Any book on botany is A-OK in our eyes, but when we caught a glimpse at Strange Plants II, we were truly smitten. Unlike any of its traditional botany-inspired counterparts, Strange Plants II is the second installment in a unique series that celebrates plants in contemporary art. Produced by independent publishing house slash creative agency, Zioxla, Strange Plants II features the work of 30 artists across a variety of media – painters, mixed-media artists, tattoo artists and photographers – exploring what various artists think about plants and how they choose to portray them in their work.
Editor and agency founder Zio Baritaux curated the selection of several artists who take a unique approach to incorporating plants into their work: Allison Schulnik, Misha Hollenbach, Francesca DiMattio, Zin Taylor, Katarina Janeckova, Stills & Strokes and Ren Hang among others. Strange Plants II even includes artists who do not typically use plants as subject matter, yet who all still rendered plant motifs in their own aesthetic.
Each artist’s work is accompanied by an insightful article or interview that delves deeper into the relationship between plants and people; Taylor talks about a wild jade plant he clipped at the Eames house in Santa Monica and smuggled back to Brussels, thus transporting the spirit of Charles and Ray to his own home. Hollenbach discusses observing a deciduous tree in his backyard as a way to teach his young daughter about the cycle of life, and so forth.
According to Baritaux, “The aim of Strange Plants II is to continue the compelling conversations about how we perceive and interpret both the bizarre and beautiful sides of art and nature.” Join the conversation by decorating your own cover using the stickers that come inside.
Skim the surface of Strange Plants II’s beautiful pages below, and purchase your copy here.
