Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/975396
46 MAD Bobby McAlpine Hybrid sculptor-botanist Azuma Makoto is no shrinking violet. The Japanese artist pushes the boundaries of art and botanical design with conceptually radical works, which he produces in his Tokyo studio, Jardins des Fleurs. In his often bizarre and beautiful practice, he has set aflame thousands of flowers in a cave, launched a bonsai into outer space, and encased flowers in massive blocks of ice for fashion designer Dries Van Noten's Spring/Summer 2017 show. While his performance art often unfurls in exotic and far-flung settings, Makoto also has Dallas connections. For a 2015 show at the now-shuttered Zhulong Gallery, he suspended a dramatic five-foot bonsai with exposed roots, dirt, and handmade resin leaves in a steel frame. Grange Hall has procured four of Makoto's newest works, flora specimens set in acrylic blocks. Orchids, cherry blossoms, pine saplings, and other varieties are preserved with blooms, unopened buds, leaves, and exposed roots intact. $1,950 to $5,500, at Grange Hall, 4445 Travis St., ufgrangehall.com. Rebecca Sherman BOTANIST OBSESSION OH, TO BE FROZEN IN TIME AT THE PEAK OF ONE'S BEAUTY.