Longwood Gardens Announces New Exhibition Light: Installations by Bruce Munro

Acclaimed British artist returns with new exhibition June 30-October 30, 2022

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa., Sept. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Longwood Gardens, one of the world's great horticultural displays, announced today that it will welcome back artist Bruce Munro to present Light: Installations by Bruce Munro, a garden-wide exhibition on view June 30 through October 30, 2022.

"Longwood is thrilled to present the work of Bruce Munro 10 years after the success of his debut exhibition in our Gardens," said Longwood Gardens President and CEO Paul B. Redman. "Since he first wowed our guests, Bruce has gone on to delight audiences across the United States and around the globe with his imaginative and beautiful artwork," said Redman. "We are excited to present a collection of new, unique installations by Bruce that will enchant and amaze our guests yet again," he said.

Light will feature an entirely new exhibition with eight installations spanning indoors and outdoors. Highlights include Field of Light, featuring 18,000 illuminated stemmed orbs lit by fiber optics along Longwood's Large Lake. Munro's imaginative sculpture will also be sited at the Small Lake, Orchard, Chimes Tower, and other locations throughout the Gardens.

Inside the Conservatory, the Exhibition Hall is transformed into a shimmering audio-visual installation telling the story of Longwood's waterlilies, using an array of overlapping CDs, while in the East Conservatory a monumental geodesic sphere incorporating 1,820 recyclable bottles will radiate light.

"Returning to Longwood Gardens is a bit like coming home," said Bruce Munro. "I am excited to return to this remarkable place and to share with guests new works that I hope will inspire them through the interplay of nature, landscape, and light."

Light: Installations by Bruce Munro marks 10 years since Munro's US debut solo exhibition of the same name at Longwood Gardens. Light will be on view June 30 through October 30, Thursday through Sunday evenings. Tickets will go on sale March 7. For more information, visit longwoodgardens.org.

About Longwood Gardens

In 1906, industrialist Pierre du Pont (1870-1954) purchased a small farm near Kennett Square, PA, to save a collection of historic trees from being sold for lumber. Today, Longwood Gardens is one of the world's great horticultural displays, encompassing 1,100 acres of dazzling gardens, woodlands, meadows, fountains, 10,010-pipe Aeolian organ and grand conservatory. Longwood continues the mission set forth by Mr. du Pont to inspire people through excellence in garden design, horticulture, education, and the performing arts, through programming that includes exhibitions, musical performances by leading artists, renowned horticulture education programs, horticulture research, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. Open daily, Longwood is one of more than 30 gardens in the Philadelphia region known as America's Garden Capital. For more information, visit longwoodgardens.org.

About the Artist

Bruce Munro (dual citizen England/Australia) is best known for producing large immersive light-based installations, which often employ a massing of components by the thousands. Born in London in 1959, he completed a B.A. in Fine Arts at Bristol in 1982. Shortly after he moved to Sydney where he worked in design and lighting. Returning to England in 1992, he and his wife settled in Wiltshire and raised four children. Following his father's death in 1999, Munro felt compelled to resume art making on a personal level. His work has been shown at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild Collection, Buckinghamshire; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Munro's work is held in museum collections internationally including the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.  For more information on Bruce Munro and his work, visit www.brucemunro.co.uk.