Carolina Montejo, Earth Cosmos, 2016 (detail). Courtesy of the artist.
The photographs of Graciela Iturbide and Laura Aguilar will hang alongside work by six living artists when “Natura Naturata: Nature’s Action” opens at Descanso Gardens on January 24.
The exhibition, curated by art historian Claudia Pretelin, brings together eight photographers and artists whose camera-based practices document how landscapes, plants, and people adapt under human influence.
Iturbide, a recipient of the 2008 Hasselblad Award and one of Latin America’s most celebrated photographers, is represented by work from her Naturata series documenting cacti and plant species in the botanical garden of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Aguilar, a Chicana photographer who died in 2018, created black-and-white images that place the nude female form in dialogue with desert landscapes—work that challenged traditional depictions of beauty and earned posthumous recognition as a breakthrough of the Getty-led Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative.
The exhibition takes its title from philosopher Baruch Spinoza’s concept of “natured Nature,” which understands the natural world as an active system continuously shaped by forces both within and beyond itself. For Pretelin, who holds a doctorate in art history from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and spent a decade as Iturbide’s assistant, the framework connects botanical migration to human displacement, according to exhibition materials.
“This exhibition feels especially resonant at Descanso Gardens,” said Marina Erfle, the gardens’ director of education and exhibitions. “Descanso is a cultivated landscape that is continually evolving through human stewardship while remaining deeply responsive to natural systems. Natura Naturata: Nature’s Action reflects that balance and invites visitors to consider nature as something living, dynamic, and shaped by our presence.”
The six contemporary artists featured alongside Iturbide and Aguilar include Jackie Castillo, whose photo sculptures examine the history of land development in Southern California; Luciana Abait, an Argentine artist whose multimedia works address climate change and environmental fragility; and Rosana Schoijett, whose images explore plant silhouettes through revival of the physiognotrace, an 18th-century optical instrument that preceded photography. The exhibition also includes work by Maru García, Carolina Montejo, and Tricia Rainwater, a Choctaw multimedia artist whose self-portraits in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park explored the need for solace in nature during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several of the artists have relocated their practices from Latin America to California. Their parallel journeys of movement and resettlement mirror the ways plants, landscapes, and ecosystems adapt—often under the influence of human decision-making, according to exhibition materials.
The exhibition runs through May 31 at the Sturt Haaga Gallery. An opening reception takes place January 24 from 3 to 5 p.m.
Curator-led tours are scheduled for January 31 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Admission to the gallery is free with garden admission, which is $18 for adults, $14 for seniors and students, and $8 for children ages 3 to 12. Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Drive. Information: (818) 949-4200 or descansogardens.org.
