Plants

In Luminous Portraits, Florence Solis Invokes Feminine Power Amid Constraint

When touched, the hypersensitive makahiya plant folds its minuscule leaflets inward, protecting itself from any potential threat. Florence Solis draws on this defensive response in an ethereal collection of portraits. Beginning with digital collages that meld figures and delicate, organic ornaments, the Filipino-Canadian artist translates the imagined forms to the canvas. Shrouded in dainty, beaded […]

Plants

Water Droplets Cling to Fluorescent Plant Spines in Tom Leighton’s Alluring Photos

Tom Leighton (previously) is known for highlighting plants’ photosynthesis process by swapping their characteristic greens for otherworldly fluorescent colors. Often focused on the nightlife of specimens found around his Cornwall home, Leighton photographs in a manner that turns common species into extraordinary subjects. His newest series, Spines, expands on this trajectory. The macro images concentrate […]

Plants

An Ikebana Artist and His Student Sow an Unconventional Approach to Flower Arranging

“I want to explode the idea of beautiful ikebana,” says Kosen Ohtsubo, one of the foremost conceptual artists working in the Japanese tradition. Since the 1970s, Ohtsubo has been unsettling the ancient art of flower arranging. Incorporating atypical botanicals like cabbage leaves or weaving in unconventional materials like bathtubs and scrap metal, the artist approaches […]

Plants

Wondrous and Mischievous Misfits Populate Rhea Mack’s Bubblegum Daydreams

On candy-colored paper, Rhea Mack draws a world in which all misfits are welcome. The Massachusetts-based artist lovingly renders curious characters with three heads, flowers growing from their palms, or a penchant for plump, strawberry hats. Mack has a soft spot for these strange oddballs who develop organically, often springing from her Sunday morning sessions […]