New Palo Alto Art Center show flexes its flower power

Gertrude Stein famously observed, “A rose is a rose is a rose,” but in real life, we understand that almost everything, including a rose, is far more nuanced and complex than appearances might suggest. In the Dutch Baroque era, floral still life paintings were memento mori, conveying messages about the temporal nature of life. In the Victorian era, there was an understood language of flowers, with roses symbolizing devotion, bluebells kindness, rosemary remembrance, and so on.  

The current exhibition at the Palo Alto Art Center, “GROW,” celebrates gardens, parks and plants in art and is on view until Dec. 15. Like a previous exhibition organized by independent curator Marianne McGrath (“Feast and Famine,” in January 2024), this is a multi-media group show in which colorful and aesthetically pleasing art works carry profound and deeper meanings, as shared in the individual artist statements.

McGrath shared that she began working on the concept of the show about four years ago and spent time exploring ideas around land, food, growing and gardens. She researched artists to invite and considered how they might fit into the theme of the exhibition. “Is the work relevant to our collective moment, to the community, to the mission of the Palo Alto Art Center? I looked at the creativity, originality and skill that went into making the work.” She added that she also wanted to include “diverse voices, perspectives and interpretations.”

There certainly is a diversity of media represented in the show, with everything from paintings to photography to a video presentation. In many pieces, artists have combined several media, like “Windowsill” by Anna Valdez. Using oil, acrylic and spray paint on canvas, Valdez has created a domestic scene we can all relate to, especially if you have ever lived in a sterile urban apartment. Gathering potted plants, hanging ivy and treasured objects (in this case, a cow’s skull and some ceramic vessels) can make a huge difference in humanizing and personalizing a confined living space.  

Like most of the art displayed here, “Against the Wall” is bright, colorful and even cheery, but that belies a serious message that the artists, Jay Lynn Gomez and Patrick Martinez, are imparting. The assemblage consists of a painted scene – a pink stucco wall that serves as support for a sumptuous red bougainvillea with the figure of a gardener (created in cardboard) on the right. He is trimming the notoriously difficult vine while standing on an actual ladder.  Tools of the trade, gloves and hedge trimmer, are real objects making for an eye-catching trompe l’oeil effect. This collaborative piece is personal for the two artists, both of whom have immigrant parents who did domestic labor, and highlights the fact that Hispanic workers are predominately the caretakers of the pristine and elaborate gardens of the wealthy.

Several artists reference the inevitable trajectory of birth to death in their work. In the aptly named “Decomposition Notes,” Connie Zheng uses rapid-fire images of her garden plants as they germinate, grow and decay. In “Too Beautiful to Last,” Stefan Kurten employs acrylic, ink and mother-of-pearl on linen to create an idyllic house and garden straight out of an Agatha Christie “Miss Marple” novel. But the artist explains that he does not work from real life and that this contrived scene is actually a reflection of a worry-free, “perfect world” that we all want to inhabit.

 For Nicholas Bono Kennedy, “Flower Market in Pink,” is a nod to the Dutch tradition of “vanitas,” or objects that convey importance or meaning. This acrylic and oil on canvas is an opulent profusion of color and detail. The setting is a farmers market and the plethora of cut flowers (which Kennedy notes are “technically dead”) are available for purchase so that we can bring nature indoors. Interspersed among the beautiful flowers are some of the artist’s “vices:” a full ashtray and a calorie-rich almond croissant. As humans we are drawn to beauty, it seems, as well as things that may do us harm.

Diversity and inclusion may seem a stretch as messages in floral-themed art but Glenn Hardy, Jr. does it effectively in “Untitled,” a life-size portrait. Working against the historic stereotype of white figures in garden settings, Hardy has painted a tall Black man wearing sunglasses and a “do-rag” posed under an arbor of bright pink flowers. He is smiling broadly and looking completely at ease. The wall label notes that Hardy strives to present Black subjects “living in comfort, in moments of relaxation, enjoyment and triumph.” He has succeeded in this striking portrait.

Art has always been a means of capturing a moment in time, whether important or quotidian, and Jose Joaquin Figueroa has focused his efforts on a typical day at a local landmark, Dolores Park in San Francisco. His diminutive glazed ceramic figures, formed in an almost child-like manner, illustrate how the park is an important gathering point and center of community for city dwellers. This greenspace is an urban oasis where people can do yoga, read a book, have a picnic or play with a dog. Both the diorama of the park and the accompanying 27 watercolor drawings depict San Francisco’s diverse population. Notes the artist, “Dolores Park is an ideal place to relax and get a sense of San Francisco’s vibe.”

In addition to the artworks displayed in the main gallery, McGrath invited Palo Alto-raised artist Kija Lucas to create a site-specific piece for the Glass Gallery. “The Enchanted Garden” is based on her memories of growing up as a Black person in a predominately white, affluent suburb. Her installation begins on a wall outside the gallery with a display of well-worn tools that her father, who had a gardening business, used each day. Enter into the gallery and there is a feeling of being overwhelmed by pattern and color. Incredibly busy floral wallpaper serves as a backdrop for her photographic prints, which are beautiful botanical still lifes of a variety of flora, all native to Palo Alto. The stark black background in these pictures only serves to highlight the simple beauty of the subjects, like Meyer lemons on a branch and pine needles. In contrast to the pleasant imagery is Lucas’ memory of “growing up in Palo Alto trying to fit into a space where I didn’t, and expectations that I did not meet or fully comprehend.”

Just as artists from the past used flowers and gardens as vehicles to impart meaning, the artists in “GROW” reflect personal and collective concerns. Said McGrath, “I hope the works in the show prompt visitors to contemplate broader human experiences and the way that our gardens reflect the realities of our climate, our social structures and issues.”

“GROW” is on view through Dec. 15 at the Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto. Special events scheduled during the exhibition include an author talk on Oct. 19, a family day on Oct. 20 and panel discussion on Nov. 10. For more information about the exhibit and these events, visit cityofpaloalto.org.

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