From calamity grows a traveling exhibition

Now through Apr. 16, the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Mass., is presenting “Bartram’s Boxes Remix,” a traveling exhibition of sculptural wood boxes. The exhibition is a collaborative project between the Center for Art in Wood and Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia.

“In 2010 a devastating storm knocked down a number of trees at Philadelphia’s historic Bartram’s Garden, home of America’s great 18th century botanists. John Bartram and his son William gathered and catalogued America’s flora and then sent seeds and other samples in special boxes back to collectors in England. The Center for Art in Wood asked artists from around the world to use the fallen timber from Bartram’s Garden to create art works that would honor the legacy of the Bartrams. The result is a show, Bartram’s Boxes Remix, with 40 very talented artists,” according to a statement from the galleries.

The show also includes sculptural objects and installations created out of salvaged wood and other materials found in Bartram’s Garden.

The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., presents “World of Wearable Art,” featuring wood, aluminum, fiberglass and other unusual materials to make clothing. The exhibit opened Feb.18 and runs through June 11.

David Walker, a woodworker in Juneau, Ala., has two entries. “Beast in the Beauty” is an ensemble made with maple and padauk veneers, while Walker’s “Lady of the Wood” dress features mahogany, lacewood, maple and cedar.

World of Wearable Art — or “WOW” as it’s commonly referred — is an annual design competition in New Zealand that challenges sculptors, costume designers, textile artists and makers of all stripes to explore the boundary between fashion and art, according to the gallery.

Contacts

Fuller Craft Museum, 455 Oak St., Brockton, MA 02301. Tel: 508-588-6000. www.fullercraft.org

Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St., Salem, MA 01970. Tel: 866-745-1876. www.pem.org

This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue.