Hunter Dunbar Projects is pleased to announce Floral Abundance Part II, a group exhibition centering on
modern and contemporary still life painting and sculpture. The second part of the presentation brings
together work by Chase Barney, Elisabeth Condon, Marc Dennis, Julie DeVries, Lois Dodd, Lynne
Drexler, Julia Felsenthal, Huê Thi Hofmaster, Piper Lewine, Georgia Marsh, Tony Matelli, Alexandria
Mento, Erik Parker, Richard Pettibone, Eggert Pétursson, James Rosenquist, Julian Schnabel, Joan
Snyder, and Sturtevant.
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 (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 Hofmaster and Tony Matelli build on the history of still life 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 second part of the exhibit will be on view at Hunter Dunbar Projects from May
10 to June 22.