Occupying a restive position between wilderness and civilization, gardens are a locus of man’s attempt to tame nature. Since the mid-1980s many photographers have created bodies of work that examine the diverse forms and rich metaphorical associations of gardens. Curated by Thomas Padon, AFA Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Programs, Contemporary Photography and the Garden brings together the work of sixteen American and European artists. Ranging from depictions of gardens as tranquil havens to places of tension where exquisite beauty seems to coexist uneasily with inexorable forces of nature, these photographs present the artists’ varied responses to the physical structure, atmosphere, and symbolism of the garden.

Sixty-seven works depicting gardens in Japan, Indonesia, India, France, Great Britain, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States evidence an astonishing diversity of design and scale. Photographs by Sally Apfelbaum, Linda Hackett, Sally Gall, Geoffrey James, Len Jenshel, Erica Lennard, and Jack Pierson comprise one group of works exploring the lyrical beauty and luxuriant atmosphere garden. Another group of artists, including Lynn Geesaman, Jean Rault, Gregory Crewdson, and Marc Quinn, play against the notion of a garden as an idyllic site for the pursuit of pleasure. Daniel Boudinet and Fischli and Weiss emphasize the garden as a work of art in its own right.

Published by the AFA and Harry N. Abrams, Inc., the catalogue includes essays by Padon; Robert Harrison, Professor in the Department of French and Italian at Stanford University; and artists Ronald Jones and Shirin Neshat.

Exhibition Itinerary: The Middlebury College Museum of Art (January 20–April 17, 2005); the Parrish Art Museum (May 22–July 17, 2005); the Columbia Museum of Art (October 21, 2005–January 2, 2006); the Tacoma Art Museum (January 14–April 30, 2006); the Cheekwood Museum of Art (May 13–August 20, 2006); the Hudson River Museum (January 25–