The Nave Gallery seeks submissions using botanical imagery for its upcoming show, Secret Gardens. This show will open the weekend of Somerville Open Studios, one of the Boston area’s largest open studios event.

Secret Gardens seeks to revel in the beauty and wonder of botany, but also explore how botanical imagery can symbolize ideas, attributes, morality lessons and more. We think of sexuality, fertility and feminine power when looking at O’Keefe’s flower paintings; conversely, of death, vice and virtue in Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. In literature, the garden motif is often used. Gardens are places representing wonder and innocence (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) that can quickly turn to a place of sorrow with a single misstep (Garden of Eden). They are places where secrets are buried and forbidden romantic liaisons take place. They are sources of nourishment—both literal and figurative—where life can end and, yet, rejuvenation begins (The Secret Garden).

Work submitted to Secret Gardens can range from technically accurate botanical art to interpretations of what could lie in a secret garden. All mediums will be accepted, and installations are encouraged. However, if you are considering submitting artwork that includes live vegetation and requires a degree of sunlight and water, please note that the gallery is only open on Saturdays and Sundays.If you are local to the area, access to the gallery during the week can be arranged.