Because what goes together better, right?
Non-profit gallery and project space Cleopatra’s had the first of 4 Sunday evening opening receptions for the show “Painting and Flowers”, a show that features the paintings of Nolan Simon alongside a new interpretation of flower arrangement by a different artist each week.
Last Sunday Simon’s paintings were paired with artist Carissa Rodriguez who asked Ikebana master artist to arrange this week’s “flowers” part of the show.
I was there to see this beauty come together.
Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging. It is highly disciplined and considers the shapes and forms of not just the blooms but the stems, the leaves, and spaces in between and around. Awareness and consideration of the arrangement as a whole composition while focused on the specific materials has a relationship to painting in a way that yes, sounds quaint enough, but reveals some interesting overlap.
And three of Simon’s paintings from this week:
If you find yourself in NYC, or better yet, the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn, on January 27th or February 3rd or 10th, stop in and see the weekly pairing.
