Art & Design
‘I don’t paint nature. I am nature.’ – Jackson Pollock
The natural world has inspired artists and designers since the beginning of time. Here we share the work of talented painters, landscape designers, architects, photographers, sculptors and more who design, make and create work inspired by plants and the natural world.
146 Results
Paths of Least Resistance: A Conversation With Teresa Moller
Art & Design, ConversationsAcclaimed Chilean landscape architect Teresa Moller chats with Georgina Reid.
Reckoning with Marianne North
Art & Design, CultureChristin Geall reflects on privilege, art and plants.
Tracing the Sky: Ornithographies by Xavi Bou
Art & Design, EcologySpanish photographer Xavi Bou makes visible the invisible movements of birds in the sky.
Site Unseen
Art & DesignThree artists speak about how the land we live on is cleaved by borders or shaped by colonial desires.
Gardening. Radicalised
Art & Design, Conversations, GardensDavid Godshall chats with Georgina Reid about remaking landscape architecture.
The Lost Flora
Art & Design, Culture, EssaysWhat can the stories of plants teach us about living with extinction?
Earth Works
Art & DesignNeha Kale uncovers fertile ground in the art of Agnes Denes, Nicole Foreshew and Asad Raza.
In Praise of Quiet Landscapes
Art & Design, GardensGardening can be about seeing as much as making, suggests Georgina Reid.
The Art of Nature
Art & DesignNeha Kale meets four artists exploring new relations with nature.
Transformative Landscapes: Landscapes of Cohabitation
Art & Design, Gardens'The idea of creation is beautiful, and the human species is capable of so much creation. But an existing climate and ecosystem, it’s not a blank page’ - Thomas Doxiadis
Kate Seddon’s Glorious Gardens
Art & Design, GardensMeet Kate Seddon, a Melbourne landscape designer with a penchant for plants.
Kate Friend’s Botanical Portraits
Art & DesignBritish photographer Kate Friend's new series explores the relationship between people and their plants.
Designer Profile: Peter Shaw
Art & Design, GardensA garden ramble with designer Peter Shaw on Victoria's Surf Coast.
Caroline Rothwell’s Infinite Herbarium
Art & DesignAn interview with Sydney based visual artist Caroline Rothwell about plants, art, and painting with carbon emissions.
Ecological Treasure Hunting with Artist Penny Sadubin
Art & Design, PeoplePenny Sadubin's art explores the complexity, importance and beauty of endangered ecological communities.
Designing Abundance with Claudia West
Art & Design, PeopleA conversation with trailblazing landscape architect and ecological design advocate, Claudia West
Falling Awake: Paintings by David Whitworth
Art & DesignAn interview with painter David Whitworth about art, landscape architecture and poetry.
Leaving no Trace: Design as Fertile Practice
Art & DesignWhat if objects were designed as gifts to the world? A provocative essay by the curators of Plant Fever exhibition.
Orchid House: Sex and Extinction on the Gold Coast
Art & Design"People seem happy to talk about extinction if it involves a pretty flower."
Work the Soul Must Have: On the Photographs of Johanna Tagada-Hoffbeck
Art & DesignTake a stroll through the garden with UK based artist Johanna Tagada-Hoffbeck.
Landscape as Protagonist: New Perspectives on Cities and Nature
Art & DesignAn essay by Stéph Donse exploring the complex relationship between cities and nature.
Light in the Dark: Photographer Jane Fulton Alt
Art & DesignA chat about landscape, creativity and light with Jane Fulton Alt
The Art of Refusal: Lucienne Rickard’s Extinction Studies
Art & Design, CultureAn extraordinary essay on extinction, art and erasure.
Reilluminate: The Garden at Night
Art & Design, GardensAn interview with Allison Watkins - photographer and night-time garden stalker.
Artist Profile: Sally Blake
Art & DesignSally Blake's art practice explores the complex space between humans and nature.
Ectopic Plants: Life in the Cracks
Art & DesignPhotographer Chloe Ferres finds hope, and life, in the cracks.
Interrogation and Regeneration with Artist Cara Johnson
Art & Design, PeopleArtist Cara Johnson's works interrogate ideas around land management practices and the human relationship with the natural world.
Nocturnal Medicine: Dancing in the Dark
Art & DesignAn interview with Michelle Shofet and Larissa Belcic of New York based design studio, Nocturnal Medicine
Colleen Southwell’s Art Grows From the Garden
Art & Design"I am unashamedly hoping to create work that is beautiful, contemplative and uplifting. I want it to speak, but with an optimistic, inquisitive and gentle voice."
Alice Fox is a Natural Fibre Artist, Scientist and Gardener
Art & DesignA chat with natural fibre artist Alice Fox.
