4. Celebrating the Life and Work of Jackie Brookner: Of Nature at Wave Hill

Surrounded by the colors of fall foliage, Wave Hill in the Bronx presents the installation entitled Jackie Brookner: Of Nature. While Brookner’s work is not new to Wave Hill, this is the first retrospective spanning her entire career. Jackie Brookner (1945-2015) was an ecological artist, activist and educator, well-known for her work on water remediation, public art projects for parks, wetlands, rivers, and urban stormwater runoff – using local resources. This exhibit will connect her early sculptures and drawings to her lifelong work in that area, from her project “Of Earth & Cotton,” which traveled to museums throughout the southern United States, to her bio-sculpture “I’m You,” which has been reinstalled for this exhibit.

With a desire to act as catalyst for environmental and social change, she worked in tandem with scientists, planners and other artists to remediate difficult ecological questions like her efforts in Fargo, North Dakota, rebuilding critical stormwater basins as active green spaces for the community. This will be the first presentation of “Of Earth & Cotton” in New York. A selection of drawings that have been seldom seen, or never shown, will also be on view. Jackie Brookner: Of Nature is curated by independent curator, Amy Lipton, and Wave Hill senior curator, Jennifer McGregor. Located at 675 West 252nd Street in the Bronx, the exhibit will be on view through December 4, 2016.