Millefiori is the equivalent Italian term and describes a decorative style of mosaic and glass art.  The Frances van Dammen’s  tondo painting Luna –rosea (to your right), refers to this tradition.  You could also consider Karl Maughan’s painting Papatawa as a variation of millefiori.  Maughan has made his reputation as a painter of garden landscapes in the Manawatu area (Papatawa is north-east of Woodville) and his signature flower is the rhododendron.  Papatawa is possibly a new direction for him as the rhododendron is not centre stage.  Rather, the rhododendrons are in the background and the veil of weeping willow foliage creates a spatial illusion which is a special quality of millefiori glass. 

Jane Evans and Pamela Wolfe are two other artists well known for flower painting; Wolfe for her larger- than-life, almost photo realistic depictions of flowers and Evans for her vibrant and expressive blooms, especially poppies. 

Tim Main and Sarah Hillary’s art works reference historical decorative forms but incorporate native flora for an antipodean twist.  Hillary’s pattern blocks are inspired by Victorian era fern books and her miniature shell paintings, by Asiatic chintz and ceramic designs. Main’s hand carved rosette is inspired by Gothic architecture and intertwined with southern clematis, made from ceramic.  Main’s exquisite attention to detail is matched by Nelson-based jeweller, Adrian Myers, with his Rose Necklace and especially, the tiny little thorns on the metal chain which connects to the rosewood ‘trunk’.

Tabatha Forbes talks about her work being grounded in colonial art history and traditions of botanical art, particularly the identification, labelling and placement of value on specimens.  Her studies of weeds, renamed with the title T.Forbeii and painted on discarded fruit crates, upends and interrogates the customs of botanic traditions. 

There are, however, artists represented in this exhibition who are not commonly associated with floral works.  After a life-time of taking black and white social documentary photographs, Ans Westra has recently begun to focus her lens on flowers and plants as well as increasing the scale of her subjects and images.  Her photograph, Rhododendrons, is a joyful expression of colour and Manuka is an intriguing exploration of texture and depth.  Craig Potton is better known as a landscape photographer and Joyce Campbell is an interesting artist who marries 19^th century photographic techniques with 21^st century scientific observations.  For this exhibition, both present botanical ‘studies’ which could also be considered as memento mori: metaphors for the fragility of life.  This approach harks back to 17^th century  Dutch flower painting, where flowers that bloomed at different times of the year were grouped together in one composition, statements of opulence yet also expressing the conceit that earthly beauty and treasures are only fleeting and to rely on them is vanity.

Boyd Webb’s photographic images are never quite what they seem.  In the language of flowers, gerbera are linked to the daisy family so have the attributions of innocence and purity.  Yet the awkward placement of the flowers, combined with Webb’s propensity for double entredre in his photographs generally, means that they are suggestive of wriggling sperm.

Artists can create what plant breeders can never hope to achieve such as perfection of bloom or unlikely colours, as we see in Richard Malloy’s photograph of fake silk and plastic blue carnations, or flowering Phoenix palms in Paul Hartigan’s complex Polaroid prints.

Exuberance and playfulness are features of Renee Bevan’s jewellery in non traditional materials, and Jeff Thomson’s oversized corrugated aluminium bouquet of native flora.

As an exhibition, Mille Fleurs was intended to be an appraisal of flower painting in contemporary New Zealand art.  The idiosyncratic ensemble of art works which has resulted, demonstrates the enduring appeal of flora as subject matter for artists, irrespective of gender or generational stereotypes. 

Julie Catchpole

Exhibition Curator and The Suter’s Director