A northern Illinois botanical garden is displaying its first major sculpture exhibition created by a woman.
The exhibit “Of the Earth” is on display at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. The outdoor sculptures were created by the artist Olga Ziemska. Ziemska is from Cleveland, Ohio and has works displayed across the world. The exhibit was named after the artist herself.
“Olga’s last name actually, Ziemska means of the earth in Polish,” Amy Scott, head of exhibitions at the arboretum, said. “So, her name, it means like of the earth or earthly.”
This is Ziemska’s largest exhibition to date. It’s also the arboretum’s first large scale display created by a woman.
Scott said the world of large-scale sculpture installations tend to be male dominated.
“So, we're super excited to find Olga who does large pieces that are aligned with nature, and you know, spreading that message.”
She said the garden commissioned Ziemska after visiting the Buckeye State.
“We actually saw Olga's work at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio,” Scott said. “And it really resonated with the Arboretum’s mission. Her use of reclaimed and natural materials and the message behind her work.”
The exhibition opened this spring, but the preparation started in the colder months.
“The branches and the materials, we collected that material in the winter,” she said, “and then our staff and our volunteers pruned and prepped all of that. And those materials were used in “Ona” and “Oculus” and “Stillness,” so three out of the five pieces.”
She said Ziemska completed the other work in her Cleveland studio.
The pieces were scattered throughout the arboretum. So be prepared for a long walk if you go.
Amy Cady was there with her family. She chose not to walk because she had young children with her. She said she drove her car from one sculpture to the other one. She stood with admiration while she gazed at one of the sculptures.
“This is my favorite so far. It's “Oculus. Right?” Cady asked her sister. “Oculus. And just what she explained how the iris is there and it's made out of the trees. It's cool.”
The branches created an optical illusion, so the eyes’ outer layers resembled a human’s eye.
Cady said she and her sister were trying to figure out the name of the sculpture before they approached it.
“We were seeing if it was like seeing each other's mind, seeing the mind on the other side,” she said. “So, we were making our own and that's the beauty of art is you can make your own story.”
“Oculus” is also Scott’s favorite piece. She said it’s because she witnessed seeing how the materials from the arboretum’s grounds were utilized to create it.
“Those heads are built from arboretum logs or tree cookies that are stacked on top of each other in facial profiles with large, mirrored spheres,” she said.
Tina Misantoni was there with her husband. The couple is from Wheaton, Illinois. She said the exhibit has a deeper meaning for her.
“It represents women and also the nature, but how we're so strong as women,” Misantoni said. “And what we each are equally made out of and just not the earth, but all together. You know, kind of all coming together. The earth, the sun, the sky, everything. So yeah, it's beautiful.”
Misantoni said it’s great that the Morton Arboretum supports different cultures through the arts.
The other three sculptures are: “Hear: With an ear on the ground,” “Strata,” and “Ona.” A map for each piece can be found on the arboretum’s website.
