I have been to the de Young Museum on several occasions. The last big exhibit I saw there was Oscar De La Renta two years ago. This time around some friends joined me for a day in the city centered around the Bouquets to Art exhibit. It is the 34th year that de Young is hosting its annual floral takeover of the museum offering demonstrations and conversations about flowers, decor, and lifestyle. 120 of the most innovative floral designers from the Bay Area to Tokyo create their own masterpieces inspired by the works of art. It was really exciting to wander the galleries seeing the amazing paintings and sculptures being complemented by the colors, and smells of all the beautiful flowers.
Marion Moss Floral Design and Susan Kelly (Petaluma)
James Peal, Still Life with Fruit, ca. 1821
I have always been fond of still life paintings, especially of fruit. James Peal was one of the earliest and most talented professional painters in America to specialize in still life. The beautiful bright colors of these flowers really complement this painting.
Nixon Tran (Vietnam)
Andy Warhol, Flowers, 1964
This is one of my favorite pieces by Warhol. I love the bright composition and bright colors of the flowers in this print. The Mandrinette is a highly rare, local shrub. Andy Warhol made prints of the Mandrinette with petals in different colors based on a photograph by the nature photographer Patricia Caulfield. This floral arrangement truly depicted this piece of art.
Rachel Riser (Napa)
Mose Tolliver, Windmill Down at Old Pike and a Man Got a Gun Trying to Shoot the Bird Back, 1988
"Perhaps finding an image of himself in the birds, Mose Tolliver chooses to depict his nostalgic memory of home at a moment when a vulnerable animal is being threatened by a blond hunter as it tries". This was one of my favorite floral arrangements of the day. It really comes to life with movement of the flowers and bright colors.
My favorite pieces inspired by the ocean, with beautiful blues and complimentary oranges:
Joy Kuhn McCabe; assistant Patty Reed (Tiburon)
Dale Chihuly, Ultramarine Stemmed Form with Orange,
from the Persian series, 1992
I just love the colors of this arrangement. Tulips and hydrangeas are some of my favorite flowers. This arrangement is just as beautiful as the blown glass sculpture.
J. Miller Flower & Gifts, Valerie Lee Ow;
co-exhinitor Maureen Ownens; assistants Robbin Lee, Jaqueline Ow (Oakland)
Miguel Covarrubias, The Fauna and Flora of The Pacific,
from the Pageant of the Pacific Mural series, 1939
This mural is very beautiful and grand in person. I love that this floral arrangement looks as if it is under sea. The best part of this floral piece is the orange fish made of flowers. The Fauna and Flora of The Pacific is one of the six remaining murals done by Miguel Covarrubias. This Mural was created for The Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. The full set of six murals featured oversized, illustrated maps entitled: The Fauna and Flora off the Pacific, Peoples, Economy, Native Dwellings, and Native Means of Transportation. This piece of art was painted "at a critical juncture in America's history". Covarrubias "was a confidante of Mexican greats Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
My favorite colorful and ethnic pieces of art using primary colors, with complementary colors accented with black and white:
Plumweed Floral and Event Design Monique Duncan (San Francisco)
Lonnie Holley, Black in the Midst of Red, White and Blue, 2017
Color Woodblock
These pieces really spoke to me. I love the the graphic quality of these pieces which are complemented by the contrasting black and white with pops of primary colors. Lonnie Holley is a man of many myths and talents. Born in Jim Crow-era Birmingham Alabama as the 7th of 27 children, Holley travelled across the South and held a wide array of jobs (grave digger, cotton picker, a short-order cook at Disney World) before making his first artwork at the age of 29.
Conservatory of Flowers, Mathew Stephens, Mario Vega (San Francisco)
Joe Light, Red Bird, 1988
This was one of the most beautiful and colorful pieces in the exhibit, which was really complemented by the tropical flowers of the the floral design.
The Empire of Flora, Constance Oaks, AIFD, EMC (Los Altos)
Robert Colescott, A Taste of Gumbo, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
I just love the colorful contrasting colors of this piece and the humor behind it, paired with this floral design. Robert Colescott's paintings combine images and ideas from art and popular culture to confront racism in America. "A Taste of Gumbo addresses the African roots of a popular American food that French colonists claimed to have invented. According to Colescott "Louisiana cooking is purely African food. Nevertheless, the French could enjoy it and be nourished by it, as they were by the slave mothers of their Creole offspring".
My favorite colorful quilting pieces in red, white and black:
Dianna Vigil, AIFD; co-exhibitor Irasema Caranza, CFD (Livermore)
Mary Lee Bendolph, Passing By, 2007
Mary Lee Bendolph is one of Gee's Bend's community memory keepers. In 1999 she was the subject of "Crossing Over", the Los Angles Times Pulitzer Prize-winning article about the effort to reestablish ferry service across the Alabama River." Gee's Bend is a small isolated African American community in South Alabama. Made between 1930's and the present, the Gee's Bend quilt's bright patterns, inventive color combinations, lively irregularities, and unexpected compositional variations make them outstanding examples of modern art". The quilting portion of the exhibit was really wonderful. I loved all the textile elements and color combinations of these pieces.
Emil Yanos Design, Emil Yanos, AIFD (Napa)
Loretta Bennett, No Way, No Way, 2006
Favorite modern sculptural pieces inspired by shape and space:
Sue Morford, AIFD (Freemont)
Cornelia Parker, Anti-Mass, 2005
Charred wood
(retried from a church in Alabama destroyed by arson),
nails and wire
This piece was the most unique and really stopped you in your tracks to take a deeper look. Anti-Mass was created from the charred remains of an African American Baptist church in Alabama that was destroyed by arsonists. "Parker's use of the word "mass" references both the physical substance and weight of objects, and also the sacramental at the center of Christian faith".
April Flowers, April Abbot (Mill Valley)
Ruth Asawa, untitled sculptures, ca. 1959-1965
Hunter-Lee Flowers, Katsuko Thielke (Mountain View)
Ruth Asawa, untitled sculptures, ca. 1959-1965
Ruth Asawa was born in 1926 in Norwalk, California. Her parents were immigrants from Japan. She recognized her artistic talent in third grade while working on her family's farm. She moved to San Francisco in the 1950's. In 1952 she started to be recognized for her looped wire sculptures. In 1960 she had her first exhibition of sculptures, paintings, and drawings at the de Young in San Francisco. Along with San Francisco her work has been shown in Oakland, Los Angeles, New York and even in San Jose at The San Jose Museum of Art, where I first saw her work. I have always loved the lightness and airiness of her pieces.
After an amazing day of seeing awesome art and flower arrangements we ended the day at one of my favorite restaurants nestled in the Marina neighborhood called Isa. This is a wonderful Cal French small plate restaurant that I have been going to for several years with my husband and friends. Our consensus favorite dish is the potato wrapped sea bass. It is to die for! We ended up getting two orders this time around between the three of us and had no problem devouring every last delicious bite. Another amazing dish was their truffle risotto. We couldn't help but order two of those as well!!! The artsy day topped off with a wonderful meal was unforgettable. There is nothing better then a day full of art, flowers, and food.
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