“VETCH”: This oil on canvas work by Susan Mania is part of “Botanica: An Unlikely Garden,” a group exhibition on view through June 24 at David Scott Gallery at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors, 253 Nassau Street. An opening reception is on Saturday, May 20 from 2-5 p.m.

David Scott Gallery in Princeton is presenting “Botanica: An Unlikely Garden,” a group exhibition of seven artists from Central New Jersey and Bucks County, Pa., through June 24. An opening reception is on Saturday, May 20 from 2-5 p.m.

“With this show, I wanted to present a slightly alternative look at the botanical world,” said Scott. “Generally speaking, artists have a different way of seeing, often finding beauty in what others might overlook. While reviewing portfolios for the show, I found the most compelling representations to be those that were less sentimental and straightforward. This is typical of my own personal aesthetic, but the audience will easily connect with this group of work, finding the vibrant splendor of the natural world still very much on display.”

The artists include Jean Burdick, Susan Mania, Csilla Sadloch, Alison Scherr, Barbara Straussberg, Ann Thomas, Kathleen Thompson, and special guest, Léni Paquet-Morante.

Burdick said, “I create photo silkscreens from my landscape photographs recording light, shadow, and memory. I enhance the image by printing, painting and mark-making. Reimagining what I have observed, I reference the natural world with its organic structures. The resulting images suggest narratives of unfolding life cycles: birth, growth, death, and renewal.”

Mania said, “My paintings and works on paper explore observations of the landscape. I work with plants to make dyes, inks, and paints. From the many natural elements that arise in my work, I pull apart individual components to re-mix and organize elements, bringing a new interpretation through layered composition and a diverse color palette.”

Sadloch noted, “I scavenge for visually compelling objects and photograph hives, tree roots, dried leaves, wilted flower heads. I am attracted to the notion that moving lines, forms or color will energize a flat, two-dimensional surface. I am compelled by the observation that natural forms can be unrestrained and abstractly expressed.”

Scherr is a painter interpreting the movement of light and patterns in nature, images unaltered by the human hand. Using a mix of latex, acrylic, ink, pastel and spray paint, Scherr creates mainly large paintings on drop cloth, pulling paint across the canvas, exploring shapes in the wild or garden.

Straussberg is an abstract painter and paper artist working in Philadelphia. Her approach to art making is intuitive and experimental, employing such techniques as dripping, tearing and mark-making. She captures the feeling of being in nature by transforming the trees and flora around her into line and paint.

Ann Thomas said, “Working in oils, I paint landscapes and natural forms based on places I know well in Hunterdon County. I am deeply influenced by the colors of nature, and all of nature’s endless interlocking shapes.”

Thompson noted, “I am a writer and printmaker currently exploring Nalanda Miksang, the practice of contemplative photography. There is intention in every image, an attempt to document what I feel: a transfer of energy, a recognition of the natural and unique space in which I am viewing the subject.”

The gallery is located in the offices of Berkshire Hathaway HomesServices Fox & Roach Realtors, 253 Nassau Street. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Follow the gallery on Instagram @davidscottgallery.bhhsfoxroach.