2026: Floriography
During the Victorian Era, blatant displays of emotion were considered taboo, so women would conceal their secrets, fears, loves, and warnings to their friends via flowers. Each flower in a bouquet, lapel, hair piece, had a particular meaning that shared what the wearer was feeling-called Floriography. Although this tradition has long since passed, the idea of flowers containing meaning has carried on in art history and for me in this botanical series.
Growing up in a European immigrant household, feelings were quietly hidden in between obligation and fear of vulnerability. I watched very young how easy it is to suppress a feeling, keep the peace, and forge on-but to great cost to some of the women in my life. The flowers in my paintings are ones that exist/existed in not only mine, but my grandmothers’, mother’s, aunts’ and sister’s gardens, and express feelings that I have only now begun to name for myself. This series is dedicated to these women, with the hope that speaking about this work will help to break familial patterns and create a space for myself and my children where honesty is valued over public perception.
2026