Airborne

Airborne by Moto Ohtake stands proudly near the front entrance to the Hardin Visitor Center greeting visitors to the Garden. This wonderful example of kinetic art was on display during the Sculpture in Motion exhibition in 2008.

Moto Ohtake references the “anatomy of nature” in his sculpture, but a “life-long interest in the manifestations of nature on a micro and macroscopic level” have encouraged him to juxtapose cosmic symbolism with abstract interpretations of simple shapes found in nature and representations of their crystalline structure. Airborne stands as a fantastical, esoteric tree with shimmering stainless steel leaves, a perfect juxtaposition of “opposing factors such as chaos and order, simplicity and complexity,” a reminder that all living organisms are intrinsically interconnected.