Ian Berry's Secret Garden at Garden Museum London
A magical urban secret garden crafted from denim to delight kids and adults alike. Walk through the denim garden path and find roses, cacti, wisteria and dangling vines made with layers of recycled denim jeans and discover a brand new pond with koi and waterlilies all hand cut from shades of jeans.
Ian Berry’s Secret Garden has been show around the world in Musuems and galleries and this is the first time a site specific, stand alone installation has shown in the UK and will be exhibited in the Garden Museum’s central Nave space which is open and free to the public.
Ian Berry in the Secret Garden at the Garden Museum by Sam Hockley
Transforming denim which comes from cotton, a material made from plants, back into a new vegetal form, the installation will explore themes of sustainability in the textile industries and the importance of access to green spaces in the city for young minds.
As you wander through you will begin to discover some of the artwork from the young children that Ian Berry worked with in Kirklees in West Yorkshire with Shape North and find their drawings of their hopes and dreams for the future intertwined into the installation.
a part of the all denim pond by Ian Berry at Garden Museum
The Secret Garden will be viewable 13 July – 8 September, as well as during a number of family and community events at the Garden Museum throughout the summer. This will include the museum’s free community open day Neighbours Day on 14 July and the Festival of Fairytales on 11 August. An accompanying programme of activities and workshops for all ages inspired by the installation will be offered free of charge, including textile flower collage, denim rag rug, clay and felt cacti making and cyanotype printing.
Ian Berry: The Secret Garden and accompanying events are made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England.
Garden Museum - 5 Lambeth Palace Road - London SE1 7LB
16 July - 8 Sept 2024
Free Entry
About the Garden Museum
The Garden Museum explores and celebrates the art, history and design of British gardens and their place in our lives today.
Visitors will discover the stories of great gardeners through a permanent collection of artefacts and tools from gardening throughout history alongside botanical art, photography, and paintings exploring how and why we garden. Exhibitions, events, and community projects delve into art, architecture, plant science, food, sustainability, well-being and more, all through the lens of gardening.
Housed in the deconsecrated church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, the Garden Museum contains the burial place of John Tradescant, an early gardener and plant hunter. To preserve his tomb, the Garden Museum was founded by Rosemary Nicholson, an admirer of Tradescant, in 1977. At the heart of the Museum is a sheltered courtyard garden designed by Dan Pearson as an ‘Eden’ of rare plants.
News
News from the studio of Ian Berry
NEW!
Ian Berry’s, SPLENDID ISOLATION is out now and available to order online. The book is a collaboration with publisher Jap Sam Books in The Netherlands with the Museum Rijswijk to coincide with the Solo Museum show of the same name.
The book includes
· a foreward by Museum Rijswijk curator Diana Wind and Director Arnoud van Aalst
· 160 page paperback book
· Over 150 images in full colour (well, full of blue)
· Looks over some of his 15 years of making his artwork using only denim
· Many images show detail shots of his work that have to be seen to be believed.
The book was launched at the 2020 Virtual Art Book Fair (VABF) organized by Tokyo Art Book Fair (TABF) with Jap Sam. The fair was originally scheduled for Fall 2020 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. It then debuted at the Museum shop at Museum Rijswijk and was popular with visitors. You can now get it here.
The book comes signed by the artist Ian Berry and you can also request a message to be sent. We can post around the world with the postages below, including a special launch offer.
Postage
· £2.50 to the UK (Free with FREESHIPPING code at check out)
Postage outside the UK will come up at Check out.
Along with Museum Rijswijk and Jap Sam Books the book was made possible by the museum show principle sponsor Pepe Jeans London, along with Tencel, Famore Cutlery, Cone Denim and Tonello.