Eternal Garden Exhibition: Claire Basler

My palette is a landscape... I am going to paint this tree. I will paint these roses, these fields, these woods, these ponds. I will paint, yes. Claire Basler as interviewed by Hélène Lanscotte for the artist's self-entitled book of paintings.

Simplicity in a work of art is not to be underestimated. It takes a lifetime to comprehend color, light, tone, mood, texture. Flowers and nature have been painted for centuries by great artists. Many attaining realistic perfection, while others like Monet captured light and Van Gogh breathed life into the brushstrokes. As a naturalist, avid gardener, and zealot of all things botanical, I recognize in Claire Basler's floral paintings a transfiguration of the artist into the life of a flower. It is one thing to paint a flower and wholly another, to paint the life of a flower. Just as Monet translated light onto canvas, Claire has translated the essence of what it means to live as a flower. 

Vases of flowers disappear into wall size paintings.

The depth of space is only understood through the apparent movement of the leaves and flowers. The weather is also assumed from the expression of light in the colors and tone. It is as if we are living amongst the flowers during a moment in time. Many of the paintings are large wall-size panels, while smaller ones appear more like portraits of a dear friend or relative. "Because I have observed it and so worked with it, Nature has become my guide. It teaches me how to paint, it teaches me how to live, think, and feel," revealed in an interview with Hélène Lanscotte for the artist's book of art.

Double wall-sized panel

The premier art exhibition, Jardin Éternal, is on display until August 5th, 2016 at the Houston Design Center. Alkusari Stone showroom provides a textural space transporting the viewer to an old French chateau. Vases of flowers echo the fantasy of french garden flowers. Thank you to Yvonamor Palix Fine Arts and Brigitte Lardier-Cunningham  for the invitation to the opening reception. In a world full of tragedy and uncertainty, the Eternal Garden fills me with joy and delight. To commemorate the event, the artist personally presented her works during the Bastille week celebrations in Houston by the Consulate General of France, the Honorable Sujiro Seam. Mr. Sujiro Seam inaugurated the event declaring, "Those are beautiful paintings of French gardens, but they are also not just french gardens. So tell your friends here in Houston or anywhere in the world to come and enjoy and admire this beautiful exhibition."

Jardin Éternal by Claire Basler is open to the public 10am to 5pm Monday through Friday at Alkusari Stone in The Houston Design Center, 7026 Old Katy Road, Suite 229 Houston, Texas 77024. The closing reception is this Friday, August 5, 2016. For more information, visit ypalixart.com To view more paintings of the french floral artist and to experience her spectacular studio, visit www.clairebasler.com If you want to learn more about art history from floral paintings, read our article In Bloom.