At last we have stepped into spring, the cloudy grey skies are turning blue, the sun is finally visible again and the once bald trees and bushes are covered in blossom and bloom. An endless supply of painters has captured this spring landscape and the flower has always been an important symbol for them. This is why the Daniel Raphael Gallery in London set out to further explore the flower and its relation to art. Between May 15 and 31, they will host Anthophile, an exhibition featuring works from ten emerging and established artists with one common fascination: flowers.
Visitors will be seeing artists from a variety of disciplines: from Phoebe Cummings’ temporary clay sculptures to the mixed media work of Julie Cockburn, who uses found paintings and photographs and embellishes them with inexpensive materials. This technique is not far of from Gordon Cheung’s psychedelic spray paint on stock listings or Tracey Emin’s still life on newsprint. The exhibition also features the colourful photographs by Emma Bass, who translated the Dutch 17th century phenomenon ‘Tullip Fever’. Carolina Mizrahi’s series is inspired by the art of Japanese flower arrangements, aka Ikebana, traditionally made as offerings for altars. Rebecca Stevenson also takes inspiration from death in her sculptures of deceased animals and flowers. In contrast, Ann Carrington created a bouquet out of silverware, showcasing how the inanimate objects we collect throughout our lives ironically outlive us. To close it off, Rachel Dein has created tiles with familiar natural landscapes. Flowers are complex, romantic, a symbol of life and simultaneously a symbol of death. The exhibition allows a look into the botanical world and the inspiration and metaphor it has been for art.
Anthophile will inaugurate on May 15 and will be on view until May 31 at Daniel Raphael Gallery, 26 Church St, Marylebone, London.
Emma Bass
Carolina Mizrahi
Julie Cockburn
Ann Carrington