Heikki Marila - Flowers XV

In Heikki Marila’s (b. 1966, Lahti) painting, one can see references to early 17th-century Dutch still life and flower paintings, which sometimes contained hidden messages about power, social status, or lovers. The painting is lush and abundant, as if symbolizing vitality and fertility. On closer inspection, however, one notices that green is absent from these flowers. Marila does not conceal references to transience beneath the cloak of beauty, nor does he embellish them; he presents flourishing and withering simultaneously.