1920 North Forest Avenue, Orlando, Florida USA 32803

407-246-2620

Upcoming Exhibit

Barbara Sorensen: TOPOGRAPHIES

January 9, 2012 through April 18, 2012

Harry P. Leu Gardens and The Orlando Pubic Art Program are pleased to present Barbara Sorensen: Topographies. Barbara Sorensen is known for monumental sculptural installations that draw on geological formations and classical elements, but recently turned her energies to large-scale environmental vessels constructed of metals and resins, as well as new, experimental mixed-media prints and two-dimensional works. Often interconnected and chromatically bold, the new series emerge from and focus on her sense of the relationships between human and landscape.

This exhibition is being held in conjunction with a major exhibition of Barbara’s work at the Orlando Museum of Art.  "There is no doubt that the power of the earth is enmeshed in Barbara Sorensen’s works.  There is a tactile quality in all her pieces that speak of the cragginess and topography of our environment." Jan Clanton, Associate Curator Orlando Museum of Art

Barbara Sorensen, “Chain of Lakes IV” monotype, collage

Of her work Barbara states ‘I instinctively respond to the form, surface and texture of the Earth, echoing them in my work. I look at the landscape, interpret and reinterpret it, processing it within, and give it back, transformed’.

Permanent Collections

at Leu Gardens

Otfinoski Sculpture 

at the Idea Garden

With the financial support from the Friends of Leu Gardens, Inc., seven metal sculptures were commissioned for the Leu Gardens’ Idea Garden. Leu Gardens’ Director Robert Bowden discovered Peter Otfinoski and his pioneering and innovative work at the Maitland Art Festival in 1999. The City of Orlando’s Public Art Coordinator Frank Holt and Mr. Bowden visited Mr. Otfinoski’s studio in West Palm Beach to see more of his handiwork.

Months later, seven imaginative, whimsical pieces were specially made for Leu Gardens, representing the imaginative spirit and creative environment realized in the ten new idea gardens. The Otfinoski collection will be the first of many Florida artist-rendered, contemporary sculptures to be placed within the fifty-acre botanical garden over the next several years. “In this contemplative setting, in the heart of downtown,” remarked Robert Bowden “the insertion of sculpture in various media confirms the artistic marriage of landscape design and sculpture as art forms. Both have their own definition of color, form and texture and when placed together within the context of a large garden ‘room,’ the individual characteristics of each enhance the other.”

“Leu Gardens by design,” continued the Director, “has a quiet, understated ambiance reminiscent of a Central Florida of years ago. The placement of modern pieces in the more casual theme of the landscape will certainly enrich our guest’s experience. We are most pleased to add Mr. Otfinoski’s inspired sculptures to our collection.”

Mulford B Foster

Eight Paintings:

Acreage, Cycadaceae, Orchidacae,

Polypodiceae, Palmae, Cactaceae, Pencil Cactus,

and Mexican Landscape

Oil on Canvas

Mulford B Foster moved to Florida from New Jersey in the early 1920’s to work as a landscape architect; he soon formed his own business Tropical Arts Nursery. 

A self trained naturalist he traveled throughout Mexico, discovering 200 new species of bromeliads in addition to species of amaryllis, cacti, palms and peperomia. His discoveries include Aechmea fosteriana (bearing his name) and Aechmea orlandiana, named after the city of Orlando.  Mr. Foster introduced the Tabeuia tree to Orlando and their large yellow blooms can be seen blossoming around many Orlando city lakes. He was awarded the Herbert Medal in 1951 for his work in promoting amaryllids.

Mulford Foster Aracae (Ariod Family) 1992 Oil on canvas Gift of the Foster Estate

Mulford Foster Cactaceae (Cactus Family) 1992 Oil on canvas Gift of the Foster Estate

He published articles in National Geographic, The Smithsonian Annual Report, and The Journal of the Bromeliad Society. He published a book with his wife Racine, on their plant collecting travels to Brazil. He was the leading figure of the formation of the Bromeliad Society in 1948. He served as its president for twelve years and edited its bi-monthly bulletin. He died at the age of 89 as the "father of Bromeliads" and a world-renowned horticulturalist.  These abstract works of M.B. Foster earned him the name "passionate plant philosopher" and have been on display at the Maitland Art Center, and shows in New York and Pennsylvania before finding its permanent home at Harry P. Leu Gardens. The Foster Estate presented the paintings as a gift to the City of Orlando in 1992.

Frank Farmer

Flowers For Janette

Enamel and Aluminum

Rose Room

Flowers For Janette is a six-foot buy ten-foot piece by artist Frank Farmer in 1995. Frank Farmer’s pieces are well known in Miami, Philadelphia and New York. Created by painting enamel flowers on aluminum, this piece resembles an impressionistic rendering of flower groupings, yet the colors are strong and bold. 

Frank Farmer was quoted as saying he is "so happy to have the painting in such a splendid location- the room, the building and the garden. I hope visitors will enjoy it …and that the painting will become not only a focal point but, part of the fabric of a pleasant and civilized setting.

JAPANESE DOLL Gift from Mayor of Orlando's Sister City Urayasu, Japan. 1996.

"Doves of Peace"

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"Citrus Workers"

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Bill Rollo
Camellias
Watercolor

John Catterall
Grove Diptych

Chrissie Mervine, Tree of Life
Mosaic

Sarah Owens, Cillia-Pod
Stoneware

Why are we given a mouth if we are not to taste? Why are we blessed with skin if we were not to feel? If we are to enjoy anything out of life, it should begin with a celebration of the sensual.

These forms began with nothing but the intentions of showing the sensuality of the clay body in its raw honesty. This included incorporating elements such as the stoneware's rough texture, the naturally deep warm-orange color, and the way the clay lends itself to twisting, turning, bulging, and curving. The appreciation for these elements is directly related to my own experience with nature and a desire to appeal to our truest, uninhibited state of being.

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