Article by Liz Nye & Video by Megan Stouffer, New England Botanic Garden Staff
June 2023

Terri Chiao and Adam Frezza, the creative duo known as CHIAOZZA, envisioned their new exhibition at New England Botanic Garden as an art walk experience. Their sculptural work would be nestled into the Garden’s plant collection in such a way that visitors might feel as if a gallery was transported into a garden.  

There’s really no better place than a botanic garden for work so heavily inspired by the plant world. In the collection of pieces on display at New England Botanic Garden, a series called “Gemels,” Chiao and Frezza explore the curious forms found in grafted trees and shrubs. Using paper pulp, a medium that the artists make themselves from recycled paper—lots of it comes from photographer friends and neighbors, even their own junk mail—they mold sculptures invoking recognizable plant forms.  

While the work is originally inspired by nature, Frezza says, it’s been minimized and abstracted down to very simple shapes. “Hopefully,” Frezza says, “the viewer can start to make those connections back to the natural world and see the simplicity of plants and how that simplicity is the armature for all of nature’s wildness.” 

In addition to ten outdoor sculptures, CHIAOZZA: A Sculpture Exhibition includes a series of smaller sculptures, wall works, and a video displayed inside the Garden’s Milton Gallery. Visitors can experience the wonders of this vibrant and playful exhibit through October 15, 2023. Learn more and plan your visit today.