Walley, AkikoFowler, Andrea2022-10-042022-10-042022-10-04https://hdl.handle.net/1794/27602Botanical gardens are a place where research is typically performed, but over time, the need for funding has pushed these institutions to exhibit art within their garden spaces. This thesis demonstrates how these exhibitions could be mutually beneficial for both artists and botanical gardens, and further, that the context of a botanical garden influences how these exhibitions are interpreted and understood. I examine these relationships through Kusama Yayoi’s outdoor sculptures and installations exhibited at the New York Botanical Garden, in their 2021 special exhibition, Kusama: Cosmic Nature. I argue that the space was used to create a symbiotic relationship between art and nature. Through this relationship, the major themes in the artist’s works (in the case of Kusama, concepts such as reflectivity, interiority, and obliteration) are amplified, while the garden is gaining the opportunity to extend their core mission to those who are not interested in plants otherwise.en-USAll Rights Reserved.Botanical GardenCosmic NatureSculptureSpaceTodor TodorovYayoi KusamaElectronic Thesis or Dissertation