L.A. Louver presents The Flower Show, an exhibition that celebrates the flower in art. An opening art party took place on June 7, 2023. Not to worry, if you missed the opening, you can still catch the show in-person at the gallery through September 1, 2023. Also, you can view selected works online – CLICK HERE for more info.
The Flower Show spotlights the art of over 50 artists who work from different perspectives as well as cultural origins. These artists have both embraced and nurtured the floral motif for different ends. Works date from the early 19th century to now, with a focus on contemporary. A range of media is also represented including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, film and digital technology.
Rebecca Campbell, Where Have You Been My Blue-Eyed Son?, 2023, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm)
The History of the Flower
Ever since the ancient Egyptians symbolized the sun and creation with a lotus, flowers have held a place in art. However, within the canon of Western art, until the later decades of the nineteenth century the depiction of the flower was largely relegated to a lower echelon of artistic endeavor. Also, it has often assigned to the decorative and deemed “suitable” for female pursuit. Since the birth of modern art this has changed: the motif has given artists the freedom to explore a multiplicity of issues, including the body, spirituality and the environment, in addition to a universe of human emotion – from love, joy, abundance and hope, to resilience, nostalgia and loss – through modalities including expressionism, symbolism and abstraction among others.
Present Day
Flowers prove to be a rich source of inspiration for artists to this day. In an ever-changing and disappearing natural world, artists have increasingly looked to nature’s beauty, mystery, and its mutability. In turn, inspired by the richness today’s artwork, L.A. Louver brings together a diversity of contemporary art inspired by flowers, which we position alongside a small selection of historic works. As well as themes of symbolism, the body and identity, the exhibition emphasizes the use of the motif to address art’s formal concerns.
The Flower Show is installed throughout all L.A. Louver gallery spaces. A fully illustrated online catalogue accompanies The Flower Show with text by Elizabeth East, L.A. Louver Director and co-curator of the exhibition.
For more info about the full exhibition and the online catalogue visit lalouver.com/theflowershow
The Artists in L.A. Louver The Flower Show
Marcellina Akpotojor, Terry Allen, Tony Berlant, Pancrace Bessa (1771- 1846), Mary Beyt, Édouard Boubat (1932-1999), Rebecca Campbell, Paul Caponigro, Nick Cave, Dale Chihuly, Eileen Cowin, Petah Coyne, Lauren Doolin McMillen, Amir H. Fallah, Gajin Fujita, Charles Garabedian (1923- 2016), Yvette Gellis, Luis González Palma, Penelope Gottlieb, Glenn Hardy, David Hockney, Dion Johnson, Flora Kao, Rachel Lachowicz, Birdie Lusch, Heather Gwen Martin, Patrick Martínez, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Tony Matelli, Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Thom Mayne, Jacquelyn McBain, Shaun McCracken, Ana Mendieta (1948-1985), Adolphe Monticelli (1824- 1886), Jiha Moon, Kathy Moss, Stas Orlovski, Christopher Pate, Zemer Peled, Vanessa Prager, Astrid Preston, Paula Rösler (1875-1941), Sandra Mendelsohn Rubin, Alison Saar, Tsherin Sherpa, Raychael Stine, Don Suggs (1945-2019), teamLab, Jennifer Vanderpool, Matt Wedel, Faith Wilding, Tom Wudl.
CLICK HERE to find out about past exhibitions at this gallery.
On view: June 7, 2023 – September 8, 2023
What: Group Exhibition
Where: LA Louver, 45 North Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
When: Running through September 1, 2023
Website: http://www.lalouver.com/
