Five hundred Florida artists were invited to represent 500 native wildflowers in the FLOR500 participatory art project created by Miami artist Xavier Cortada. FLOR500 commemorated Florida’s quincentennial in 2013, and marked the importance of the moment when the history of our state changed forever, giving us a glimpse of what its landscape was like 500 years ago.
Eight Florida regions were assigned 500 native wildflowers to be depicted by the project’s artists. The Region 7 list of flowers was compiled by Dr. Richard P. Wunderlin, Ph.D., of the Dept. of Cell Biology, Microbiology & Molecular Biology at Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants / Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida.
Honored to be a part of the FLOR500 participatory art project, I painted flower #394, the Sweetbroom (Scorparia dulcis).
FLOR394 Sweetbroom, 8×10 oil on museum panel, 2014
An exhibition of the Region 7 artworks of the FLOR500 will be presented by Florida Gulf Coast University from May 17th through June 13th, 2014.
The Region 7 Gallery Exhibit coincides with the Florida Native Plant Society Conference and includes artwork by Dr. Bill Hammond, the society’s plenary speaker. During the conference, FLOR500’s Xavier Cortada will explain the Florida native plant oriented exhibition and invite folks to a wine and cheese reception from 5pm to 7pm. Click here for more info.
FLOR500 Region 7 Gallery Exhibit
Opening May 17th through June 13th
Main Gallery at FGCU Arts Complex
10501 FGCU Blvd, South
Fort Myers, Florida 33965
(See map)
The FLOR500 was first presented in Southwest Florida during a wildflower garden dedication last year at Collier County’s South Regional Library in Lely.
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