The latest Williamsburg Art Gallery show brings together a diverse array of painters and a different kind of artist: floral arrangers. “Flowers and Art” pairs paintings with nature’s own works of art for a unique experience that runs March 24-25.
“I know it’s a wonderful pairing of two art forms,” said artist Elizabeth Greaf. “Some of the arrangements are going to be spectacular.”
Greaf spearheaded the concept for the show, inspired by her time living in San Francisco and visiting similar exhibitions at the city’s de Young Museum. It’s also a popular pastime at other art aggregators, such as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond and Chrysler Hall in Norfolk. It’s a first for the Williamsburg gallery.
“We wanted to organize an event which would be enjoyed by both art and flower devotees,” said gallery owner Gulay Berryman. “These floral displays will be presented in juxtaposition with the works that inspired them.”
The show offers a unique means of expression for floral arrangers of all skill levels, from garden club members who enjoy flowers as a hobby to Elgin Morris, owner of Williamsburg Floral and Gifts.
“It could be a direct interpretation or something that is a feeling,” said Morris, who previously contributed to similar shows at venues such as the Muscarelle Museum and the VMFA. “I think it’s an asset for the community and for the art scene in Williamsburg.”
Morris arranged the flowers for one of the show’s pieces, and his shop offered discounts on flower orders intended for use in the show.
“It does have to do with, I think, what feeling the painting promotes in you,” he said. “It does have to do with form and balance and color and the shape of items.”
Works by Greaf and Berryman are included in the show. Other featured artists include Joseph Pfeiffer-Herbert, Paula Holtzclaw, Andre Lucero and Pattie Kennedy.
“They’re outstanding artists, for one thing, and their artwork reflects artistic styles and trends worldwide,” Greaf said. “We have local artists, we have other American artists and we have artists from abroad.”
The show also comes soon after the spring equinox as a means of celebrating the season that grants us the flowers and warmth that not long ago seemed a distant memory.
“I think that we’re all sick and tired of winter,” Greaf said. “We’re beginning to see spring come alive and this helps us celebrate the color, the vitality, that we’re slipping into as we enter spring.”
After a winter that refused a quick goodbye, the showcase of different artistic talents comes as a way to unwind and spring forward.
“We would like to have fun, first of all,” Berryman said. “I hope that it will be an uplifting experience for everyone. It will be inspiring.”
Want to go?
“Flowers and Art” runs March 24-25 at the Williamsburg Art Gallery, 440A W. Duke of Gloucester St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. A reception will be held 4-6 p.m. March 24. Free and open to the public.
For more information, visit wmbgartgallery.com.
