STORY BEHIND THE ART OF ASUKA HISHIKI
21st Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill
Wave Hill Little Gangsters
Senecio articulatus, Monadenium lugardae, Euphorbia obesa, Glottiphyllum nelii
Several years ago, I was given the chance to participate in the Workspace Program* at Wave Hill. The gallery space is turned into a workspace for several artists who work in diverse media.
It was a very exciting time for me. Imagine, you are almost living and working in a dream garden! Sure, I commuted from my place, but I stayed at Wave Hill from morning to the closing time every day during 6 weeks.
It was winter time, so the ground was often covered with snow. The trees and bushes shivered in the cold wind. There were many, but tiny, signs that spring would come sometime later, but still winter was deep. All the garden stayed calm and quiet, as if sleeping until the warm spring sunshine would wake it up. On the contrary, one step entered into the conservatory, and there was everlasting spring. The small rooms were full with plants! I thought of Hansel and Gretel who found the house made of sweets in the middle of a dead forest. I wanted to portray everything. There were many, many plants I have never seen before, small but well-kept, grown into beautiful shapes. An unfortunate thing about my art practice is simply that it is time-consuming. I want to draw as much as I desire, but time limitation is always the issue.
I visited the conservatory every day. I knew there wouldn’t be enough time to paint everything, but it didn’t stop me from searching for any subject for my future pieces. Succulents! These little gangsters were shouting out loud! Each sitting in a tiny pot and twisting its body playfully. They looked almost comical, too. A good thing always has an ending. My stay was over, and I couldn’t work on my little gang piece....until.....last summer. I visited Wave Hill again and luckily had a chance to prepare for my next piece. I sketched the succulents, measured the sizes and made color samples of my dream gang team. It is not easy for me to work without actual plants at the side, even though I have plenty of sketches, reference photos, and color samples. I think I started to learn how to manage it when I was at the Wave Hill Workspace Program. We are not always so fortunate to have the actual plant on our work desk. Sometimes it is because of a time limitation, you know, the plant dries up quickly. Other times, it is because the plant is too big or too precious. In a lot of cases, simply it cannot be moved!
My friend saved dead bees on the Wave Hill ground for me as well, so I could include one in the piece. At first, my plan was to add a flying bee, but I think the status of ‘a dead bee” symbolizes better the complicated truth of nature. I love to portray my subject exactly as I see, too. It is truthful.
Now, I feel that the little gangsters are cheering and waving at their success, entering back to the garden where they belong.
*Winter Workspace Program at Wave Hill
From January to March, the galleries are turned over to artists to use as studios for six-week sessions. We encourage artists who are interested in studying our plant collection and responding to the natural setting. Artists have an opportunity to share their practice with visitors through participatory workshops. This program is open to artists living in New York State and offers workspace, not living space. A nomination process is used to select artists for this program that includes artists who submit through General Opportunities.
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Read more about this artist’s work: Out of the Woods