Karen Varsha

{Retail Value: $550}

Orange Favorite Bouquet, 2023

Color Print on Smooth Rag Paper, 7/50 Edition

16 x 16 inches, framed: 24 x 24 inches

Courtesy of Karen Varsha Photography

www.karenvarshaphotography.com

My work represents a new direction in my photographic vision. After years of capturing people and objects in various situations of daily life, the restrictions resulting from the pandemic on movement and human interaction drove my search for a new, more controllable perspective. I have always been fascinated by the endless colors and textures of flowers, and if I could not be outside or around people, I could certainly get to the wholesale florist for my subjects. I had experimented with shooting flowers in a dark, intimate space three years earlier; simple flower arrangements in complete darkness, thus allowing me to play with light levels that focus on those colors and textures.

I loved being able to use flowers to create color palettes and forms, and the different vases used allowed further variations as I manipulated the light levels. The results bring to mind images collected at Monet's iconic gardens in Giverny during a six-month residence in France for my husband's work. The process pulled me in as I developed a whole new body of work that I can share with others, drawing them into the beauty and calm of a simple flower arrangement.