NEVADA MUSEUM OF ART NEWS RELEASE:
Art, ecology, landscaping and functional infrastructure meet in Patricia Johanson’s collaborative project, Petaluma Wetlands Park, on display Sept. 19 through Jan. 10 at the Center for Art + Environment LAB (CA+E LAB) at the Nevada Museum of Art. The exhibition, curated by CA+E Director William L. Fox, consists of a collection of the artist’s drawings, sketches, interpretive signage and photographs.
Known worldwide for her large-scale designs, Johanson created the multi-purpose public landscape using constructed and natural wetlands to provide three miles of public trails for recreational use, educational programs, nature study and tourism. The park coincides with the $150 million dollar Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility that simultaneously processes human sewage, generates crops and creates wildlife habitats, serving as a highly visible model for converting sewage into drinkable water.
“The Center is honored to exhibit Johanson’s extensive archival collection–the perfect complement to our series of art and environment projects spanning the globe,” said William L. Fox, Director of the Center for Art + Environment. “Focusing on the creative interactions between people and their surrounding natural, built and virtual environments, the Center acts as a meeting place of minds for museum-goers, artists and scholars alike.”
Beginning in 2000, Johanson worked with Carollo Engineers to overlay art, public access, sewage treatment, habitat restorations and agriculture, thus embedding major urban infrastructure within living nature. In conjunction with the exhibit, Patricia Johanson will visit the Museum Nov. 13 from noon to 12:30 p.m. and lead an Art Bite discussion of the project. She will guide participants through the drawings and designs that led to one of the most dynamic and functional landscape architecture projects in recent years.
Art and Infrastructure: Patricia Johanson and the Petaluma Wetlands Park is sponsored, in part, by the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust. The exhibition is in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for the Visual Arts, E. L. Wiegand Gallery, at the Nevada Museum of Art located at 160 West Liberty Street in downtown Reno. The galleries are open Wednesday through Sunday. Cost: Free for museum members; $10 adults; $8 students/seniors; $1 children 6-12; free for children five and under. For more information, call 329-3333 or visit www.nevadaart.org.
