Art in Bloom at Flinn Gallery Radiates with Natural Beauty

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1 Greenwich Free Press () Art in Bloom at Flinn Gallery Radiates with Natural Beauty By: KAREN SHEER January 30, 2017 Bee Patterns by Julia Berkeley Heck. Credit: Karen Sheer Flinn Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Art in Bloom, an exhibition of colorful, flower filled and nature inspired paintings by five regional artists, on view through March 8. The gallery s light filled space is overflowing with radiant paintings and drawings for a profusion of intensely colored blooms. At the opening last Thursday evening, a large crowd gathered in the gallery, many wearing colorful, chic floral patterns, all appreciating the vibrant spring vibe. Each artist represents a different style in various mediums: intricate botanicals in mixed media, expressive painting with layered geometric shapes, abstract shapes with organic references, translucent veils of color, and textile interpretations. The show was meticulously curated by Joann Terracciano and Claire Furlin. 1/17

2 The artists and curators for Art in Bloom. Credit: Karen Sheer A weekly flower arrangement created by one of seven different garden clubs will be on view at the gallery, inspired by the artists work. The first week s creation from Green Fingers Garden Club ( pairs with a painting by Jackie Battenfield, and sits beside it. The artistic creator, Janice Gardner, used pruned and painted mesquite branches, orchids, calla lilies, and dried palm leaves. Special attention was paid to capturing a similar color palette and essence of the painting, Janice explained at the opening. 2/17

3 Floral arrangement on display, which will change weekly, by Green Fingers Garden Club of Greenwich. Credit: Karen Sheer 3/17

4 A glorious orchid amid blue painted branches and dried palm leaves in the floral arrangement. Credit: Karen Sheer 4/17

5 An up close view of Jackie Battenfield s Batten Ghost Blossom which inspired the floral arrangement. Credit: Karen Sheer Enjoying the opening, posing in front of Bill Scott s work. Credit: Karen Sheer 5/17

6 Admiring the paintings at the opening reception for Art in Bloom. Credit: Karen Sheer 6/17

7 Curators of the show: Joann Terracciano and Claire Furlin. Credit: Karen Sheer 7/17

8 Janice Gardner (center) from Green Thumbs Garden Club explains the design elements of the floral arrangement on display at the opening. Credit: Karen Sheer 8/17

9 Artist Jackie Battenfield. Credit: Karen Sheer Jackie Battenfield makes prints and paintings of abstracted natural forms. Working from her own photographs, she converts these phenomena into compositions inspired by Asian art and culture. In a process she likens to the environmental forces that inspire her, she transforms paint into translucent veils of color on translucent mylar. Nature is beautiful by itself, she explains as her paintings reflect exact tracings of her photographs. Battenfield is a popular motivational speaker on the challenges of sustaining a successful career in the visual arts. She is the author of The Artist s Guide: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love, Da Capo Press. She was the first director of the Rotunda Gallery (now BRIC Arts Media) in Brooklyn and is arecipient of the Pollack Krasner Foundation Grant, and received her MFA from Syracuse University. 9/17

10 Admiring a painting by Jackie Battenfield. Credit: Karen Sheer 10/17

11 Artist Annette Davidek. Credit: Karen Sheer Annette Davidek s paintings are derived from diagrams of plants, organic life forms as well as old technological illustrations. She uses thin glazes as she layers images with a Far Eastern theme. I like working in full value and enjoy the richness of oil paint, she explains. Despite countless organic references, they remain abstract shapes repeated throughout the painted space as if suspended in solution. The softer coloring in her backgrounds seem like shadows of the foreground s sharper shapes and imagery. Davidek has been influence by Asian textiles and paints in a silk like texture, she adds. She has exhibited her work continuously since 1991 and her paintings are included in numerous private and public collections including Weil, Gotshal & Manges, NY and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, San Francisco, CA, and received her MFA from Hunter College. 11/17

12 Oil painting on birch: Annette Davidek. Credit: Karen Sheer 12/17

13 Artist Julia Berkeley Heck. Credit: Karen Sheer Julia Berkeley Heck explains during a recent trip to Costa Rica, she was inspired by a community that lives in unison with nature and humans alike a life of simplicity and vibrancy. Some blooms are painted with tight brushstrokes with either light or dark outlines, others are more open, as she lets the natural canvas breath. I freely play with color, line, texture and scale, she shares. I intend to capture and illustrate the pulse within a flowerbed, beehive or the sea to value the fire that every living thing holds. Heck is the creator of Tyawear, a company she has founded that sells scarves with her repeating, lush floral designs. Each one reflects imagery that relates to a specific charity. We tie a scarf, pledging to spread awareness about charitable organizations and their missions. She is a a graduate of Loyola University. Close up of Garden Spirit by Julia Berkeley Heck. Credit: Karen Sheer 14/17

14 Artist Jeanne Reiner. Credit: Karen Sheer Jeanne Reiner has enjoyed a successful career designing for major NYC houses such as Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden and Karl Lagerfeld. She then shifted gears, receiving her Certificate in Botanical Art from the NY Botanical Gardens in Reiner attended Philadelphia s University of the Arts and was awarded full scholarship to the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City where she received her BFA. She followed with a post graduate program in Brissago, Switzerland through Yale University. Her contemporary botanical art drawings are so intricate, colorful and accurate, it seems impossible that they are not photographs. I only work from live specimens, I either grow my own, or find many flowers locally at McArdle s Florist and Garden Center ( in downtown Greenwich. She is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists and has exhibited her work at the Greenwich Arts Society, Garden Education Center in Greenwich, Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, and Filoli Gardens in Woodside, CA and teaches at NY Botanical Gardens and Greenwich Land Trust, and resides in Greenwich. 16/17