Avery Mags Duff (b.1992)
Adolph Street Community Garden (center), 2021, 30” x 40”
Adolph Street Rose (left) & Adolph Street Yarrow (right), both 2021, 24” x 18”
Materials: Oil on canvas (center); Watercolor on paper (left and right)
Location: Akron Campus, Ground Floor Hallway, Outside Endoscopy Department, Green Neighborhood
Acquired for: Summa Health System – Akron Campus Wayfinding Project
About the Art
This trio of works by Akron-based artist Avery Mags Duff highlights the deep connection between urban spaces, community, and the natural world. The central oil painting captures the Adolph Street Community Garden, located just steps from Summa Health’s Akron Campus on land owned by Summa. In the distance, the Summa power plant subtly anchors the scene, reinforcing the garden’s place within the city’s landscape.
Community gardens serve as urban sanctuaries, transforming underutilized spaces into thriving ecosystems where residents can cultivate plants, grow fresh food, and build connections. Here, Duff offers a sweeping, elevated perspective, leading the viewer’s eye into the verdant mid-summer garden, framed by a protective wire fence. Traditionally, enclosed gardens have symbolized both physical and symbolic spaces of nourishment, protection, and cultivation, concepts that remain relevant in today’s urban farming movement.
Flanking the central piece, Duff’s delicate botanical watercolors pay homage to the rich tradition of plant illustration. Before the advent of photography, such images were essential for identifying medicinal plants and understanding their healing properties. Adolph Street Rose features a wild rose, valued for its vitamin C-rich rose hips, often used in teas and herbal remedies. The practice of documenting this plant dates back to at least the 6th century, when it appeared in a Byzantine princess’s botanical manuscript. Adolph Street Yarrow presents Achillea millefolium, a native North American plant named after the Greek hero Achilles, who was said to have used it to treat battlefield wounds.
About the Artist
Duff, both an artist and an “urban farmer,” has spent years nurturing Akron’s community and market gardens. Their background in both fine art and Spanish (B.A., University of Akron) informs their interdisciplinary approach, where art and horticulture intertwine. Through painting and gardening, Duff explores the relationship between plants, human bodies, and cultural expression, viewing plants as vessels of history and knowledge.
Where to See More of the Artist’s Work
Avery Mags Duff’s portfolio spans years of artistic exploration, with works inspired by community gardening grouped under Edge Effects. Their website offers a broader look at their evolving practice and ongoing projects in Akron’s urban green spaces.