In Bloom

Named after the Roman goddess of nature and flowers, the group exhibition Flora on display at the Cornell Art Museum in Delray Beach through Sept. 9 showcases nearly 30 contemporary artists whose work explores the verdant lives of plants and flowers.

"I wanted to do a lighthearted, beautiful show for the spring and summer," says Melanie Johanson, curator of the Cornell Museum. "There's so much artwork that is inspired by plants and flowers, in so many different ways."

In addition to painting, photography and ceramics, the selected artists deploy cut paper, surfboards, Swarovski crystal, dyed ficus leaves and live orchids in their work. Mixed-media artist Stephen Wilson repurposes boxes emblazoned with luxury brand logos and covers them with embroidered flowers and splattered paint.

Johanson is perhaps most enthused about the exhibition's experiential installations, which are being created specifically for Flora. Diane Arrieta and Cheryl Maeder's Enchanted Forest will fill an entire gallery and integrate film, photography, sculpture and sound.The immersive Floating Garden by Amanda McCavour, featuring approximately 1,000 embroidered flowers dangling from the ceiling, has been a five-year labor of love for the artist.

Lake Worth artist Hayley Sheldon will create one of the exhibition's most striking centerpieces: giant dandelions hanging upside-down in the atrium, connecting the museum's first and second floors.

Flora also welcomes works by two titans of pop art: Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst. The 1950s Warhol piece, an untitled ink drawing of flowers, predates his more famous floral screen prints of the 1960s. O

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