BY SHALEEN DESTEFANO
In Danger of Blooming is a raw and immersive Month of Photography exhibition that brings together the distinct yet intertwined visions of Denver-based photographers Risa Friedman, Savanna Klear, and Cam Margera. Through their lens, growth is not a graceful unfolding but a collision—beauty clawing its way through upheaval. This show captures the disorder of transformation, the volatility of creation, and the fleeting elegance that emerges from chaos. It is an invitation to witness the fragile, and inevitable bloom of becoming.
How did the three of you come together for this exhibition? Did this project spark a new creative partnership?
Risa: We all knew each other through the photo community and flower industry, but never worked on a show together before. About a year ago, Sav visited my studio and we discovered some overlaps in life experiences, work we’ve done to heal, and also that we shared a dream of combining real plants and photos. When Ray and Anthony from Alto Gallery generously offered me a show for Month of Photography, I decided to invite a couple of other artists. I immediately invited Savanna so we could finally do a photo plant show. I also wanted Cam because I love his photography and he’s a flower person, too.
What inspired the theme of “rewilding” in this exhibition, and how did each of you personally connect with it?
Risa: I first learned about the term rewilding through artist Meredith Feniak, with whom I used to have an art partnership called We Were Wild. She is a botanical artist and we both became super interested in how quickly plants can take over people-made spaces when provided the freedom to do so. I later learned how important this is for helping the natural world heal from human-inflicted damage.
Then I came across the idea of personal rewilding in a book about spirituality and creativity by Adina Allen. I recognized so much of my own journey of healing intergenerational trauma while reading her work. I am a late bloomer (pun intended) in many ways and had to learn as an adult how to follow my own heart and head so as not to feel constrained by the path I was taught to follow.
Cam: The concept of “rewilding” was introduced to me by Risa during the early stages of our planning. Using my personal ideas to create what this means to me, I think of the words “liberty” and “response.” Namely, liberty to create art in any capacity through wild conventions that arise as a response to your creative trajectories. To feel liberated while responding to the untamed impulses to add floral and plant life to our installations was an important throughline that the three of us upheld as we started to bring this showcase to the good people with tasteful artistic appetites.
Sav: Rewilding to me means finally following my own path and I love the idea of rewilding our sense of self and creativity towards nature and healing. There are systems in place that make us feel like we are incomplete, not worthy, not capable etc. but when we start exploring and examining those systems we start to challenge what is in front of us and live a more authentic and intentional life. Using nature as an outlet to our creativity or as a therapeutic practice is incredibly powerful, a form of resistance, if you will.
Can you share a specific moment during this creative process when you felt yourself “blooming” artistically or personally?
Sav: I think something clicked inside me when I realized there really isn’t a boundary in what we could create with combining flowers and photography. I knew I wanted to do something more ephemeral to showcase some of my images and when I found I could print on silk and do some non-traditional displays, that really opened my eyes. This is the first time I have printed more than one image for a show let alone do something that has lived just within my head for years. I think the whole experience has been really rewarding and a huge confidence boost.
Cam: The feeling of incorporating pieces beyond their traditional media boundaries is something I became comfortable with – as Sav and Risa will tell you, I had a few moments of “how do I bring that all together” and “will this notion translate effectively to the public”. It was incredible to have the support of other artists you respect available – or to tell you to calm down because we’ve all been there – or overthinking is okay sometimes. I would say that “blooming” into the unfamiliar areas of my creative potential were made much more tolerable with this team.
Risa: I loved finding ways to create pieces similar to what I’ve made in the past but with a new twist. For this show, I turned some of my photo block sculptures into vessels to hold plants and I made a torn photo print collage that ended up measuring more than 18 feet. Going big and pushing myself to envision new versions of my work and then being happy with the results makes me more confident to push myself even further next time.
Your exhibit blends traditional photography with immersive installations. How did you decide to incorporate interactive elements, and what impact do you hope they have on viewers?
Sav: I have always loved exhibitions with something in the physical realm, non-traditional displays or something you can put your hands on. As someone who works in multiple fields as a photographer and florist I wanted a space where I could really push the boundaries of what we could display. I wanted to symbolize the life of a cut flower in some way. Flowers aren’t meant to survive forever and there is beauty in watching the stages of their life, including their death. It forces you to be more present and aware of what is right in front of you.
The Way of Flowers/Build Your Own Floral Arrangement is my interactive piece that will allow attendees to move and rearrange pieces of silk to create an ikebana inspired floral arrangement. Take a panel off, add a panel, flip them to the other side, touch and feel them. Creating a silk interactive element sounds fragile but I think it is the perfect medium for showcasing that human touch can damage and change something over time. The silk will start to fray, the edges will come undone and there will be physical evidence of the piece being handled.
Risa: I love creating art that isn’t “precious” – I don’t care if my work lasts forever and I love the idea of allowing viewers to become participants and bring their own creativity to the work. For years I’ve wanted to make my own version of puzzle blocks and I finally made a set for this show. I repurposed a vintage set and can’t wait to watch people play with it.
How did working collaboratively influence your individual artistic approaches? Did you find yourselves pushing boundaries you might not have on your own?
