Floral Abundance: Part I

Hunter Dunbar Projects is pleased to announce Floral Abundance, a two-part group exhibition centering on modern and contemporary still life painting. Named after a 1971 painting by Lynne Drexler, the first part of the presentation brings together work by Marc Dennis, Julie DeVries, Lois Dodd, Lynne Drexler, Julia Felsenthal, Huê Thi Hoffmaster, Tony Matelli, Richard Pettibone, Eggert Pétursson, James Rosenquist, Julian Schnabel, Beth Secor, Joan Snyder, Jennifer Steinkamp, Sturtevant, and Andy Warhol.

Since 16th century Dutch genre painting, images of flowers rich in symbolic content and striking beauty have held a unique fascination for artists. Van Gogh’s Sunflower series from 1888 and 1889 drastically modernized the subject matter by emphasizing the artist’s perspective and technical experimentation over lifelike realism. In the 20th century, still life painting became increasingly experiential, further eschewing a degree of verisimilitude as styles moved into both abstraction and subjective realism. Floral Abundance takes this moment as its point of departure.

Andy Warhol’s appropriation of a photograph of hibiscus flowers from Modern Photography magazine in 1964 paved the way for a postmodern approach to still life painting. In another brilliantly absurd postmodern gesture, Sturtevant created a ‘repetition’ of Warhol’s flower paintings using some of Warhol’s own silkscreens. James Rosenquist’s Welcome to the Water Planet VI I (1988-1989) is a close- up view of petals and pistils with fragmented images of two women’s faces superimposed, a reimagining of the collage aesthetic that defined his large-scale paintings of the 1960s.

In Untitled (2022-2023) Eggert Pétursson emphasizes a contemporary perspective on still life painting. Pétursson’s painting presents a dense array of Icelandic flora that unites strikingly detailed brushwork with a wide-ranging palette. Huê Thi Hoffmaster and Tony Matelli build on the history of still life painting to create unique visions of flowers in both intimate and fantastical settings.

It is with deep enthusiasm we embark on this forthcoming exhibition, which illuminates the pivotal place still life painting holds in the imaginations of artists today, as centuries ago. Organized by Hayden Dunbar and Benjamin R. Hunter, the first part of the exhibit will be on view at Hunter Dunbar Projects from March 21 to April 27. The second part will open shortly thereafter.