(Nothing but) Flowers

“Flowers are always working in the service of the passage of time,” writes Helen Molesworth in the opening pages of (Nothing but) Flowers. “In all of the paintings in this book where flowers are depicted, innocently standing in their vases, the minor gestures of gathering, arranging and display can be seen as a verb list dedicated to world-building.” This clothbound volume gathers paintings of flowers by more than 50 artists from Charles Burchfield to Amy Sillman, Joe Brainard to Lisa Yuskavage, who have explored the perennial appeal of this richest and yet simplest of subjects. (Nothing but) Flowers demonstrates the capacity of the humble botanical motif to capture sorrow, stimulate rehabilitation, and guide us through periods of mourning, celebration and rebirth. Writers Hilton Als, Helen Molesworth and David Rimanelli contribute meditations on the many resonances of flowers in art.