Men Who Paint Flowers | review by Nicole Maynard

Chase Barney, Thomas Bils, Benjamin Cabral, Clifton Childree, Philip Gerald, Ezra Johnson, Rick Leong, Famakan Magassa, Jose Manuel Mesias, Taichi Nakamura, Alejandro Pasquale, Moises Salazar, Richard Wathen, Shai Yehezkelli

Flowers are feminine, right? “Men Who Paint Flowers” turns our assumptions on our heads. The show’s introduction reads: “Mindy Solomon is pleased to present Men Who Paint Flowers,” an exhibition that focuses on the relationship of men and non-binary artists to flowers- their use as a decorative device or metaphor for vulnerability and suburban decay. Whether portraying elaborate bouquets or still life imagery, the flower represents a symbol of sensitivity and love; a moment to pause and consider. Many of the images depicted in the exhibition have a dark countenance- is it because the flower represents weakness? Something a man is not supposed to experience…The show is divided into several categories- love, humor, decoration and dystopia.”

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Benjamin Cabral

Moises Salazar

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Ezra Johnson

The show is cohesive yet varied. Phones find their way into flower paintings by Ezra Johnson and Tom Bils. Technology offers different viewpoints; here phones allow the artists to sneak in portraits. Johnson’s “hidden” portrait is on the phone screen next to the flowers on the table. We don’t know if it’s a photograph or someone who is set aside in the middle of a video call.

Tom Bils

Bils presents us with a mystery, including three portraits. Details are essential in this strange painting of an interior. Bils relishes ambiguity, setting a stage in which one struggles to make meaning and order. A picture of a couple (portraits one and two) raises questions. Is it a painting or a photograph? Are they grandparents? We see the man’s head but only the woman’s hair. Next to this is a mirror (think Magritte). Its frame is painted tonally with craftsmanship rivaling a furniture maker). It reflects hands taking a photo of a missing ceiling fixture (portrait three). Ezra Johnson’s deft use of vibrant color is more akin to Van Gogh’s sunflowers. Rather than short, rhythmic brushstrokes, Johnson contrasts texture with deliberate flatness.

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Alejandro Pasquale Núcleo

Alejandro Pasquale Núcleo’s painting depicts a snake and flowers coming out of a skull, a memento mori. Like Bills, color is on the back burner while form dominates. The color still holds its own: a blue sky complements orange browns in the skull. This painting could be a portrait as well; a skull is a former head. 

Flowers given on a date symbolize love. Flowers presented at a milestone event represent accomplishment. Flowers at a hospital bedside encourage healing, and flowers at a funeral, empathy and sadness. Flowers in the garden encourage a moment to stop, admire and inhale. Expressions of ephemeral beauty. But why men painting flowers? Why does it really matter? Because as a society we do not know how to experience male sensitivity. We want it. We need it. But when we see it we demand a more masculine response. Is it possible to find a balance?

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