NYC

Flower Fairies

· 4 min read
Flower Fairies

Linkersdorff by one of her pieces on display.

In 1st solo U.S. show, a photographer’s tech tricks challenge how we view beauty
Linkersdorff by one of her pieces on display.

KATHRIN LINKERSDORFF: FAIRIES
Yossi Milo Gallery
245 10th Avenue, New York, NY
Through Oct. 21

Using an undisclosed technique that takes months, Berlin-based German photographer Kathrin Linkersdorff reinvents flowers, creating images that manage to be both electrifying and delicate. After extracting the pigment from tulips, the artist creates natural dyes. She then introduces the translucent, dried flowers into the liquid, where the petals unfold, and take in the colors that outline and accent fragile, skeletal designs of beauty. Linkersdorff came upon her process while hunting for pigments.

Visiting a current exhibition of her work made me think more about why we universally love flowers — and how our appreciation of them is affected by how we see them. They are arguably some of the most beautiful objects in the world, and generally conjure feelings of happiness for both the receiver and giver. Even the memories of flowers can bring back positive emotions and remembrances of kindness. And what are photographs but captured moments, memories or images that evoke feelings?

An aggressive dyeing process requires gentle treatments.

Linkersdorff’s photos look as if they are capturing in still form the motions of a swirling ballet, giving the series its name, Fairies. The billowing petals resemble gossamer, flowing garments and wings.

Photography of photography of photography.

Linkersdoff photographs the tulips as they are head-first submerged into the liquid. She then displays the images, flipped upside-down.

Flowers as photographed.
Flowers as displayed.

Linkersdorff said that formerly she worked as an architect because her father did not want her to be an artist, knowing the financial challenges that most artists face in making a living. Now, with her first solo exhibition in the U.S. at the Yossi Milo gallery, her photos are priced ranging from $8,500 to $19,000.

While in Japan studying architecture, she focused on the concept of wabi-sabi. This aesthetic finds beauty in accepting transience, imperfections and the passing of time. What medium could be more perfect for capturing ephemeral beauty than flowers?

The gallery’s website describes the show as depicting ​“living organisms in their most fragile state — that between being and perishing.”

Linkersdorff’s contemporary interpretation of still lifes reflects advances in technology that were not available when paintings of fruit or flowers starting to wilt first conveyed the message of carpe diem.

When I was a child I used to question the value of still life paintings of flowers and landscapes, thinking the real-life objects or scenery were so vastly superior, regardless of the skill, artistry and talent of the artist. As I grew older, I appreciated the beauty of such paintings, especially in capturing that which is fleeting and an essence, which vanishes with time. Now, looking at the available techniques, such as Linkersdorff’s, I wonder: Is her artwork more beautiful than actual living flowers that will not be preserved and will die within a week?

Flowers at Trader Joe's.

Clearly, Linkersdorff imbues into her work a unique aesthetic quality that goes beyond technology. For example, the latest industrial know-how can now preserve actual roses to last from one to three years, without being watered. (But you need to dust them.) Real roses are dyed to remain vibrant in color and treated to prevent wilting and decay. They are a step up from paper or silk flowers and more affordable home decor than artwork from a premium gallery in Chelsea. However, I’m unsure about the enduring market for botanical taxidermy.

No maintenance preserved roses at Rose Box NYC in Tribeca.

Fairies made me wonder: Can a picture, a moment or memory be more beautiful than the actual object itself — than actual life itself? Are our memories, our own artistic lives of our minds, often more beautiful than our realities?

Fairies is an alluring exhibition, both about our holding onto beauty and time, and inevitably letting go.

What I plan to review next: Nina Canell’s sculpture exhibition at the 303 Gallery.