Friday, June 8, 2012

Carloftis gives gift that keeps on growing:
new garden on grounds of UK Art Museum

Staff report

Kentucky native and award-winning landscaper Jon Carloftis is lending his creative touch to a new garden to be unveiled this weekend on the grounds of the Art Museum at the University of Kentucky.

The UK alumnus designed and installed the garden as a gift to the university to enhance the outdoor sculpture garden that surrounds the museum, which is located inside the Singletary Center for the Arts.

Carloftis’ creation – which he calls a “living exhibition” – will debut from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 9. The public is welcome to check out the new scenery, enjoy cocktails and listen to a lecture by Carloftis about incorporating art into a garden. Tickets for the event are $50, with all proceeds benefiting the sculpture garden. Those wishing to attend are encouraged to make reservations by calling 859-257-6218 or emailing anelson@email.uky.edu.

Each sculpture in the sculpture garden is surrounded by its own unique plantings. Each set of plantings relates to or enhances the sculpture it surrounds in some way, with a specific design and specific plants assigned to each work of art.

Carloftis and his crew also have added new plants at the entrance of the museum to welcome visitors.

The sculpture garden has been a recent focus for the Art Museum at UK, with 10 sculptures currently on display for those visiting the museum or simply passing by on campus. New to the sculpture garden are three works by Peter Woytuk, which were made possible by the museum’s Collectors Group, who actively support collection purchases through annual dues. The new sculptures join works by internationally-recognized artists like El Anatsui and George Rickey. The sculpture garden enhancement is made possible in part by a matching grant from LexArts.

Carloftis is best known for his rooftop garden designs, featured in Lexington, Louisville and New York City. He has been featured in more than 200 lifestyle and gardening stories in such magazines as Country Living, Martha Stewart Living, Southern Living and Town & Country.

He grew up on the banks of the Rockcastle River in southcentral Kentucky – the place that inspired his “love affair” with nature. He attended UK, graduating in 1986.

Carloftis is also the owner of the Rockcastle River Trading Company, a popular home and garden store on his family’s property in Livingston. The gardens he designed around the store and family home were most recently featured in the June 2012 issue of Southern Living magazine.