Stephanie Garon: Uprooted

Uprooted, a sculptural installation by environmental artist Stephanie Garon, considers humanity's interruption of nature through the visual metaphors of lines. Comprised of steel and English ivy, an invasive plant species sourced at Glen Echo Park, the artwork references the historical, cultural, and scientific lines of the land. Dividing lines define edges: the people that claim access to the land, the invasive species crowding the native environment, and the geological location of Glen Echo Park on a plateau of Piscataway and Anacostan land. Uprooted suggests a degradation of the ecological balance over time.

Click to read the full statement >>

Unveiling Ceremony and Reception
Saturday, April 1, 4 pm 

Join us for the unveiling of Uprooted. This event is outdoors and will take place in front of the installation, with a reception to follow. Light refreshments will be provided. 

Event RSVP coming soon!
(RSVP preferred, not required. There is no check in at this event.)

Biography
Stephanie Garon received dual science degrees from Cornell University, then attended Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Her environmental art has been exhibited internationally in London, Colombia, and South Korea, as well as across the United States. Her writing, a critical aspect of her artistic process, has been published in international literary journals. Her poetry book, Acreage, was published by Akinoga Press in December 2021 and is available at Politics & Prose Bookstore. She is a Hamiltonian Gallery Fellow, a National Park Service Artist-in-Residence in the Everglades, and a recipient of a Puffin Foundation Environmental Art grant.

Artist Statement
​My artwork investigates humanity's interruption of nature. The juxtaposition of natural objects against industrial materials exposes dichotomies of formality/fragility and permanence/impermanence. The natural materials, sourced by hand locally, convey themes of claim, women’s labor, and time. As ecologically motivated interventions, the physical process of decomposition becomes evident as the artworks change over time and emphasize the vulnerability of nature. These abstracted expressions visualize an uneasy truce. A contemporary twist on the Arte Povera movement, my work addresses climate crisis politics, and mediates attention to the materials themselves. Extensive research, including scientific and cultural investigation, are integrated into each artwork. Whether the viewer witnesses the changing installation or navigates their movement around these sculptures, the contemplative space provokes individual ecological consciousness for how we, as people, interrupt the natural world around us.

To learn more about Stephanie Garon's work, visit (www.garonstudio.com) or instagram (@garonstudio).

Location

Glen Echo Park 
(Near the yurts, off the main path across from the Carousel)
7300 MacArthur Blvd
Glen Echo, MD 20812
 

Satellite imagery through Landsat and Google Earth Engine provide a bird’s eye perspective on
Glen Echo Park’s land, a 15 mile span on the piedmont plateau. Over the past 35 years, urban sprawl,
water quality of the Potomac River, deforestation, and changes in the plateau shelf can be seen.

This project is supported by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts

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