MEMPHIS, TN.- Wood, fiberglass, polyethylene, aluminum, resin, and wheat grass. These are just some of the surprising materials that make up the twenty-six large scale sculptures in Material Terrain: A Sculptural Exploration of Landscape and Place. The sculptures, which will be installed both inside and outside of the museum, will be on view from September 16 through November 26, 2006 at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

Eleven of the most avant-garde American sculptors practicing today, including Ming Fay, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Donald Lipski, and John Ruppert, are included in this over-the-top look at contemporary landscape-based sculpture. Using natural and synthetic materials, these artists have created unique objects that either change the outside environment or bring elements of the outdoors into the museum. The intent is to allow the viewer to directly experience landscape and its soil, stone, vegetation, water, sky and sound.

The artists presented in Material Terrain address provocative questions such as genetic engineering and modification of species, conservation, farming, and logging. Through their work, the selected artists create a malleable terrain that attests to nature's astonishing power and vitality. Chief curator Marina Pacini says of the show, "Since the beginning of the 20th century, sculptors have experimented with new materials and technologies to explore a variety of themes. This exhibition provides a snapshot of some of the fascinating changes and developments that have taken place. Whether exploring nature as a place of wonder, expressing nostalgia for a pre-industrial landscape, addressing the uneasy balance between nature and the man-made, or considering the cycles of cultivation and consumption, the artists in Material Terrain attest to nature's power and vitality, literally and figuratively. From giant pumpkins and deer light fixtures to grass skirts and concrete trees, the exhibition is visually engaging, playful, and thought-provoking, appealing to everyone from children to adults."

Material Terrain: A Sculptural Exploration of Landscape and Place is organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC, and presented by Grinder, Taber & Grinder, Inc.