MFA.
“It’s a theme that can span time periods,” Warner said. “Where some of the other exhibits will be a specific area or period of time, I like that [“Framing Nature”] covers a lot of places and also spans a lot of mediums.”
Warner said the MFA and other museums have an important role to play in the larger community. Spending time in exhibits like “Framing Nature,” he said, can help bring attention to the problems in our society, especially for young people.
“[Places like MFA] broaden their vision of the world, of nature. The importance of nature, saving plants and taking care of the earth,” Warner said. “There was even art talking about undocumented immigrants, which was really great, addressing all the people in our communities.”
For Sullivan, the importance of museums and exhibitions like “Framing Nature” lies in the way it forces reflection and thinking.
“It’s very impactful to see history and culture in a tangible sense,” Sullivan said. “[Museums are]
a place for people to come and experience so many different things, to really get the gears turning in their mind.”
