A collection of twenty five floral still lifes from Claire Rosen’s series, Flora. The large scale photographic work is in the classic Dutch master style of painting and is a reflection on beauty, light and darkness, transience, and metamorphosis. The work was shown in a centuries-old barn on the historic Warwick Furnace Farm property, where Claire and her family live and run a lavender farm. Floral details could be discovered throughout the space, with live botanical installations creating a whimsical transportative experience that can be appreciated by all ages. Floral outfits encouraged.

SPECIAL THANKS

Warwick Furnace Farm, Edward Rosen, Dolly Rosen, Lillie Rosen, Charlotte Rosen, Camille Rosen, Bob Tursack, Peter Philbin, Chuck, Sue and team at Brilliant Graphics, Fujifilm, Emma Mierop, Wesley Noonan Sessa, Kai Pederson, Holly Tatreau, Bill Schumacher, Brendan O’Connor, Jonathan Hayes, Mara and The Farm at Oxford, Pasture Song, Merrythought Gardners, Christina at Walter Pine, Nora Brantner, and Gaby Heit.

ARTWORK FEATURED IN EXHIBIT

ARTIST STATEMENT

There is a joy that springs from the cheerfulness of the blooming flower into the heart of its observer. This photographic series is rooted in the Dutch still life tradition, and elevates the majesty of the flower while drawing on a rich fine art tradition of symbolism and existential reflection through curated floral scenes. Sixteenth and seventeenth century still life painters in the Vanitas tradition communicated the impermanence of life through canvas, using depictions of luxury commodities outside the grasp of most as moral messages and reminders of the brevity of life. In our contemporary age, the impermanence of the natural world as a result of human action is the most pressing moral question of our time. The fleeting beauty of flowers is no longer just a symbol of the brevity of our own lives, but is a warning of the fleeting nature of nature itself.