Flower-Show-2020

Philadelphia Flower Show 2020

Where did the idea of the Feast of Diversity come from for a Riviera Holiday theme?

A couple of years ago, I was fortunate to be able to spend the Easter Holidays with my Italian cousins in the Liguria Region of Italy, known as the Italian Riviera. So upon hearing that the theme of the 2020 Philadelphia Flower Show was a Riviera Holiday, fond memories came flooding back to me. Visiting greenhouses filled with color that were terracing down the sides of mountains; sharing fun and relaxing meals at the top of cliffs, while over looking the blue Mediterranean Sea and valleys leading to it; celebrating La Pasquetta, an informal Easter Monday picnic with family and friends at an artist’s farm and community celebration.

All of these thoughts coalesced into the idea of a table full of family, friends and laughter uniting people of many cultures and backgrounds, while being surrounded by an abundance of diverse varieties of flowering bulbs.

I fabricated the sculpture out of steel and mixed media, finishing with a natural rust patina and Penetrol or else yellow paint. Each chair has become a figurative representation within a diverse grouping of people.