Garden Mandala, a 84 foot tall mixed-media commission, was recently installed in the atrium of the New Garden Hotel in Yixing, China. Teresa Camozzi was invited to work closely with the owners of the Garden Hotel to realize this ambitious work that reflects the nature and colors of this burgeoning area of China just outside of Shanghai. Camozzi’s Hong Kong art consultant made the initial fit between the client’s desires for the hotel and the artist’s experience creating dynamic public artworks that integrate nature and well being with dimensional form and color.

Based on the harmony found in nature, Garden Mandala has proven to be a culmination of Camozzi’s multi-faceted approach to art making. Camozzi was instantly inspired by the natural ecology in Bamboo Sea, a 50 square mile bamboo forest in Jiangsu Province. Her photography of the local flora and bamboo was then digitally translated to large-scale panels and painted in her San Francisco studio. Plexi panels printed with photographs join the paintings at angles to increase the dimensionality of the images. LED lights complete the effect, installed behind the panels and offering a dimensional vibrancy to the mandala.

Camozzi’s photography and quickly growing affection for the people and natural ecology in China have produced valuable personal relationships and thousands of photos that will provide new dimension for her future work.

Hotel guests will achieve different experiences of Garden Mandala depending on their physical location in the lobby. The site-specific artwork was devised to be experienced from the many vantages throughout the eleven-story hotel. As with all of her public artworks, Camozzi approaches each site as a stage for dynamic cultural interaction. She strives to make profound connections between the site and the viewer. The hope is that visitors will feel an urge to experience the site-specific environment as an extension of themselves, inspired by a sense of place, inclusion, and participation.