In March 2024, British-American contemporary artist, Jana Nicole, brought her spectacular Botanical Scapes to Enter Gallery. Jana Nicole’s show was an illuminating celebration of the beauty of the natural world, and of the incredible intelligence of mushrooms, moss and mycelium.
Not only did the show look beautiful hanging in the gallery, but the Private View was one to remember, with a musical performance that had to be seen to be believed. Here’s what went down at the launch of Botanical Scapes by Jana Nicole…
Truly Unique
Jana Nicole is internationally-renowned for her collaged depictions of fungi. This new show was a chance for her to dive even further into these intelligent ecosystems, endeavouring to bridge the gap between art and science and introduce more people to the wonders of these astonishing species.
Truly Unique
At the centre of the show was Jana Nicole’s Uniques collection – a series of four artworks made in collaboration with prestigious Newhaven printmakers, Harwood King.
Each of these artworks, Sundown, Sunray, Petrichor and Lunar, were created using a pioneering printing technique which involved using five layers of digitally-printed acrylic to give the collages real depth. Jana Nicole hand-finished every layer, making each piece in the series completely unique.
While we think you’ll agree these artworks look fantastic in our imagery, seeing them up close was a real treat. It was fantastic to see so many people enjoying the artworks, and getting the opportunity to ask questions and discover how they were made directly from the artist.
All Things Fungi
As well as being one of Enter Gallery’s most popular artists, Jana Nicole is a big name in the field of mushrooms. In addition to winning awards for her hand-drawn and painted mixed media collages of extraordinary ecosystems, Jana Nicole is one of the co-founders of All Things Fungi Festival – the world’s first festival dedicated entirely to mushrooms.
Botanical Scapes therefore welcomed a crowd consisting of scientists, students, art lovers, and many curious folk, interested in dipping their toe into this fascinating scene via the medium of art.
One discovery we made on the night was that some mushrooms like to sing! At the show, we had DJ Brian D’Souza aka Auntie Flo on the decks, who gave an incredible demonstration of how he incorporates sound recordings taken directly from fungi to make his distinctive style of music.
Enter Gallery’s next event is Jamie Reid: A Lifetime of Radical Gestures – a reflective exhibition looking at the life and artistic legacy of punk icon, Jamie Reid. Join us at the Private View on Thursday 25th April from 6-8pm. RSVP here.
