Exhibitions

October 29 through Sunday, November 9, 2025

Dawn Redwoods–UC Botanical Garden

The UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley is pleased to present California Treescapes, an exhibition featuring woodcut prints by renowned Bay Area artist Tom Killion. The exhibition showcases his signature landscape woodblock prints, which are strongly influenced by the traditional Japanese Ukiyo-ë style of master woodblock print artists Hokusai [1760–1849] and Hiroshige [1797–1858].

Visitors will have the opportunity to view Killion’s stunning woodcut prints of California trees and flowering plants, including the unveiling of his new multi-color print: Dawn Redwoods, UC Botanical Garden. This new work was commissioned by the Garden and is being presented to the public for the first time.

This commissioned work features the iconic Dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) growing along Strawberry Creek in the UC Botanical Garden. Through the intersection of art, science, and history, visitors will discover the fascinating story of the dawn redwoods, ancient trees once thought to be extinct until as recently as 1944, when a grove of approximately one thousand trees was identified in a remote region of China. In 1948 an expedition to the area included UC Berkeley paleobotany professor Ralph Chaney, who returned with seeds and seedlings. These were distributed to various sites, and planted in the Garden in 1949. Now considered an endangered species, the dawn redwood is being preserved and protected by the Garden for future generations.

Celebrate the beauty of the UC Botanical Garden with the Dawn Redwoods—UC Botanical Garden image, now available in the Garden Shop as a beautiful giclée print or charming greeting cards.

Tom Killion and The Quail Press

Tom Killion was born and raised in Mill Valley, California, on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais. The rugged scenery of Marin County and Northern California inspired him from an early age to create landscape prints using linoleum and wood, strongly influenced by the traditional Japanese Ukiyo-ë style of Hokusai and Hiroshige.

He studied History at UC Santa Cruz, where he was introduced to fine book printing by William Everson and Jack Stauffacher. In 1975, he produced his first illustrated book on UCSC’s Cowell Press.

After a period of extensive travel in Europe and Africa, Tom Killion returned to California in 1977. He established his own business, Quail Press, where he published his second book, “Fortress Marin.” In 1978, Killion began graduate studies in African History at Stanford University, completing a doctorate on Ethiopia in 1985. During this time, he continued to create woodcut prints of the California landscape, publishing “The Coast of California” in 1979.

Throughout the 1980s, Killion balanced his historical research in Europe and Africa with developing his multi-color woodcut printing. From 1987 to 1988, he managed a medical relief program for Ethiopian refugees in Sudan and traveled with nationalist rebels in Eritrea. He documented his African experiences and combined them with his woodcut prints in his 1990 book, “Walls: A Journey Across Three Continents.” He then taught African History at Bowdoin College and, in 1994, was a Fulbright scholar in Eritrea.

Returning to California in 1995, Killion taught at San Francisco State University while collaborating with Pulitzer prize-winning poet Gary Snyder on his next hand-printed book, “The High Sierra of California,” which was published in 2002. They went on to publish two more collaborative books: “Tamalpais Walking” in 2008 and “California’s Wild Edge: The Coast in Poetry, History and Prints” in 2015.

Killion continues to work on landscape prints from his studio in Inverness Ridge, near Point Reyes.

We gratefully acknowledge the following individuals for their exhibition support:
Ricki Blau and William Reeves
Jon and Connie Hartung
The Johnson Family
Cathy and Jim Koshland
Jim and Linda Landau
James Mittelberger and Annie Mudge
Mary Porter and Douglas Koshland
Amy Roth and Bob Epstein
Laura Sawczuk and Luke Ellis

Plants and Pollinators

January 22–February 3, 2025

The University of California Botanical Garden is pleased to present the 16th annual Plants Illustrated Exhibition in partnership with Northern California Society of Botanical Artists. This year’s exhibition theme is Plants and Pollinators.

