Art in Bloom 2022

The arrangement takes inspiration from the title of the artist’s series, “Ba-O-Ba”, or bath of color. The minimal use of floral material helps to establish the essential form and neon glow of the artwork.

Moonlight illuminates the path.

The painting is in the impressionist style, where colors work together to suggest a serene setting on the banks of the Celtic Sea. The moon, however, is vivid and unmistakable at the top of the painting. Our arrangement turns the world upside down featuring the full moon at the base of the composition and capturing the blurring of the landscape, water, and sky.

Rosenquist’s Coin Noir depicts three distinct images of moon, molecule, and nuclear particle, backed by a black starry sky. Within this portrayal of the universe, he creates tension by making each of the three images equal in size, the opposite of reality. Our interpretation was inspired by the artist’s vision of the unexplained through his terrestrial pop art design.

Ann McCoy’s hand-colored diptych is a dreamy, blue subconscious landscape. The co-habitation of galactic elements and sea life is echoed within our colorful, whimsical interpretation. We were drawn to the rhythm and verticality of the piece and McCoy’s bold use of color.

Our design’s focus was to replicate the strong linear elements, while focusing on the simplicity of the subject. We were very aware of the importance of the black background, duplicating it with the matte black tall vases. By spraying the Harry Lauder branches a moss green, we were able to reproduce the tone of the uprights in the painting. Artistic license allowed us to use our discretion when adding flowers to the arrangement – flowers that both emphasize the symmetry of the leaves while adding a pop of color.

Jun Kaneko creates large-scale ceramic sculptures, exploring the effects of repeated abstract shapes and patterns. Our floral design celebrates these geometric shapes and bold colors, creating visual order and playful form. Dramatic oranges, marigolds, and lavenders are intended to mirror the patterns, mimicking the energy of this whimsical sculpture.

Our inspiration artwork contains the preface to a poem written in traditional Chinese, Lantingji Xu, by the respected Chinese calligrapher, Wang Xizhi. The translation will be our statement:

“As for this day, the sky is clear and the air is fresh; the mild breeze greets us.

I look up at the immense universe.

I look down at myriad works [of poetry].

As our eyes wander, so do our minds too. Indeed, it is a pure delight for all our senses.”

We were inspired by the artist’s perspective as a Chinese American, her use of history, and various mediums – like wood, luminescence, and color. We found she often uses rain-like visuals in her pieces which are an interesting juxtaposition to her interest in the American Dust Bowl depression era. These are some of the elements we used as visual guides as we created this arrangement.

Barbara Takenaga’s ornamental and conceptual works often evoke curatorial references to celestial bodies. Critics have drawn connections between her work, the Big Bang theory, and the night sky. Takenaga’s artwork Wheel (Zozma) inspires us, its contradiction of small dimensions aspiring to represent cosmic spiraling, a miniature galaxy.

In the style of Jacob Hashimoto, in which he prefers unconventional materials arranged in ways that force the viewer to move around the work and enter into his exhibit space, we have used neutral-colored wooden octagonal pieces and minimalist arrangements. The arrangements are in the traditional Japanese style with splashes of highlighting color.

The rose clusters represent lovers, joined but distinct. The dark flower is the unknown in the relationship, the “black hole” that keeps interest yet doesn’t break the bond. The imperfect container is chipped like the porcelain couple. The dark stones represent the foundation of rock-solid love.