BY ERIN IKEUCHI
Marianne Boesky Gallery presents a new solo exhibition by Jammie Holmes. For his second show with the gallery, the Dallas-born artist summons a new body of large-scale paintings that captures narratives of Black families and Southern tradition, exploring the potency of love and loss in a series of lush floral scenes.
Morning Thoughts marks a departure from the artist’s signature style of portraiture; rather, he turns an inquisitive eye towards the symbolic power of flowers. Flecks of his more familiar motifs are peppered throughout the works, though the few human subjects of the exhibition appear as opaque silhouettes or faces engulfed in a massive bloom.
The exhibition calls on still life traditions in a bouquet of fiery daylilies and rich, regal morning glories. Holmes was drawn to these flowers because of their unique blooming process which he associates with his own childhood memories. In an assiduous arrangement, he brings forth his own history and home, placing family at the center.
“You can feel the people in the flowers,” the artist notes.
Morning Thoughts takes its title after the 1981 Gil Scott-Heron tune of the same name. Like the song, Holmes’ work echoes a magical moment when night bleeds into the early morning — a rebirth of a brand new day. In a recent statement, the gallery writes: “With Morning Thoughts, Holmes reminds us that hope and loss go hand-in-hand — but beauty remains for those willing to see it, that flowers bloom again in the morning.”
The exhibition is now on view at Marianne Boesky Gallery until November 16, 2024.
