MIA KAPLAN studio

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 5 6-8pm

Ann Koerner Antiques
4021 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70115

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While creating these works, I developed a fascination with fake flowers. My grandmother loves fake flowers because she "never has to water them" and "they never die", and I've read that even practitioners of Feng Shui use fake flowers to bring the same energy that real flowers can bring, but I wonder about this - if using them actually provides the same benefit. To me, fake flowers say a lot about a person. They might say "She is done with nurturing things, and we have fashioned a way around it while still giving her the benefit of our company". As time goes on, the flower doesn't become any less floral. It continues to provide without asking for not so much as a dusting in return. As I examine my own relationships, I think a lot about fake flowers and the relationship we have with them. It is a strange technology.

In my grandmother's case, it made complete sense. As she got older, I noticed her living plants gradually became artificial ones. On our occasional trips to Walmart together, I loved walking past the fake flower aisle with her. One day she stopped and grabbed two bundles of ridiculously colorful flowers, despite my gagging response, and placed them into her basket. When we returned home she had already placed them in her mind above the fireplace in two decorative floral vases that had been empty since I can remember. Flowers started turning up in places that didn't even make sense, like in small garbage cans and inside the fireplace. It seemed that she filled any place that contained a lack of function or emptiness. This past year my grandmother moved out of her home to live with family, so I saved her flowers and now use them in my work.

Fake flowers are symbol of joy and a fuel to fantasy. It's no wonder why we place them in places that might remind us of loss and emptiness. Without regard to the pride in having grown a flower through toil and process, with fake flowers one can just skip through the story and get straight to the happy ending. With my work, I tend to want to withdraw from this practice. I want to show the marks and the messiness of moving toward the end result.

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Spring, 2012. Paper, watercolor, plaster, and pencil on wood.

Patchwork, 2012. Acrylic, pastel, and collage on linen.

Letters to Yellow, 2012. Paper on wood - 18 x 18 x 12 inches

From The Morning, 2012. Paper, watercolor, plaster, pencil, and polysynthetic material on wood.

Night and Day, 2012. Acrylic and collage on linen - 36 x 48 inches.

Spring will be on view at Ann Koerner, located at 4021 Magazine in New Orleans, from May 5 - 19, 2012. Please call Ann at 504-899-2664 to schedule an appointment for viewing during this time.

MIA KAPLAN studio

Visit the Mia Kaplan Studio on Etsy!

Upcoming Exhibition: "Spring"

Slidell convention center lobby blooms with 'Bromeliad'