Bouquets to Art 2011 - Contemporary Art

Follow me downstairs to the Contemporary Art wing to view more Bouquets to Art submissions for 2011.

Judy Cochran Ward made a replica of Sono Osato's Meena with what I believe might be painted craftpaper with reclaimed objects wedged into the folds. Spring flowers and succulents burst as perfect counterpoints to the monochromatic diptych.

If you're wondering what these ladies are looking at...

... it is the back side of the arrangement.

Cochran dedicated her Bouquet to "the memory of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 tragedy, including my dear friend Lauren Grandcaulas, and represents the beauty and life of hope."

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I have often been intrigued by Al Farrow's black miniature cathedral in the same room. 

When Donnel Vicente chose it for Bouquet to Art this year, it commanded everyone's attention.

The unique box of nails and soft white ranunculus moved me to read the tag associated with the church.

The sculpture, named The Spine and Tooth of Santa Guerro, is a social commentary on war and religion . I had never noticed before that the church is made of bullets, pellets and deconstructed guns.The title tooth is encapsuled in the red reliquary above the transept door.

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Cheryl McGuire of Flair complemented Sean Scully's Wall of Light Horizon with a reflection back to Josiah McElheny's Model for Total Reflective Abstraction.

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While I appreciate the innovation and whimsy of the sculptural pieces in my previous post, Phoebe Kahl's and Diana Kennedy's dynamic contribution makes my heart sing.

They truly expressed the essence of Elmer Bischoff's Girl with Towel, 1960. I adore how the kangaroo paw branches float above the rust cymbidium and white phaleonopsis orchids, while a wave of orange ribbon and green broom branches dance upward to the sky. Kahl and Kennedy delivered the type of arrangement I long to see at Bouquets to Art.

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Paul Robertson Floral design cooked up a big pot of florals for Robert Colescott's A Taste of Gumbo,

...seasoned with a minor hint Mardi Gras beads.

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Regula's European Design created a three-dimensional version of Sam Francis' Helio...

...utilizing cobalt blue bottles, red netting, a sparse use of fresh calla lilies and gerbera daisies, with yellow plastic-covered wire dancing on a plexi-glass armature.

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Katherine Zhang turned Rupert Garcia's Untitled for Eyellende on end with black ti leaves and colored foam...

...while Laurel Winzler took a vertical approach to interpret Garcia's work.

Stay tuned for another Bouquets to Art 2011 post in the coming days.