Iowa's Stanley Museum puts plants at the center of a new exhibition

The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art is preparing to open its most wide-ranging cross-disciplinary exhibition since moving into its new building in 2022. Titled Plants and Power: Art's Botanical Imagination, the presentation debuts on November 17, 2026, and will remain on view through May 23, 2027. The project places plant life directly at the center of creative inquiry, gathering more than 50 works that examine vegetation from multiple perspectives.

Across the galleries, visitors will encounter paintings, photographs, sculptures, decorative arts, and multimedia installations. Each piece considers plants not simply as ornamental backgrounds, but as active subjects, physical materials, and working artistic methods. Together, the assembled objects offer a thoughtful look at how creators across generations have observed and utilized the living green world.

Works from the collection and beyond

To build the expansive presentation, the museum drew significantly from its own holdings while also securing notable loans from outside lenders. Works by established figures such as Grant Wood, Anna Atkins, and Robert Mapplethorpe form a foundational part of the exhibition. Their presence illustrates long-standing traditions of botanical study, printmaking, and photographic observation.

Alongside these collection pieces, the show highlights work by a distinctive roster of featured artists, including Teresa Baker, Nicholas Galanin, and Allison Janae Hamilton. Additions from Narsiso Martinez and Taryn Simon expand the scope even further, providing varied perspectives on flora, landscape, and human relationships to the soil.

A debut for video art

Among the focal points of the exhibition is a multimedia installation making its United States premiere. A video piece by British artist Jo Longhurst, built entirely around the climbing vine known as bindweed, will be shown in this country for the first time. The work introduces moving imagery into direct conversation with the still works displayed throughout the surrounding rooms.

By focusing closely on the creeping growth and resilience of bindweed, the installation underscores the persistence and quiet power of ordinary plants. Its inclusion reflects the exhibition's intent to pair historic gallery objects with contemporary lens-based media.

Art and science in conversation

The exhibition was curated by Tuite, who developed the concept with direct guidance from the university's scientific faculty. James Alfieri, an assistant professor of instruction in biology at the University of Iowa, contributed input to align aesthetic themes with scientific knowledge. This partnership allowed the curatorial process to draw from botanical expertise on campus.

According to the Stanley Museum, the exhibition represents its most wide-ranging, cross-disciplinary project since opening its permanent home four years prior. Through its gathering of diverse media and perspectives, the museum offers visitors an opportunity to consider how botanical forms continue to shape artistic imagination.