NYMPHS OF THE GARDEN: THE WATER LILIES BY ARSLAN
Nymphs of the Garden: The Water Lilies by Arslan is the artist’s first solo show at Sachs Museum at the Missouri Botanical Garden in Saint Louis. The exhibition is not only inspired by the splendid water lilies of the Missouri Botanical Garden, it also pays homage to one of art history’s greatest last acts, Claude Monet’s water lilies paintings Les Nymphéas. The show is currently open for private visits from August 2020 to March 2021.
Arslan’s solo exhibition takes place in three galleries at the recently restored Georgian building that was originally Henry Shaw’s museum in the 19th century. On view at the lower level gallery is an exhibition of a wall-to-wall installation of continuous paintings that depict the dusty pink and blue-hued blur of water, flowers, plants and reflections of the skies. At the second gallery upstairs, the exhibition continues with a series of preparatory studies the artist had done for the waterlilies paintings. The final gallery features Sediments, an exhibition of monotypes that focuses on the main passion of Arslan’s oeuvre, defined by its closeness to nature, and its love of reality.
Photos by Virgina Harold, courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden