Art Meets Aquatics: Virginia Overton's Lily Pad Ponds at the Whitney Museum

On the Whitney Museum’s fifth-floor terrace, three galvanized steel tanks hold lily pads and blooming water lilies—an artwork by Virginia Overton titled “Sculpture Gardens.” Windmills harness Hudson River breezes to aerate the ponds. The minimalist vessels, like oversized film canisters, frame the aquatics with industrial elegance. We asked Florida Aquatic Nurseries to identify the varieties and share tips for creating a similar water garden at home.

The Installation

Overton, a Tennessee-born, Brooklyn-based artist, transforms architectural space with balanced assemblages. Her windmills (powder-coated galvanized steel) power air hoses—protected by directional rubber cable covers—that bubble through the ponds. Mahogany-colored pads complement magenta Nymphaea x ‘Red Flare’ lilies; for purple blooms, try ‘Ultra Violet’.

Planting a Miniature Water Garden

A collection of simple watertight shapes—galvanized iron, brushed steel, non-porous ceramic—in a unified finish creates a sculptural water garden. Keep planting minimal: one or two lily varieties. Florida Aquatic Nurseries suggests ‘Bull’s Eye’ for intense flower color, ‘Blue Spider’ for veined foliage with purple-blue blooms.

Care Basics

Choose lilies for your water depth; vigorous pads will rise above shallow water. Fill an aquatic basket, plunge it to the bottom—don’t worry if it shows through. For searing color, try ‘Hot Pink’; for similar alternatives, ‘Foxfire’, ‘Tanzanite’, or ‘Southern Charm’.

Industrial Meets Natural

Eastern white pine trunks serve as simple seats, contrasting with the museum’s urban cladding. The exhibit runs through September 25—a temporary fusion of art, ecology, and urban renewal. As photographer Megan Wilson put it: “The Whitney is helping to make New York sexy again.”