Here in Denver, Colorado, we are fortunate to have so many opportunities to find ourselves in nature: to explore aspen forests, to hike along pristine alpine lakes, and to climb majestic mountains. For centuries, people have been partaking in the health benefits of Colorado’s environment and weather. It has also become clearer, with the ravages and unpredictability of climate change, that these connections to nature can be tenuous and fragile but are more important than ever.
In our fast-paced and always-connected world, what better place than a museum to slow down and ground ourselves in the present? Many researchers and professionals agree that art and art museums offer beneficial avenues for personal and social well-being through broadening our mindsets, promoting creativity and connection, and allowing us to build our long-term intellectual, social, and psychological resources.
The exhibition Biophilia: Nature Reimagined presents an alternative way of understanding ourselves and our environment in the face of our growing separation and estrangement from the natural world due to developing technologies and inequalities. It highlights the ways in which a wide range of creatives, including designers, architects, and artists, continue to cultivate our deep psychological, emotional, and spiritual connections with nature. Of course, there are many prongs to these issues, but this exhibition does not focus on the greening of our built environment, sustainability, or combatting climate change. While rooted in science, Biophilia impacts visitors on an emotional level. Many of the works are performative or multisensory, and they all are eclectic and innovative responses to our inherent connection to nature. Further, many of them aim to foster connections between people, creating visually nourishing experiences that prompt positive emotional responses and transform our way of understanding ourselves and our place in the natural world.
We invite visitors and readers to reflect on their own relationship with nature and how it affects, or can affect, their physical and mental health and their attitudes toward their environments and others. Through the exhibition, we hope many become more conscious about their values and actions and are inspired to take action.
I’d like to thank Darrin Alfred, Curator of Architecture and Design, for this compelling exhibition, and Kit Bernal, Curatorial Assistant, Architecture and Design, for her research and contributions to the catalog. Many thanks must also be given to all of the lenders as well as the designers and artists who contributed their work and created new pieces for this exhibition.
Biophilia: Nature Reimagined is presented with generous funds from Luncheon by Design and the Adolph Coors Exhibition Endowment Fund, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).