Mono no aware - Solo Show 2008 | Marcella Kaspar

MONO NO AWARE
Mono no Aware continues Marcella Kaspar’s fascination with the ephemeral beauty of flowers. Opening on 18 September, her latest exhibition comprises flower paintings showcasing her characteristic obsession with the perfection and repetition of nature. However, for the first time the artist weaves fresh-faced geisha girls and Japanese landscapes among her usual tapestry of petals.

After numerous visits to Japan, the artist was struck by the Asian culture’s love affair with flowers as a reflection of the impermanent beauty of life. The exhibition title, Mono No Aware, is a phrase used (in Japanese culture) to express the connection between nature and its transient, inevitable passing. The philosophy perfectly mirrored the artist’s own interest in flowers as a metaphor for life itself: beautiful and luminous, yet fleeting.