Case Studies: Questions of Home, Plants and Power
Art & DesignAn art project by Felicity Jones and Mark Smith exploring the cultural and environmental impacts of the Wardian case.
Touching the Earth: A Survey of Female Land Artists
Art & DesignLucy Munro shines a light on a bunch of acomplished and important land artists.
Fiona Brockhoff’s Sublime Garden Wonderland
Art & Design, GardensKarkalla is one of the great private gardens of Australia.
Landscape Architecture and the Garden
Art & DesignLandscape architect Bede Brennan explores the sometimes fraught relationship between landscape architecture and gardening.
Designer Profile: Juan Grimm
Art & Design, GardensWe chat with one of South America's most outstanding landscape designers, Juan Grimm.
Coming Home: The art of Tamara Dean
Art & DesignTamara's photographic work explores beautiful ways of saying painful things.
Design and Life: Xanthe White, Miguel Urquijo and Phillip Johnson
Art & Design, GardensThree outstanding designers with a deep appreciation for and reverence of the natural world.
Design and Life: Andrea Cochran, Kate Cullity and Sacha Coles
Art & DesignThree landscape architects whose combined visions are shaping the earth beneath our feet for the better.
Landscape as Protagonist?
Art & DesignAn exploration of what it look like when landscape plays the lead role.
After Nature: An Exhibition by Janet Laurence
Art & DesignCare, art and activism at Janet Laurence's new exhibition in Sydney.
Field Trip: Orongo Station with Thomas Woltz
Art & DesignA ride around an internationally renowned example of conservation agriculture in a farm buggy.
Why Listen to Plants?
Art & DesignA new exhibition in Melbourne asks what can we learn by listening to plants.
Daniel Shipp’s Cast of Ugly Misfits
Art & DesignMeet photographer Daniel Shipp's gang of ugly plant misfits in their first ever glamour shoot.
Green Light: Photographic Nostalgia from the Garden
Art & DesignYou know those brilliant pics of your mum and dad in flares and crochet tops? You can thank the plant kingdom for them.
Yappo: A Book About a Man and a Plant
Art & DesignYappo is a philosophical picture book for adults
Designer Profile: TALC Studio
Art & Design, GardensMeet a pair of plant-obsessed San Francisco-based designers of intentionally chaotic gardens.
The Bold and Beautiful Ceramics of Elnaz Nourizadeh
Art & DesignWe chat with Elnaz about her process, ideas and transitioning from Iran to Melbourne.
Talking Shop: Lisa Lockhart from Garden Objects
Art & Design, Culture, GoodsA chat with the co-creator of one of our favourite online garden ware stores, Garden Objects.
The Mysterious Art of Bonsai
Art & DesignLearn about this ancient craft with bonsai legend Jeff Barry of Chojo Feature Trees.
Edith Rewa Barrett is an Artist, Adventurer and Native Plant Lover
Art & DesignA chat about Identity, place and plants with artist and flora hunter Edith Rewa Barrett.
Dossofiorito: Design for Plants
Art & DesignWe visit the Verona studio of a talented pair of plant loving multidisciplinary designers.
Helene Schmitz and the Sublime Power of Nature
Art & DesignPhotographer Helene Schmitz's work explores the complex and often violent relationship between humans and the natural world.
Painting Lila’s Garden
Art & DesignArtist Samantha Dennison has turned neighbourhood flower thieving into an art form.
Designer Profile: Xanthe White
Art & Design, GardensFind out more about this talented and passionate NZ garden designer's work, design philosophy and more.
Natural Dyeing: The Beautiful Afterlife of Food Scraps
Art & DesignWe drop into the the studio of passionate natural dyer and textile queen, Jo Broederlow
Leila Jeffreys: The Birds and the Trees
Art & DesignWe catch up with an incredible artist to talk birds, bees and trees.
The Wired Lab: A Space for Contemporary art in Rural Australia
Art & DesignGet down, dirty and arty on the farm!
In Linnaeus’ Garden: What We are Made of Will Make Something Else
Art & Design, CultureArtist Penelope Aitken went to Sweden to imbibe Carl Linnaeus.
Embellish: A Photographic Series by Emma Bass
Art & DesignA new photographic series by NZ artist Emma Bass explores notions of truth, beauty and authenticity.
Among Equals: Empowerment for Women Weavers in Papua New Guinea
Art & DesignMeet Florence Jaukae Kamel - a woman weaving a better way of life for her family and community in Papua New Guinea.
Gardening is Not a Rational Act
Art & DesignAn exhibition exploring the relationship between art and gardens is popping up at Abbotsford Convent this spring.
Janet Laurence: Inside the Flower
Art & DesignJanet Laurence's most recent work asks us to re-think the way we see nature.
Talking Shop: The Plant Room
Art & Design, Culture, GoodsWe chat to the owner of the best little plant shop in Manly, Emma McPherson.
