Jacksonville based artist Jim Draper presents Feast of Flowers, a multi-disciplinary project that critically investigates new ways of understanding Florida’s history, environmental aesthetics, and the human place within the natural order. Comprised of an exhibition and a curated digital publication, Feast of Flowers celebrates the 500th anniversary of the naming of Florida by Spanish Conquistador Ponce de Leon.
Overlooking historic museum gardens and the St. Johns River, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens showcases Draper’s large-scale paintings of native flora, fauna, and landscape endemic to Florida. Inspired by altarpieces of instructional purposes, Draper creates multi-panel segmented paintings that narrate a particular way of seeing nature. Jim Draper mediates his experiences in nature through these paintings to create representational depictions of the state of Florida.
The title, Feast of Flowers, is a translation of the Spanish “Pascua de Florida,” the name laid to the land on Easter Sunday 1513. Draper’s use of this title signals his attempt to explore the idea of natural resources as consumable commodities, while embracing the conceptual history of hungry European settlers in “la Florida’s” bountiful banquet and Ponce de Leon’s painstaking search of the mythological Fountain of Youth.
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The exhibition runs from December 18, 2012 to April 7, 2013, with an opening reception on January 15th, 2013: 4 pm to 8 pm.
There will be a full schedule of programs for children and adults, including lectures, symposia, gallery talks, artist workshops, river tours and garden-related experiences. www.cummer.org
For inquiries on reproductions, please visit the Reproduction Size & Price List. All other questions can be directed to Staci at staci.bushea@gmail.com
Fountain of Youth, oil on canvas, 72 by 109 inches
Cypress at Turner Bridge, oil on canvas, 72 by 109 inches
Ogeechee Lime, oil on canvas, 72 by 109 inches
Pine Lily, oil on canvas, 72 by 109 inches
Purple Thistle, oil on canvas, 72 by 36 inches
Tree Snail, oil on canvas, 72 by 36 inches
Gulf Sturgeon, oil on canvas, 72 by 36 inches
Crucifix Fish, oil on canvas, 72 by 36 inches
Nana, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Willie Browne's Marsh, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Large Passion, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Round Key, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Magnolia, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Florida Bay, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Suwannee River, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Fiddler Crabs, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Mangroves, oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
Tarflower, oil on canvas, 48 by 48 inches
Mangrove Buckeye, oil on canvas, 48 by 48 inches
Little Blue Herons, oil on canvas, 48 by 48 inches
Buttonbush, oil on canvas, 48 by 48 inches
Steinhatchee Falls, oil on canvas, 48 by 48 inches
Palestine Lake, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Long Leaf Pine, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Black Swallow Tail on Morning Glory, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Alligator in the Green Swamp, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Cherokee Bean, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Black Runner, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Gumbo Limbo, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Small Passion, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Muscadine, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches
Wild Hibiscus, oil on canvas, 48 by 18 inches