The Museums at W&L Present Emma Steinkraus’ ‘Impossible Garden: Dusk & Dawn’ The exhibition, on view starting Oct. 2, celebrates women artists in overlooked genres.

By Emily Innes
October 1, 2024

The Museums at Washington and Lee University are pleased to present “Impossible Garden: Dusk & Dawn,” an immersive art installation by Emma Steinkraus, assistant professor of art at W&L. The exhibit will be on view from Oct. 2, 2024, through May 4, 2025, in the Watson Galleries, with an artist’s talk on Oct. 3 at 5:30 in Northen Auditorium in Leyburn Library, followed by a reception in Watson Galleries.

The exhibition and reception events are free and open to the public.

Steinkraus creates colorful, imaginative paintings and installations about gender, mythmaking and the more-than-human world, and her upcoming exhibit pays tribute to more than 100 historical women artist-naturalists, expanding upon past versions of her “Impossible Garden” series.

The installation features two panoramic wallpapers that incorporate illustrations of flora, fauna and fungi made by women artists across the globe between the 16th and 19th centuries. Working in Adobe Photoshop, Steinkraus collaged their illustrations with her own hand-painted elements into a continuous landscape teeming with fruit trees, insects, mushrooms and small creatures.

“Impossible Garden: Dusk & Dawn” celebrates the achievements and ambitions of women artists who made art in overlooked genres, such as scientific illustration and botanical art. At the same time, the exhibition includes materials that invite viewers to grapple with histories of colonialism, slavery and gender oppression, as well as their enduring impact on the present. Steinkraus’ immersive landscape offers a portal to a fantastical world designed for both pleasure and confrontation, where human and non-human lives are deeply interwoven.

Steinkraus’ work is represented by 1969 Gallery in New York City and has been included in recent exhibitions at the UNTITLED Art Fair (Miami), Sow & Tailor Gallery (Los Angeles), WOAW Gallery (Hong Kong, China), the StadtPalais Museum (Stuttgart, Germany) and Hashimoto Contemporary (Los Angeles). Steinkraus has attended artist residencies at the Studios at MASS MoCA, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Wassaic Project, and the Blue Mountain Center, among many others. Recent awards include an Eliza Moore Fellowship at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in 2020 and a Helen Frankenthaler Fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center in 2022. Her work has been on the cover of New American Paintings and featured in Artsy, Burnaway, BOOOOOOOM, Art Maze Magazine and Juxtapoz.

The installation is curated by Steinkraus and Nalleli Guillen, associate director of curatorial affairs at W&L, and is made possible with the support of Washington and Lee University and the Museum Art Fund.

Additional Programming and Events

In addition to the exhibition, there are several tours and events on campus that will be free and open to the public.

Storytime at the Museums @ Watson Galleries | Oct. 16-17, 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Join the Museums at W&L, in partnership with the Lexington Rockbridge Regional Library, for a family visit to the fantastical world of “Impossible Garden: Dusk & Dawn” and special story time for little ones and their caregivers. The program will include stories, songs and movements inspired by the exhibition. This program is free and open to the public, with a session for children under the age of three at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 16 and 17, and a session for children under the age of five at 11 a.m. on Oct. 16 and 17.

Gallery Tour and Nature Bingo with Emma Steinkraus @ Watson Galleries | Oct. 19, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Join Emma Steinkraus for a mini-tour of her exhibit “Impossible Garden: Dusk & Dawn” followed by a game of Nature Bingo on the Woods Creek Trail. This event is open to the public and appropriate for all ages and fitness levels; attendees should come prepared with good walking shoes, water and sun protection. Space is limited and reservations are required: https://calendly.com/mwlu/impossible-garden-nature-bingo

The Museums at W&L are open to the public Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. To learn more about the 2024-2025 exhibitions, visit the Museums at W&L’s website.