HG Fine Art, owned by AWAD member Lydia Furuta, is pleased to present Julia Whitney Barnes: Picturesque Botany. This marks Julia Whitney Barnes’ first Manhattan solo exhibition. The artist creates lush botanical works that merge careful study with imaginative recombination. Cultivated and wild flora coexist without hierarchy, forming intricate arrangements that hover between documentation and invention. Beginning with unique cyanotype prints on watercolor paper, she builds her surfaces by painting numerous layers of watercolor, gouache, acrylic and ink, often integrating multiple plant species into a single composition. This exhibition incorporates elaborate handmade frames that were inspired by various historic framing motifs created in collaboration with Kurian & Co.
Though grounded in painting, Julia Whitney Barnes’ practice draws on a wide range of media, including printmaking, alternative process and installation, a breadth that informs the layered quality of these works. The results are richly detailed images that honor the floral tradition while expanding it, offering contemporary interpretations of a time-honored genre.
The exhibition is open at 764 Madison Avenue (between 65th & 66th Streets), New York, NY until May 14th 2026, with an artist’s talk on Saturday, May 9th at 2pm.
Image: Julia Whitney Barnes, Picturesque Botany (Foxglove, Peony, Fern, Bluebell, Hellebore, Pollinators, etc), 2022-23 © Julia Whitney Barnes. Courtesy HG Fine Art.