Cam: Again, the willful advice from Sav and Risa helped me turn those corners and push through moments of doubt. Knowing that I can toss this up in a details meeting with those two and receive proper feedback was truly a blessing and a sensation I encourage more artists to seek with collabs and team environments.
Sav: I really admire Cam and Risa, our individual styles compliment each other and even though we weren’t involved in each other’s photographs, we lifted each other up and the feedback received made me want to do even more collaborative projects in the future. I don’t think I had the confidence to do something like this on my own and they showed me that I am super capable and ready as an artist.
Risa: We planned every step of the show together (concepts, colors, structure, etc.) and therefore Cam and Sav’s perspectives and ideas definitely influenced my new work. Art-making can be isolating at times! It helped to have people I admire to whom I could send process shots as often as I wanted and they would send back amazing feedback and encouragement. I also learned about working with cut plants, preserves and flowers. I am a nerd for any sort of deep dive and am very thankful that my collaborators let me into their flower industry worlds and patiently showed me around.
The concept of “domestication” plays a big role in this exhibit. In what ways has the art world, society, or personal experiences shaped – or attempted to tame – your creative voices?
Risa: Growing up I was taught that my creative self-expression was weird in a bad way. Family and classmates told me I was trying too hard and should stop. I now understand that’s part of why I’m a late bloomer – because my external environment squashed my experimentation. That’s what I think of when I think of being domesticated: how being judged by others led to a fear of experimentation that was important for me to figure out who I am. Ultimately, I came to see that when I’m being “weird” is when I feel most myself.
Sav: It took me a long time to take myself seriously as an artist and a turning point was moving out of my home state. I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to fit a label that others put onto me back home. The quiet one, the easy one, the weird one; once I moved away from other’s expectations of me I was truly able to bloom as my own person and artistic being. Society is always telling us who to be, follow the same path as everyone else, have a traditional 9-5 but we don’t all succeed in the same way.
Cam: This was the perfect alignment of program design, featured artists and gallery location. I could be myself. No pressure when thinking about how you’re not a traditional specialist in the world of art. Nothing “weird” here, just a few multidisciplinary artists expressing their passions for photography, plants and floral. Modernized, polymathic, unapologetic art!!
Do you see your art playing a role in conversations about climate change and sustainability?
Cam: We wanted the use of living (or once-living) installation elements to start the conversation of how sustainable is “relative” and we hoped it would spark dialogue as we work with goods and materials that directly impact the global eco-webs.
Sav: I think the work we are creating showcases the importance of the natural world around us. There is always going to be something bigger and better with technology but we cannot turn a blind eye to the consequences we face to get those technological advances. We have one planet and we need to restore what humans have damaged. Let earth come back to itself, learn to live beside nature and not on top of it. I strive to be as sustainable as possible in an industry that can be super wasteful (floristry) and hope to inspire others to think about ways they can make an impact for a better future as well.
Risa: I save and reuse as many art prints and objects as I can – one of the best parts of being a collage artist! I also love learning about land that has been intentionally rewilded and I hope by incorporating that theme into my work I can help spread the word about the benefits of gifting land back to Mother Nature. The global climate crisis is so big that we should all be talking about it, and more importantly addressing it, in every industry.
Your work includes a mix of structured and chaotic presentations. How did you decide which pieces belonged in each format, and how does that reflect your personal journeys?
Sav: I really looked into the relationships I could create within floral structures and man-made sites. There is a balance of permanence and ephemerality in all of my images. Challenging the idea of what is traditionally seen in a gallery setting. This directly correlates to my personal journey as an artist. I tried to fit into a certain mold, but once I realized I could break away, I was able to bloom more freely.
Risa: I chose three of my recent favorite images for the more structured section. The images in the less traditional, more chaotic sections aren’t inherently more chaotic, it’s more about how I decided to use them – tearing them for collages, sticking them directly to the wall, altering their frames, combining them with real plants, etc.
Cam: The longest and more turbulent deliberation was what element can say the most and render as much of my soul as possible. Chaos isn’t my favorite flavor to create with – and conversely I need structure to guide my creative paths and prompt my realization that there were no rules on which shots to go with – I feel like my photos will settle in their homes within the mind of their observer.
What do you hope visitors take away from “In Danger of Blooming,” both in terms of artistic appreciation and personal reflection?
Risa: Given how hard things feel in the world right now, I will be thrilled if our show helps bring people a little escape and joy. Yes, we intentionally explored serious topics and I hope those ideas come across, but if I had to pick one word I hope people use to describe the show I would choose FUN.
Sav: I agree with Risa, there is beauty all around us and I think sometimes we need a little visual reminder. I really just want people to come away with a sense of hope for the future and a love for the natural beauty around us.
Cam: I want what my team wants, as well. For the public to leave knowing these artists had fun putting this together and that we genuinely like and respect one another as friends first, personally and artistically. I appreciate Sav and Risa both for making this such a memorable experience for me and you.
In Danger of Blooming will be on exhibit at Alto Gallery through March! Visit www.altogallery.com for more details.