Nature as Art: A Lecture by Adam Dooling

Thursday, July 10, 2025, 2025

Presented in conjunction with the Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature, this talk explores the diverse and interconnected realms of artistic expression and the natural world. From botanical art and garden design to music, poetry, and performative arts, Adam Dooling, the Director of Plant Collections at the Chicago Botanic Garden, will explore how creative practice is informed by nature—and how nature, in turn, is shaped through artistic interpretation.

Through the lens of figures like Rory McEwen, Cedric Morris, Vita Sackville-West, Derek Jarman, and others, the lecture considers gardens as a vivid example of art made with living material, while also venturing into more unexpected terrain, such as classical and avant-garde experimentation, heavy metal aesthetics, and pop culture.

About the Speaker:

Adam Dooling is the Director of Plant Collections at the Chicago Botanic Garden, where he leads efforts to curate, document, and enhance the Garden’s renowned living plant collections. At the Chicago Botanic Garden, Dooling’s curatorial work emphasizes the integration of design, nature, and cultural relevance, and he plays a leading role in promoting cross-disciplinary collaboration across teams. Dooling’s career reflects a deep engagement with the intersection of horticulture, art, and conservation. Initially trained as a musician and having worked extensively in the art world—specifically at Spanierman Gallery, known for its significant holdings in 19th- and 20th-century American art—Dooling transitioned into public horticulture, driven by a fascination with gardens as spaces of cultural expression and ecological insight.

A graduate of Longwood Gardens’ Professional Horticulture Program, Dooling furthered his expertise internationally through the Great Gardens of the World TRIAD Fellowship, studying heritage gardening and classical horticulture in both England and Japan. His interdisciplinary approach is enriched by personal connections to the arts: his mother, a textile artist and botanical illustrator, and his stepfather, an art educator, have deeply informed his perspectives.