Spotlight: Photographer Lucia Fainzilber’s Portraits of Flowers Go Beyond Decoration, Capturing Their Medicinal, Intoxicating Potential

The artist's current exhibition "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" is on view at Praxis, New York.

Lucia Fainzilber, 2022. Courtesy of the artist.

Every month, hundreds of galleries add newly available works by thousands of artists to the Artnet Gallery Network—and every week, we shine a spotlight on one artist or exhibition you should know. Check out what we have in store, and inquire for more with one simple click. 

About the Artist: Photographer Lucia Fainzilber was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1986. She focused on costume design and filmmaking before moving to New York to study at the International Center of Photography in 2011. While taking gigs assisting editorial photographers in the 2010s, she began developing her own practice, creating works that focus on the symbolic meanings and knowledge shrouded in the decorative world around us, from textile patterns to, in her most recent work, flowers. Fainzilber’s current exhibition “Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall is now on view at Praxis Art Gallery in New York, showcasing her intimate portraits of blossoms. The artist has been represented by Praxis since 2014 and her previous solo shows with the gallery include “Wild Flowers” in 2016. 

Installation view "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" at Praxis.

Installation view “Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall” at Praxis.

Why We Like It: Flowers often serve as a beautifying force at the margins of our lives, filling our gardens, lining our sidewalks and highway meridians, and sometimes adorning our family tables. But rarely do we take the time to see flowers as individual blossoms full of specific complexities and influence in the world. In this series, Fainzilber focuses her lens on these blooms, capturing their intricate colorings and marks, often photographing a single flowerhead with detailed precision. In this way, the artist aims to underscore the very real power of flowers—with all their medicinal, poisonous, and intoxicating potential.

Lucia Fainzilber, Clarice (2022)

Lucia Fainzilber, Clarice (2022). Courtesy of Praxis.

According to the Artist: “When I think about a new project it is always in conversation with my previous work. Color and the relationship between patterns and textures, background and foreground are key elements in my work, which evolve and mutate from one project to the other. I have always been seduced by flowers and they have been very present throughout my life, though I never gave them too much thought. I decided to make flowers the protagonists of this body of work as a way of searching for their meaning….With these portraits, I intend to honor flowers by witnessing their subtle performances and embodiments of power. My hope is that this exhibition will reveal different ways of seeing so that a magnolia tree across the street or a rose across a table won’t appear quite so unfamiliar. Instead, seeing these plants in their intimacy and reciprocity will make us look at ourselves a little differently too, as we are all embroidered into this tapestry, this bouquet of life.”

Lucia Fainzilber, Simone (2022). Courtesy of Praxis.

Lucia Fainzilber, Simone (2022). Courtesy of Praxis.

Lucia Fainzilber: Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall” is on view at Praxis through September 10, 2022.


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.