Leaf
Denver Public Art 1%
2020.3.1
In celebration of the art and science collections housed within the Freyer-Newman Center at the Denver Botanic Gardens, this sculpture blends the beauty of nature with the rigor of scientific inquiry. Each of its 251 cells contain a silhouette of a Colorado native plant specimen held by Denver Botanic Gardens’ Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium. Included is the identification number of that specimen, which allows anyone in the world access to information about the plant, including scientific name and where it was collected. Each specimen is a snapshot in time, capturing the biodiversity of a particular place and creating a permanent record of the past that serves as a resource to help protect our future. The sculpture also attracts visitors to the center as an oversized depiction of a leaf, an easily recognizable icon for the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Freyer-Newman Center.