Riverdale - If flowers bloom in the Spring, Wave Hill yields bouquets of art that feed on its natural surroundings. Curated by Raymond Foye and Jennifer McGregor, Alchemy & Inquiry is the resulting magic produced by three very talented artists with the vision to create new bodies of work invoking the spiritual aspects of the garden and heightening the senses for all those that are fortunate to see their results.

Each artist reveals the organic elements tied to their style of creation. In Philip Taaffe's mixed media paintings the images of overlapping plant-life allude to fantastical environments including that of underwater fauna. Colorful distinctly painted leaves appear like screen-printed collages that form unexpectedly gorgeous patterns. 

Terry Winters' work in painting and prints may seem somewhat abstract in form, but a careful review of the exhibited work allows one to see beyond that and embrace his interpretation of botanical architecture. Winters creates both his own glyphs and pattetrns that are the emergence of his language.

Where Taffe's and Winter's work can be direct in their execution, one finds a loss of words when viewing Fred Tomaselli's incredibly layered imagery that leave the viewer absorbed in its intricacies. Like the eyes in peacock feathers are multi-dimensional, so are the elements represented in Tomaselli's work which seem to float within the layer's adding a three-dimensional aspect to them.

All three artists bring a different approach to their botanical studies, but one thing that is certainly found in all their work is the intensity of colors and techniques utilized. And why not?  It's the only justifiable way to even begin depicting nature in all its beauty and splendor.

By Xavier Figueroa

Editor, photographer, writer and founder of Bronx Art Guide

Xavier Figueroa's website