Théâtre des Fleurs : exposition de portraits de fleurs monumentaux dans le Marais

In Théâtre des Fleurs, Belgian painter Johanna Claerhout brings the floral still life out of its vase and onto the stage. Her flowers, mostly dahlias picked from her own garden, are painted larger than life. Powerful, contemporary, and moving, they leave a lasting impression.

An art historian by training, Johanna Claerhout draws from the tradition of the Old Masters to reinterpret it. In her studio, she arranges genuine theatrical stagings with flowers, glassware, and colored lights. Shadows distort, split, or become saturated until they become subjects in their own right.

The exhibition brings together about ten new oils on linen, including several large-format works in chiaroscuro, within a theatrical scenography. Through these works, the artist restores power and intensity to a genre long considered merely pretty, feminine, or lightweight.