Sculptors Fez and Heather BeGaetz stand in front of one of their works, Scamp, on display as part of their exhibit, Vivid Creatures: Colorful Sculptures as Tall as Trees, at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. (Kevin Beese/Chronicle Media photos)

After three impressive, but limited on color, large-scale sculpture exhibits, the Morton Arboretum has some eye-popping works for visitors to check out over the next two years.

Vivid Creatures: Colorful Sculptures as Tall as Trees is the latest grouping of works to grace the Lisle arboretum’s grounds.

The vibrant exhibition by Portland, Oregon-based artists Fez and Heather BeGaetz features five larger-than-life sculptures of animals essential to the Illinois ecosystem – a white-tailed deer, dragonfly, sandhill crane, fox squirrel and brittle button snail – ranging from 8-23 feet tall.

“They really liked our collaborative style,” Heather BeGaetz said of arboretum officials. “So, we came to visit the arboretum and we’re thrilled to be here. Some of our favorite large-scale sculptors had shown here before. The first time I saw Daniel Popper’s work (Human + Nature) going up here, I said, ‘Wow, that’s the dream exhibition.’

“So, we were incredibly excited to come and we just started to dream what the animals would be and what the series would be right here on the land.”

Arboretum visitors walk past Generosity, a colorful white-tailed deer, along the arboretum’s Conifer Path.

Amy Scott, head of exhibitions at the arboretum, saw one of Heather BeGaetz’s works on a design website in 2022 and reached out to the artists.

“We were looking for something dramatic for the landscape, pieces that were colorful,” Scott said. “Our last few exhibits were wood or rustic. We were looking for artists who used color.”

The five new arboretum pieces are:

· Generosity: A white-tailed deer standing along the arboretum’s Conifer Path

· Spectra: A brittle button snail resting on the berm overlooking Interstate 88, where Joe the Guardian troll once stood

· Scamp: A fox squirrel welcoming visitors in Arbor Court

· Nimbly: A dragonfly positioned on the northwest side of Meadow Lake (on exhibit as of June 2 due to some damage during shipping)

· Cadence: A sandhill crane on the east side of Meadow Lake

“We’ve been heavily focused for the last year to year and a half on fabrication and pushing the designs across the finish line, working with engineering as well, to make sure the pieces are structural and standing,” Fez BeGaetz said.

Accessibility

Heather BeGaetz said she loves the accessibility of large-scale sculptures.

Spectra, a brittle button snail, rests on an arboretum berm overlooking Interstate 88.

“Anyone can relate to these pieces,” she said. “It’s important to us that children, families, people of all ages relate to them not only as someone’s art but as a place where they can become playful. They can experience a little bit of an alternate reality for a moment and step into the possibility a colorful world, where we’re all co-creators, can present.

Fez said he hopes the arboretum sculptures help people dive into their own creativity.

“We hear a lot of folks kind of relating their story to their artistic past or some process that they either use to have or didn’t ever have but had wanted,” he said. “So, hopefully these can inspire people to begin that craft again.”

The arboretum’s Scott said unlike finding the Trolls, which became a treasure hunt for arboretum guests, four of the five sculptures will be within walking distance of the Visitor Center on paved, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant paths.

Cadence, a sandhill crane, is on the east side of the arboretum’s Meadow Lake.

The BeGaetzes create large-scale sculptures and environments that have been exhibited internationally at art destinations, art and music festivals, conferences and urban spaces. Their exhibition credits include Area 15, an immersive art destination in Las Vegas and Riyadh; Electric Forest music festival in Michigan, Burning Man art and music festival in Nevada; The Onion Amphitheater in Alabama; and the Toronto Light Festival.

“This is kind of like our scale and size,” Fez said. “We normally don’t go over 30 feet.”

The arboretum exhibit is the largest series of sculptures that the BeGaetzes have made at one time.

“It is a wonderful opportunity to get to make five new works,” Heather said. “Ir is something really special that the Morton Arboretum does in commissioning artists to create a large body of work.”

Creations

Visiting the Burning Man festival in the mid-2000s ignited the creativity in Fez.

“I had my mind blown in some great ways to be able to see artwork like that on a massive scale,” Fez said.

In 2012, Fez felt like he wanted to create his own pieces and started with 20- and 30-foot tall lily flowers.

Shortly thereafter, a scavenger hunt led Fez to Heather “and learning that we could do this together.”

Heather would make her own dollhouse furniture at a young age and create her own clothes.

“My imagination was really learning about the nuts and bolts, but I never imagined myself being a large-scale sculptor,” Heather said. “I worked in theater as an actor, which is definitely where my artistic processing grew. The thought of ‘What is it like to be this other being?’ is still a big part of my work today.”

The BeGaetzes admit that when they work independently, they have very different styles.

“We’re always trying to build each other up,” Fez said. “We want to be creatives in this world, so that’s what we’re primarily focused on. Our individual works are very different. If I had my druthers in choosing, I wouldn’t paint anything.”

“We have our negotiations, like any collaborators,” Heather said.

“We have our wants in pieces. We also have compromises. We have a lot of production meetings at dinner time or after,” Fez laughed, “which is not standard in a loving, familial working relationship.”

Vivid Creatures: Colorful Sculptures as Tall as Trees is included as part of general admission at the Morton Arboretum. General admission tickets starts at $16.95. The arboretum is at 4100 Illinois 53, Lisle. For information and tickets, go to https://tickets.mortonarb.org/admission.

kbeese@chronicleillinois.com