Molly Hatch: Physic Garden

The High Museum of Art has commissioned contemporary ceramicist Molly Hatch to present Physic Garden, a two-story tall, hand-painted "plate painting" that is now installed in the Museum's Margaretta Taylor Lobby. The "plate painting" is comprised of 456 dinner plates featuring an original design inspired by two ca. 1755 Chelsea Factory plates from the High's Frances and Emory Cocke Collection of English Ceramics. The High has acquired Physic Garden into the decorative arts and design permanent collection and can re-install it at future dates in smaller incarnations or in other locations.

The complete installation measures just over 20 feet high by 17 feet wide and is the largest ever produced by Hatch, who has created other works based on source material from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Hatch also designs her own line for national clothing, accessories and home décor retailer Anthropologie.

The Chelsea source plates are also on view in the High's permanent collection Gallery 200, which patrons may visit to view the historic material. The renowned Cocke Collection is comprised of over 300 works and is the most comprehensive collection of English ceramics in an American art museum.