Since 1998, Sylvia Peter has devoted her painting to the plant world. Her work ranges from large-scale, wall-filling portraits of plants to small, intimate pieces. Mostly, these are wildflowers or twigs from native trees and shrubs that she discovers in her surroundings. She finds her inspiration in the Allgäu, where she grew up and which she visits regularly, or in her adopted home, the Franconian wine country near Würzburg.
She has been involved with the international botanical art scene since 2002. That year, the London-based art collector Dr Shirley Sherwood acquired her painting “Ribwort Plantain”. In 2008, Dr Sherwood invited all the artists in her collection to the opening of the Shirley Sherwood Gallery in London’s Kew Gardens. The contacts Sylvia Peter made there formed the basis for the Forum Botanische Kunst, which she opened together with her husband Michael Junginger in 2009. In the gallery of the same name, they were staging a series of temporary exhibitions from 2009 to 2025 featuring contemporary botanical art from Europe, the USA and Japan. They organise the Art and Botany Gatherings, small symposia that bring together artists and scientists. The forum is housed in a handsome Renaissance-era vineyard estate, which the couple have restored in close collaboration with the State Office for the Preservation of Historical listed buildings.
Sylvia Peter founded the Botanical Art Network in 2014 together with Verena Redmann. The network organises annual artists’ meetings in various cities across Germany. She is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA), where she also serves on the committee for the international project “Botanical Art Worldwide”.
On the Forum’s website, you will currently find information on botanical art and the Botanical Art Network, as well as links to the websites of the artists who have been featured in recent years:
