The Planter Show at Fort Makers, New York, 2020
The Planter Show is on view at Fort Makers, New York
September 25 – November 19, 2020
Fort Makers is pleased to present The Planter Show, a group exhibition of sculptural planters, flower pots, and abstract containers in which plant life can grow, created by 40 contemporary artists and designers. Featuring over 40 works, the exhibition stems from humanity’s enduring effort to establish meaningful, nondestructive relationships with the natural world, and examines the power of the vessel as a sacred container and conceptual metaphor.
For The Planter Show, Fort Makers invited artists to mine various traditions and anomalies—from pre-Columbian Mesoamerican pottery to the more contemporary Chia Pet—and create sculptures that hold and sustain plant life. Each sculpture is approached holistically so that the planters and their corresponding plants compliment and complete each other—one part finite, the other living, wild and ever-changing. “As many artists have historically toyed with chance in their art making, artists here add life as an unpredictable element in their work,” says Fort Makers Co-Founder and Creative Director Nana Spears. All sculptures will hold plants sourced in partnership with neighboring nursery and gardening store, Dahing Plants . The plants will be cared for by local plant doctor and consultant Maryah Greene, who will additionally host a virtual “Planting 101” workshop at Fort Makers.
“The exhibition is grounded in the personification of the vessel and the life form it houses as a single entity. Each planter is an idolized expression of our love for nature, and becomes a unique face with a tidy haircut or a wild beast with an unruly mane,” Spears continues. “Earlier this year, as we retreated into the privacy of our homes, many found themselves alienated from nature and newly tethered to domestic space. In our moment of seclusion, our plant collections become landscapes—each fern, palm, and succulent a sacred intermediary to the outside world.”
“A symbiotic relationship forms,” says Fort Makers Co-Founder Noah Spencer . “The plants purify the air, alleviate stress, and provide a mental escape, while we care for them, water them, and prune them. We may even sing to our plants, animate them, and consider them companions or friends.”
Photos by Joe Kramm. Courtesy of the artists and Fort Makers.
Simone Bodmer-Turner, Planter I (2020) 
Farrah Sit & Joel Seigle, Vayu (2020) 
Astrid Terrazas, Gestating in a Chasm (2020) 
L to R: Cody Hoyt, Truncated Tetrahedron Vessel (2017). Ivy Weinglass, Range Piece (2020). Diego Olivero, Chulucanas (2020) 
Future Retrieval, Vulture Planter (2020) 
Nicole Cherubini, Bucket with universe and crown with greens (2020) 
Trish Tillman, Companions (Anchor, Orange, Green, Pink) (2019) 
Lauren Elder, The Singing Rose 2 & 1 (2020) 
L to R: BNAG, BLOB 003, BLOB 001 and BLOB 002 (2020) 
Janie Korn, Swan Pond (2020) 
Jessi Li, Thumbs-Up Planter (2020) 
Arnie Zimmermann, Blue Top Planter (2018) 
L to R: Kukuli Velarde & Doug Herren, Reciprocity 1 (2018). Didi Rojas, Had to do it to them (2020). Simone Bodmer-Turner, Planter I (2020). Trish Tillman, Companions (Green, Orange) (2019). Jessi Li, Thumbs-Up Planter (2020) 
L to R: Joe Sturm, Untitled (2019). Joanne Greenbaum, Untitled (2019). William J. O’Brien, Meltdown Bust (2013). Joe Sturm, Untitled (2019) 
Center Right: Shino Takeda, CAT (2020). Remaining Works (L to R): Naomi Clark, Tulip Pot , Double Line Pot and Leg Up (2020) 
L to R: Paula Grief, Terracotta Cylinder (2020). Keith Simpson, Hairy Bowl Tripod Planter (2020) 
Elisabeth Kley, Coptic Planter with Clover Diamonds (2020) 
L to R: Emilia Brintnall, Flower Wolf (2020). Body Language Shop, Silicone Plant Hanger (It’s Okay To Touch) (2020). Noah Spencer, Dish Foot (2020)
Participating artists include Simone Bodmer-Turner, BNAG (Oliver-Selim Boualam & Lukas Marstaller), Body Language Shop (Jackie Zdrojeski), Emilia Brintnall, Myagmarsuren Brown, Laura Chautin, Nicole Cherubini, Naomi Clark, Lauren Elder, Future Retrieval (Katie Parker & Guy Michael Davis), Joanne Greenbaum, Paula Greif, Samuel Harvey, Cody Hoyt, Elisabeth Kley, Janie Korn, Jessi Li, Rebecca Morgan, Harry Nuriev, William J. O’Brien, Diego Olivero, Scott Reeder, Tamika Rivera, Didi Rojas, Bruce M. Sherman, Keith Simpson, Farrah Sit & Joel Seigle, Noah Spencer, Joe Sturm, Shino Takeda, Astrid Terrazas, Trish Tillman, Uno+Ichi (Hana Ward), Kukuli Velarde & Doug Herren, Ivy Weinglass, and Arnie Zimmerman .
In seeking to diminish widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in New York City, Fort Makers and The Planter Show will be open to the public by appointment-only, and will necessarily modify its viewing standards in accordance with the social distancing regulations in place during the exhibition’s public dates. Allowing for multiple viewing perspectives and methods of engagement, Fort Makers will capitalize on its storefront windows in the exhibition’s design, and further augment The Planter Show with an online viewing room and web shop.
FORT MAKERS (est. 2008) is a New York-based design studio and artist collective that designs bold, colorful, and tactile objects and environments through the lens of American craft. Offering exclusive, pièce-unique and limited-edition collections of art objects, handmade furniture, and sculptural lighting, Fort Makers creates inventive, playful pieces that people can live with forever. Fort Makers members include co-founders Nana Spears, Noah James Spencer, and Naomi S. Clark, and artisans Jane D’Arensbourg, Jason Bauer, Romina Gonzales, Tamika Rivera, Keith Simpson and Shino Takeda. In September 2019, Fort Makers opened its first exhibition space and concept store at 38 Orchard Street in Manhattan. The gallery transforms every six to eight weeks with an immersive installation curated by Founder and Creative Director Nana Spears.
Contact
info@fortmakers.com
917-588-4533
Address
38 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
