Foraging through the ornate gardens surrounding the McNay Art Museum, spectators can find an entrance to the immersive experience of Sandy Skoglund’s Enchanting Nature exhibition.
The quiet path into the exhibition can slowly but steadily turn into a luring symphony, attracting the viewers with curiosity about what may be behind the labyrinth-like path to the main pieces of the creative world that Sandy Skoglund brings to The McNay.
The entrance showcases “Joy,” a red fox-like piece, opening the fantastic storybook kingdom where creativity rules all the crafts and pieces blessed by Skoglund. “Destiny,” a blue polyester and resin-made dog, with its mute bark, leads the way to the next pieces to be perceived. The repetitive animals displayed in Skoglund’s pieces emphasize nature’s resilience, as Skoglund states, “The cats, the fish, the trees – are all survivors.”
Frames hang on the walls, displaying pictures of rooms, each swarmed by a specific object, usually plants or animals, that reiterate Skoglund’s style of repetition and vibrant colors.
Each frame displays a different scenery. “The Wild Inside” from Skoglund´s series “The Outtakes” portrays a restaurant filled with a reddish-grey color. An almost taupe color that depicts the scene as grim is then contrasted by the bright red of the wandering foxes, filling the room with their curious nature. The people in Skoglund’s pieces seem to take no mind in the events taking place, as if this were an ordinary event within their lives.
Skoglund’s work displays the juxtaposition of human culture and the environment, resulting in a conflict over which one dominates the landscape. Her fever-dream-like panorama scratches a part in the human mind that can be associated with a childhood storybook. When temptation can no longer be held back, a sudden glimpse of what lies behind the walls of the exhibition’s entrance leaves the viewer agape.
“Fresh Hybrid,” a scenery displaying felt-made humans walking around grass-like pipe cleaners, and human-legged trees with chickens as leaves, showcases the line between humans and nature, which, in this piece, appears to be blurred. A conjoined species of the elements that were once fighting to govern have now become one.
The piece leaves curiosity in one’s eyes as they wonder once more what lies behind the exhibition’s walls. Striding onto the next display, the viewer is welcomed with a gloomy environment. “Radioactive Cats” (1980) displays grey brushstrokes surrounding the space, resembling a New York interior, and cats flock the room with their neon green color and distinctive feline behavior. Invoking a comparison to the dogs and wolves of Chernobyl, who, despite the nuclear disaster, thrive as an evolved species in a new environment.
Lastly, the Enchanting Nature exhibition farewells with its last act, “Revenge of the Goldfish.” Dr. Seuss meets Wallace and Gromit in this nostalgic setting, which Skoglund invites viewers to relish in her last think piece showcased at The McNay. The implication of an invasive species, swarming around a setting in which they do not belong, ponders human intervention. “Revenge of the Goldfish” truly is a dream-like masterpiece, which explores the relationship between humans and nature.
Sandy Skoglund hands the key to her secret garden, The Enchanting Nature, to The McNay Art Museum in her immersive world of colors and repetition. Skoglund’s ability to manipulate different mediums within her work — such as photography, ceramics and felt — allows viewers to see her ideas in new perspectives. The exhibition truly displays a storytelling realm that artistically portrays the relationship between humans and the world surrounding them. This display is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The otherworldly exhibit will be on display until Feb. 1, 2026, at The McNay Art Museum, located at 6000 N New Braunfels Ave. General admission is $23, and student admission, with a valid college ID, is $18. Thursdays from 4-9 p.m. are free to the general public, as well as the first Sunday of every month from 12-5 p.m. The museum remains open throughout the week with the exception of Mondays and Tuesdays. To learn more about The McNay Art Museum and upcoming events, visit their Instagram @mcnayart.
