We live in an age where it is difficult to find a space to disconnect. This was the case for Brooklyn-based artist Christina Zimpel, until she began to work on her garden, filling it with the transportive scents of distinctive botanicals, providing a tranquil space to detach from the everyday.
As such, Zimpel has made gardening part of her daily routine, planting dandelions, humble weeds and vegetables, alongside flowers she’ll find around her bustling neighbourhood. “Everybody seems to have their favourite plant or flower,” she says. “It’s a very emotional thing.” In this spirit, the artist made her garden the subject of a new series of vibrant ink drawings, titled Botanic Paintings, now displayed exclusively at the Hesperios shop in New York, until the end of this year. Each is defined by pulsating strokes of dynamic colour – numbering vibrant blues, oranges and pink.
Influenced by the work of Diane Arbus and Irving Penn, Zimpel is fascinated by the sculptural qualities that can be found in two-dimensional imagery. Working alongside her photographer husband for many years, she recognises the importance of composition, and often paints from photographs. Whether taking pictures of shadows, a vase on her kitchen counter, or the abstract shapes formed by the leaves in her garden, she never ceases to find inspiration in her immediate surroundings. This Monday, let Zimpel’s work act as a reminder to see beauty in the everyday; even if you are looking at it through the screen of your computer.
Botanic Paintings by Christina Zimpel is on display and for sale now at Hesperios in New York.