Gardener, UW alumna exhibits at Knapp House

“Uncultivated,” a new exhibition at the Knapp House, uses organic patterns of leaves, vines and flowers to render abstracts, landscapes and meditative subjects.

“Nothing gives me more pleasure than making the rounds on my plants, removing dead leaves, checking the soil moisture and, most of all, observing the buds and new growth,” says artist Jennifer Anne, so it’s not surprising that the seven sculptures and nine mixed media prints in her exhibition represent natural themes.

“The growing world is taken for granted. I hope that students and other visitors might take away from the exhibition a heightened awareness of and appreciation for the natural world. It’s reassuring to know that the rest of my life is not enough time to examine and draw all the leaves and plants on earth,” says Anne, a UW alumna who earned her BFA in 1994 and her MFA in 1997.

The exhibition, free and open to the public, will be on view at Knapp House, 130 E. Gilman St., until Tuesday, Dec. 21. Visitors are welcome Saturdays and Sundays, noon-5 p.m., and Monday-Friday by appointment. To schedule and appointment, e-mail knapphouse@yahoo.com.

UW–Madison purchased Knapp House, the former Wisconsin governor’s mansion in 1951 with funds from the Kemper Knapp endowment. The house itself, dating from 1854 and declared a city landmark in 1972, also has served as a private residence and, since the late 1950s, a residential community for UW–Madison graduate students. For more information, visit the Knapp House Web site.