Flora Noir: Twenty First Gallery
2017. Solo show of new Flora pieces presented in the Twenty First Gallery, NYC.
Marcin Rusak’s solo exhibition in New York, Flora Noir, presents eleven unique pieces from his Flora series.
From the ancient Egyptians’ abstracted lotus to the iconic designs of William Morris, it is apparent that the appeal of floral imagery is timeless. Rusak’s Flora collection iterates upon this human impulse to incorporate the natural world in decoration by preserving, rather than representing, floral forms.
In suspending floral and vegetal matter within black resin, he allows the material to retain its authentic and genuine qualities. Rusak has developed two methods, which he calls Flora Perma and Flora Temporaria. Flora Temporaria produces a surface in which the flowers are completely submerged and the resin reflects an intriguing depth. Flora Perma machines the surface length-wise, resulting in fascinating cross-sections of flowers. These unique surfaces sit atop sculpted aluminum and bronze table bases. While the complex and detailed surface mesmerizes, recalling 17th century Flemish still life paintings, the overall piece remains grounded in its form’s simplicity.
Rusak’s work conveys a respect and admiration for nature, allowing the natural world to reveal its beauty in its own way. In this sense, he represents a new generation of conscious creators, seeking to explore creative methods that expand our awareness of materials’ origin, future, and inherent beauty.
11 May – 16 June 2017