Next month, we will unveil our 2025 Catalyst exhibition! Since 2020, Planting Fields Foundation has commissioned contemporary artists to create site-specific works across the 409-acre site. Catalyst invites artists to produce work in dialogue with the landscape through a transhistorical approach. The program continues a legacy of artistic patronage established by the Coe family over a century ago and encourages us to challenge and expand our relationships with history as we explore this site from different points of view.
This year, we are excited to feature The Planting Fields Stand by 2025 Catalyst artist Sam Van Aken. Taking root this September, this living artwork blends history, horticulture, and community engagement. Four multi-grafted fruit trees will be introduced to the landscape, each telling a story of the site’s agricultural evolution—from its time as a Matinecock settlement to the Coe family estate and beyond.
Van Aken’s work is driven by a deep commitment to biodiversity and the cultural histories embedded in the natural world. Industrialization, disease, and the rise of monoculture farming have caused the extinction of thousands of fruit varieties, leaving only a few dozen in common use today. These heirloom varieties continue to vanish at an alarming rate, and with them their genetic material, and in many ways, our history. Van Aken’s work aims to call attention to this concerning trend, and to preserve these heirloom varieties by making them available to the public.
Once the fruit has grown large enough, visitors will be able to pick and enjoy peaches, apples, pears, and more from The Planting Fields Stand.
One tree will honor the region’s indigenous heritage, composed of fruit varieties cultivated by the Matinecock people. Another will reflect the estate’s history under the Coe family, featuring pear varieties recorded in their planting notes discovered in the Planting Fields Foundation archives. A third tree will highlight apple varieties from the first half of the 20th century, connecting to Long Island’s agricultural legacy. Completing the stand, a stone fruit tree will bear an array of peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries historically grown in the Oyster Bay area.
Sam Van Aken’s rendering of what the four trees will look like when they fully bloom.
This project invites visitors to rethink the industrialization of food and recognize fruit as cultural artifacts, rich with stories and connections to the past. Through this work, Van Aken creates an immersive experience where nature, history, and culture intersect, ensuring that the agricultural legacy of Planting Fields continues to flourish.
Don’t miss the upcoming events surrounding this exciting addition to our Catalyst projects:
Creative Spirits: An Evening with Sam Van Aken
Friday, September 19 | 6 – 8pm | $35 per person
Unwind with our spiced signature cocktail, Cider & Stem, and get a first look at Van Aken’s cyanotypes, rare botanical works, and his extraordinary installation: four living trees that each bear dozens of fruits. Artist talk included. Register now!
The Planting Fields Stand: Exhibition Opening
Saturday, September 20 | 11am – 4pm | Free with registration
A day of discovery for all ages—featuring hands-on cyanotype crafts, seasonal bites, an artist-led panel, and a self-guided tour of Van Aken’s groundbreaking horticultural art. Register now!
From Exhibitions and Collections Manager, Emily Leger.