Participating artists:
Rubi Abrams, Cindy Barber, Gina Barretta, Mary Batchelder, Beatrice Bergemont, Bonnie Bonner, Carol Chung, Margi Connelly, Clytia Curley, Catherine Dellor, Pat Drier, Tamira Elul, Maria Cecilia Freeman, Mary Gilardi, Pria Graves, Mary Ellen Grimes, Elizabeth Hansell, Kaye Herbranson, Susan Hill-McEntee, Linda Kam, Jenny Kennedy, Pavlina Kopecna, Gwyn Lewis, Tina Locke, Lynne Lyle, Pamela Mason, Lee McCaffree, Dolores Morrison, Judy Paris, Sally Petru, Jan Reddick, Kitty Ritz, Koko Toshima Larson, Lindsay Waldern, Barbara Ward, Catherine Watters

Gallery hours: 10:00 am–4:00 pm daily except Tuesdays, when the Garden is closed.

Image: Detail Dawn Bat Pollinating a Banana by Gwyn Lewis

The University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley Florilegium
November 1–21, 2024

Experience an immersive exhibition of 75 exquisite botanical illustrations featuring the unique flora of the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley. This juried exhibition includes 31 new works shown alongside entries from our previous Florilegium exhibitions.

Participating artists: Rubi Abrams, Alexandra Balestrieri, Cindy Barber, Gina Barretta, Beatrice Bergemont, Helen Byers, Cynthia Byrne-Margetts, Margi Connelly, Ruth Cox, Erika Hargesheimer, Joey Hansell, Susan Hill-McEntee, Elaine Jek, Leah Kaizer, Linda Kam, Peggy Kelly, Jenny Kennedy, Gwyn Lewis, Lee McCaffree, JoAnne Osberg, Judy Paris, Sally Petru, Cheryl Perko, Janice Ransley, Susan Mark Raymond, Jan Reddick, Laura Sawczuk, Lisa Sharafian, Catherine Watters

Image: Cynthia Byrne-Margetts – Presidio manzanita

Works by Dr. Edward S. Ross
April 10–15, 2024

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of insects at this unique exhibition of work, presented in partnership with Essig Museum of Entomology.

Don’t miss this exhibition of photographs by Edward S. Ross (1915-2016), a pioneer in close-up photography. Ross traveled around the world to capture images of arthropods, plants, mammals, people, and natural landscapes.

Dr. Ross received his PhD in 1941 with the Department of Entomology at UC Berkeley, where he was a teaching assistant for E.O. Essig. Before finishing his degree he was offered the position of Curator of Entomology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in 1939, and two years later became chair of the entomology department, a position he held for 41 years.

His images appeared in numerous publications including National Geographic Magazine, Insects Close Up, and Insects and Plants. In 2018, Ed’s collection of 100,000 35mm slides were generously donated to the Essig Museum of Entomology by his wife, Sandra Miller Ross, to be digitized and made available for research, education, and outreach.

January 17–February 4, 2024

The University of California Botanical Garden is pleased to present the 15th annual Plants Illustrated Exhibition in partnership with Northern California Society of Botanical Artists. This year’s exhibition theme is Edible California Native Plants.

California’s diverse ecological offerings such as plants, mushrooms, and sea kelp have a rich history of human use. Some of these have become treasured for their culinary and medicinal uses, and their beauty. Visit this fascinating exhibition featuring 30 botanical illustrations highlighting both familiar and a few surprising edible plants!

Participating artists:

Gina Baretta, Mary Batchelder, Martha Bennett, Béatrice Bergemont, Bonnie Bonner, Janice Byer, Sophie Chartier, Margi Connelly, Ruth Cox, Clytia Curley, Catherine Dellor, Tamira Elul, Maria Cecilia Freeman, Kaye Herbranson, Susan Hill-McEntee, Laurence Hills, Mimi Kearns, Jenny Kennedy, Mary Ellen King, Heather Kostrzewa, Gwyn Lewis, Andrea LoPinto, Lisa Martin, Lee McCaffree, Dolores Morrison, Sally Petru, Laura Sawczuk, Sylvia Sykora, Barbara Ward, Catherine Watters

Image credit: Fragaria californica by Susan Hill-McEntee

August 16–20, 2023

Come see Berkeley—the campus, the town, and the Botanical Garden—interpreted through the eyes of artists over the past one hundred and fifty years.

