A new 2014 calendar, curated by Aleta Florentin of Amber Lotus Publishing, brings some of the best examples of environmental art all together in one place. This inspiring genre of art beautifully incorporates its natural surroundings in a way that’s surprising and oftentimes meaningful. Whether these environmental artists are rearranging natural materials found on a site, like branches and rocks, while leaving no detrimental effect, or are reimagining a landscape by introducing unexpected materials, their overarching goal is the same. They aim to create art that helps improve our relationship with and understanding of the natural world.
For instance, in Lives of Grass by Mathilde Roussel, a work that features two grass covered figurative sculptures, Roussel explores the cyclic metamorphosis that transforms organic matter – whether vegetable, animal or human. As she states, “Time weighs on the body, leaving its trace as an imprint and thus creating an invisible archive of emotions, a mute history of our existence.”
Now, courtesy of Amber Lotus Publishing, here is what you can expect to find inside the 2014 Environmental Art Calendar.
Above: After the Chaos by Bob Verschueren
Spruce and ash trees
Arte Sella, Malga Costa, Italy, 2010
Environmental art uses the natural world to create ecological artwork. Check out more work by these ingenious environmental artists.
Lives of Grass by Mathilde Roussel
Soil, wheat seeds, recycled metal and fabric
Brooklyn, New York, 2010
Listen… by Olga Ziemska
Plaster hand casts and locally reclaimed birch logs
Oronsko, Poland, 2003
Sandworm by Marco Casagrande
Willow and sand
Wenduine, Belgium, 2012
Lonely Tree, Lonely People, The Tree Hugger Project by Agnieszka Gradzik and Wiktor Szostalo
Twigs, branches, vines and other natural materials
Poznan, Poland, 2008
Equilibri by Michael Grab
Balanced stones
Cattolica, Italy, 2012
Rivulet at Parker Creek by Linda Gass
Nylon tulle, fabric
Parker Creek, Mono County, California, 2000
Organic Highway by Mikael Hansen
Sycamore poles
Langeland, Denmark, 1995
Art-Eggcident by Henk Hofstra
Spray paint and synthetic materials
Wilhelmina Square, Leeuwarden, Netherlands, 2008
Ancient Language by Andrew Rogers
Stone wall construction
Atacama Desert, Chile, 2004
CDSea by Bruce Munro
Compact discs and limestone
Near Kilmington, England, 2010
Snow Drawings by Sonja Hinrichsen
Snowshoe prints
Rabbit Ears Pass, Colorado, 2012
