Art That Grows From the Earth (9 Photos)

Admin October 9, 2025

From quiet forest goddesses to surreal illusions that blend wood, stone, and trees—these 9 outdoor sculptures don’t just sit in nature, they become part of it. In this collection, you’ll discover sculptures in Illinois and Switzerland, on Belgian lawns and British gardens. Some hold trees gently in their palms, others appear to rest beneath layers of snow. All of them invite us to see the land as canvas, collaborator, and living presence.

Large outdoor sculpture of a wooden woman with closed eyes and hands opening her chest, placed in a blooming park with green and pink foliage in Lisle, Illinois, USA.

1. Hallow — Daniel Popper’s Sculpture in Lisle, Illinois, USA

A monumental female figure made of wood-like textures stands with closed eyes and hands gently parting her chest. The sculptural body is open at the center, allowing viewers to walk through her, as though being embraced by nature itself. Springtime trees and blooming pink flowers surround her.

Mossy sculpture of a sleeping woman in the forest, her body blending into the earth with grass, ivy, and foliage; shown in both green summer and snow-covered winter conditions.

2. Mud Maid — Sculpture by Sue Hill in Cornwall, UK

This moss-covered figure of a woman rests on the forest floor at The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Her face is sculpted from clay and softened by time, while her hair and body are formed from earth and living plants, changing with the seasons—from green to snow-covered.

Large white sculpture of two hands cupping a growing tree in a park setting, sunlight casting shadows on the bright green grass.

3. Give — Lorenzo Quinn’s Sculpture Holding a Tree

Two white sculpted hands emerge from the grass, gently cupping a living tree. The hands appear soft despite their size, turning the act of holding into a symbol of care and responsibility.

Oversized wooden clothespin sculpture installed in a grassy field, visually pinching the earth to create the illusion of tension in the landscape.

4. Clothespin — Mehmet Ali Uysal’s Sculpture in Chaudfontaine, Belgium

A giant wooden clothespin appears to pinch and pull the ground itself. Cleverly designed and installed in a grassy field, the sculpture creates the illusion that the land is a soft fabric being gathered and held.

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White sculpture of a giant hand emerging from the grass, cradling a small tree in a park in Glarus, Switzerland.

5. Caring Hand — Eva Oertli & Beat Huber in Glarus, Switzerland

This large white hand sculpture gently cradles a tree in the middle of a lush green park. With careful shaping and scale, the sculpture blends seamlessly into its surroundings, turning a simple tree into the heart of a nurturing gesture.

Painted black-and-white human face on the inner wood of a split tree trunk, with bark and branches surrounding the artwork in a wooded area.

6. I’m Home!

This painted face, embedded directly onto the exposed heart of a tree, transforms bark into canvas. The artwork is visible only within a natural wound in the trunk, where the human face seems both protected and revealed by the tree itself.

7. UMI — Daniel Popper’s Sculpture in Chicago, Illinois, USA

A towering woman, constructed with intertwined “roots” and gentle hands, emerges from the ground. Her chest and hair are woven with wooden tendrils, making her appear as if she’s grown from the soil beneath her.