April 4 | Opening Reception

In the spirit of Carl Linnaeus (1707–78), a botanist and physician considered to be the father of modern taxonomy, Fontcuberta has set out to describe and name new plant species in this exhibition. His exquisite photographs reference the work of Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), a German photographer who searched for artistic pattern and architectural structure in his own photography of plants.

Fontcuberta photographed his plant discoveries against neutral backgrounds to facilitate their identification and comparison, while also drawing our attention to the conflation of nature and art. These new plants are extraordinary in the ways in which they appear to mimic both human and inanimate forms in their appearance.