Designer Profile: Bush Projects
Art & Design, GardensMeet Bonnie and Sarah from Bush Projects - a punk landscape architecture practice in Melbourne.
A Waltz with Thomas Woltz
Art & Design, GardensThomas Woltz is changing the world, one hectare at a time.
Photography: Ken Marten’s World of Plants
Art & DesignWe dive into photographer Ken Marten's plant filled world.
Designer Profile: Sidonie Carpenter
Art & Design, Gardens, PeopleWe chat with Brisbane based landscape architect Sidonie Carpenter about her design process and philosophy.
20 Cheeky Questions: John Pastoriza-Piñol
Art & Design"The more rare, unusual and macabre the plant is the more enduring the influence," says this botanical artist.
Joshua Werber Sticks Flowers to his Head
Art & DesignThis NY based floral designer makes next level headpieces!
Painting Plants: Elizabeth Barnett
Art & DesignElizabeth Barnett plays with plants and paint.
Kati Thanda: An Ephemeral Landscape
Art & DesignExploring an iconic Australian landscape, from above.
Designer Profile: Andrea Cochran
Art & Design, GardensAn interview with one of the masters of modern American landscape architecture.
Soft City: An Exhibition by Penelope Metcalf
Art & DesignPenelope Metcalf captures the magic of everyday Sydney streetscapes.
Isamu Sawa: Without Water
Art & DesignPhotographer Isamu Sawa photographs floral escapees!
Cécile Daladier: Ceramic Artist
Art & DesignA chat with French ceramicist and flower lover Cécile Daladier.
Think Like a Plant, Think Like a Woman
Art & DesignClimate change, eco-feminism and the art of Janet Laurence.
Marianne North: Lady Painter
Art & DesignMarianne North was a trailblazing female artist who travelled the world painting plants in the 19th century.
Native Swinson: Bringing the Bush to Bondi
Art & DesignArtist, illustrator and textile designer Kate Swinson is bringing the bush to Bondi
The Artist and the Botanical Collector
Art & Design, CulturePassion, plants and money ain't good bedfellows.
Five O’clock Flower: A Photographic Series
Art & DesignLight, shadow, flowers. All the best things. A gorgeous photographic series by Jenny Peñas
Designer Profile: Sacha Coles
Art & DesignA chat with Sacha Coles, landscape architect and director of ASPECT Studios.
Mapplethorpe’s Flora
Art & Design, CultureWe take a look inside the epic book, Mapplethorpe Flora.
Azuma Makoto: International Man of Flowers
Art & DesignStep inside Azuma Makoto's world.
An Alphabet That’ll Make You Hungry
Art & DesignWe share excerpts from illustrator Charlotte Day's edible alphabet.
Across the International Date Line
Art & DesignKatherine Lu photographs the small island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.
Jennifer Orland: Ceramicist & Gardener
Art & DesignJennifer Orland's ceramics practice is inspired by her garden.
Amanda Dziedzic – Glass Artist
Art & Design"Plants are bloody amazing," says Melbourne-based glass artist Amanda Dziedzic. We agree!
Your Future Is Written In The Trees
Art & DesignArtist Caitlin Franzmann has mapped out your destiny in her 'Tree-telling' divination cards!
When Bread Met Honey
Art & DesignGet your fingers sticky with the Bread + Honey exhibition, on show at Hotel Hotel from 6 February!
Wonderplants!
Art & DesignSarah Illenberger's Wonderplants are just normal plants... with superhero alter egos!
Accidental Smoothie: Patterns, Plants & Art!
Art & DesignA whole lot of plants and patterns underpin Karina Sharpe's 'Accidental Smoothie' series.
‘The Awkward Gardener’ by Natasha Cantwell
Art & DesignA photographic exploration of defiant suburban gardens by Natasha Cantwell.
The Art of Nature: Karl Blossfeldt
Art & DesignThe photographic genius of Karl Blossfeldt.
NYC’s Park in the Sky
Art & Design, CultureHow NYC's derelict freight line became a wilderness in the sky.
Rousseau in the Jungle
Art & Design, CultureHenri Rousseau painted exotic jungles, but he was really the ultimate city dweller.
Oh, van Gogh!
Art & Design, CultureVincent van Gogh painted sunflowers, olive orchards and lemons – and he's up next in our artist series.
Camille Pissarro: The Impressionist Gardener
Art & Design, CultureWe're exploring artists who depict nature this month - first up is Camille Pissarro.
The Garden: Art, Dalliance, or Both?
Art & Design, GardensAn exploration of the idea of gardens as art, and the implications of the title.
Roberto Burle Marx: The Modernist Gardener
Art & Design, GardensRoberto Burle Marx was an artist, landscape architect, plant hunter and passionate environmentalist.