Florilegia, Grimaldi Gavin - exhibition preview

From ironic statements to sexual imagery, a new photography show reveals a fresh approach to floral pictures, says Marcus Field
Fading blooms: Laura Letinsky's Hardly More Than Ever #23 (Picture: © Laura Letinsky)
Marcus Field14 January 2015

Who doesn’t love a fabulous picture of flowers? For centuries, blooms of every kind have been a favourite subject for painters, with masterpieces of the genre including Monet’s water lilies and Van Gogh’s sunflowers.

Following in the footsteps of such iconic images is a challenge, so when London gallery director Camilla Grimaldi spotted some thought-provoking interpretations of this age-old theme in the pictures of six contemporary photographers she decided to stage an exhibition of their work. “I didn’t want to do something obvious; I wanted to explore nature in a new way,” she says.

The show, at the new Grimaldi Gavin gallery in Mayfair from Friday January 16, is called Florilegia, a medieval Latin term meaning “collections of flowers”. The classical language may suggest a long tradition but the work is as fresh as a daisy.

Browse the below gallery to read more about five works in the exhibition:

Five highlights from the Florilegia exhibition at Grimaldi Gavin

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Florilegia is at Grimaldi Gavin, W1 (020 3637 0637, grimaldigavin.com) from January 16 to February 28.

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