Arranging Flowers: Gail Spaien

Taymour Grahne Projects is pleased to present Arranging Flowers, a solo show by Maine-based artist Gail Spaien. This is the inaugural show of Taymour Grahne's new project space in Dubai, opening on September 18, from 6 to 8 pm. Accompanying the exhibition is a text by Hilary Schaffner, independent curator and writer:

Years ago, I was introduced to ikebana, the ancient Japanese art form of flower arrangement. The art of ikebana creates a harmonious relationship between the natural elements used and the space around them where the arrangement itself brings nature and humanity closer together.

In Spaien’s aptly titled exhibition, Arranging Flowers, at Taymour Grahne’s new space in Dubai, Gail’s current body of work is an amplification of this concept: art and botany in dialogue can elevate us all. Interior and exterior worlds meld together on Spaien’s canvas leaving the viewer wondering where exactly this place might exist and how can I possibly get there.

Many of the paintings in Arranging Flowers contain still lives in the form of a set table. The dining table, an anchor of most domestic spaces, acts as a site of evidence of human presence—of life being lived inside. Spaien culls from a long history of artists using the still life as a means of distorting perspective through the use of conventions associated with the domestic.

The use of textile and pattern are undeniable elements in Spaien’s work and act as a mechanism for crafting intimacy yet it is simplicity that is the armature from which she builds her paintings. The formal components of spatial illusion co-mingle with an appreciation for the labor of craft. One can sense her desire to live in that space of making, just for the time being or, until the painting is done. It is a world of simple pleasures that hints at a human connection in its most subtle and intimate forms.