This exhibition will be on view at the Watchung Arts Center from March 2, 1998 until March 27, 1999. An opening reception for the artists will be held on March 7, 1- 4 PM. The receptions are free and give you a chance to meet and compliment the artists while enjoying light refreshments.

Beauty and scientific investigation coalesce in the work of seven artists examining and exploring the flora of the changing world around us as we approach the turn of the entury. Featuring the work of six artists Chiara Becchi, Sarah Ward Brooks, Robin Jess, Pat Kay, Mindy Lighthipe, and Laura Vogel, this exhibition captures the rich yet transitional state of botanical art in our time.

As a young artist just starting out I was drawn to flowers and plants as a subject as a natural outgrowth of my gardening hobby. Over time my art subjects changed and I moved away from botanical work but I never lost my appreciation for it as a surpassing expression of beauty and talent.

Perpetuating and advancing the art of botanical illustration, the artists in this show bring with them the craft of a long tradition and the vision of personal expression.

All the artists are accomplished with years of experience and multiple exhibitions to their credit. Two of the artists in the show are associated with the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. Both Mindy Lighthipe and Pat Kay have acted as the head of the Botanical Gardens Botanical drawing group. Ms. Lighthipe currently holds that position.

Each of these artists, however, has a differing vision of botanical art of the moment. From the more traditional scientific investigations of Laura Vogel and Chiara Becchi and the expressive graphical work of Pat Kay all the way to the experimental work of Sarah Ward Crooks, the work of each artist takes advantage of differing media to communicate the textures and colors of each surface. The media represented include oils, pencil, watercolor and acrylic.

This group brings with them an appreciation of their local habitats as well as more exotic locations. Robin Jess, for example, has recently received a state grant to document the plant life in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, an area threatened by the encroachment of development. Sarah Ward Crooks, on the other hand, has started a series of painting of the plant life, which survives the extreme stress of life in Brooklyn.

The work exhibited here is a testament to the diversity and connection we have with the world around us and provides us with a moment out of our hurried lives to appreciate the beauty in the quotidian. Paul Pinkman, curator.