The works on view display a range of media including paintings, prints and photographs—all depicting the landscape of Berkeley. The artists represented mostly lived locally, and range from anonymous to famous. They include William Keith, Edwin Deakin, Chiura Obata, Pedro Lemos, Dorothea Lange, and Eugen Neuhaus (founder of the UC Berkeley Department of Art Practice), among others. Community historian and history writer Steven Finacom has curated the exhibition from local private collections.

In 1873, the young University of California moved from its temporary quarters in downtown Oakland to the permanent Berkeley campus where two new academic buildings stood. It was surrounded by a few scattered homes and farms near the campus. Nature still largely prevailed in the form of sweeping views across the San Francisco Bay, rolling fields and meadows and winding streams lined with native riparian trees and centuries-old oaks. All set against the dramatic backdrop of the Berkeley Hills split by the cleft of Strawberry Canyon.

Visitors will enjoy an immersive exhibition showcasing the beauty and grandeur of the evolving landscape of the UC Berkeley Campus and surrounding city.

Image: Robert Kasimir, untitled, 1936, etching
Image courtesy of Steven Finacom

January 13–February 2, 2023

The University of California Botanical Garden is pleased to present the 14th annual Plants Illustrated Exhibition. This year’s exhibition theme is “Drought Resilience,” and features a diverse selection of species that thrive in low-water conditions. The exhibition includes images of California Native plants, along with a selection of species from around the world. This exhibition continues the Garden’s partnership with the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists.

Participating artists:

Nina Antze, Cindy Barber, Gina Barretta, Mary Batchelder, Beatrice Bergemont, Bonnie Bonner, Cynthia Byrne-Margetts, Ruth Cox, Clytia Curley, Catherine Dellor, Shelly Euser, Maria Cecilia Freeman, Mary Ellen Grimes, Elizabeth Hansell, Kaye Herbranson, Laurence Hills, Kristin Jakob, Mimi Kearns, Patricia Larenas, Tina Locke, Andrea LoPinto, Susan Mark-Raymond, Lisa Martin, Lee McCaffree, Susan McEntee, Anna Milogorodskaya, Dolores Morrison, JoAnne Osberg, Judy Paris, Sally Petru, Jan Reddick, Sylvia Sykora, Connie Van Ness, Barbara Ward, Catherine Watters

Image: Barbara Ward, California spicebush (Calycanthus occidentalis)

UCBG Florilegium Exhibition
November 18–December 1, 2022

The University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley Florilegium. A florilegium is a collection of illustrations featuring plants growing in a specific area such as a botanical garden. This Florilegium 2022 exhibition featured twenty illustrations of plants in the collection by 18 artists, who selected their subjects from a list of iconic plants. Centuries before digital or analog photography was commonplace, people relied on detailed botanical illustrations to identify plants and flowers. The 18 participating artists are continuing this rich legacy. Through a range of media, the works on view capture the plant information from root to leaf tip, and more. Viewers enjoy the delicate beauty of each artwork, its subject painstakingly rendered; a testament to the artists’ technical skill and love of plants.

The project was conceived by renowned botanical illustrator and instructor, Catherine Watters, and developed with the support of staff and Advisory Board members Laura Sawczuk, Gina Baretta, and Katherine Greenberg. Advisory Board Member and former Director of Collections Chris Carmichael and Curator Holly Forbes developed the list of iconic plants from the collection for inclusion in the project.

We invite the public to explore The UCBG Florilegium—where art, history and science tangibly intersect.

Participating 2022 artists include: Rubi Abrams, Latifat Apatira, Cindy Barber, Gina Barretta, Mary Batchelder, Hyunjin Cho, Elaine Goldstone, Elizabeth Hansell, Erika Hargesheimer, Linda Kam, Deborah Kass, Heather Kostrzewa, Lynne Lyle, Lisa Martin, Lee McCaffree, Sally Petru, Vi Strain and Catherine Watters.

Image: Latifat Apatira, Blechnum penna-marina