THE FLOWERS ARE BURNING
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Exhibition & Gallery

CURRENT VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS:

"The Flowers are Burning…Oceans A Rising ​
An Art and Climate Justice Exhibition"

A Collaborative Project by
Helen R. Klebesadel and Mary Kay Neumann

Celebrating Earth Day's 50th Anniversary in 2020!

DUE to COVID-19 we had to cancel the physical version of this exhibition that was scheduled at Holy Wisdom Monastery in the spring of 2020. In response, we have prepared a digital version to make it accessible to everyone.


“The Flowers are Burning: An Art and Climate Justice Exhibition”
A Collaborative Project Initiated in 2015 and ongoing 

The Flowers Are Burning is an ongoing project of original watercolor paintings created by
Mary Kay Neumann and Helen Klebesadel. In addition to individually created works the artists have creates a series of collaboratively painted watercolors that speak to the concerns.
​Enjoy the original virtual exhibition here.


The artists invite you to ponder these questions while viewing their paintings:
  • What are you missing that used to be abundant, or what are you concerned will be lost if we don't make the necessary changes?
  • Are you willing to take positive actions to contribute to making a real difference?
  • How can we find ways to work together to create the world we want to live in?

"The Flowers Are Burning" seeks to both evoke a sense of alarm at our immediate need to address urgent environmental concerns, and hold up the vision of the possibility of rising from the ashes of restorative prairie burn.

Artists Mary Kay Neumann and Helen Klebesadel embrace the potential of flower as metaphor. Their watercolor paintings explore the poetic, symbolic and political representations flowers offer in exploring both human nature and the natural world. Recognizing and celebrating cultural association of flowers with the feminine, they pointedly render their paintings with strong color palettes, rich implied emotional content, and complex compositions. Their large expressive flower paintings create environments of saturated color and texture that belies the fragility of flowers.

They consciously shift the historical stereotype of the female "flower painter" from something to be avoided by the serious woman artist, to embracing flowers as creative and critical metaphors that are an inspiration for breaking through the paralysis of overwhelming despair and coming together with shared purpose.

Themes that move Klebesadel revolve around concerns for the negative effect of climate change on the birds, bees, and butterflies we take for granted, and by extension, what it means for humans. At the same time, she holds out the possibility of abundant rejuvenation that prairie fires bring when nature is in balance with human activity. Neumann's sunflower fields have looming fires that evoke the ominous droughts in California, and hint at the current ocean crises of Sea Star Wasting Disease, where the starfish are literally melting away. Haunted by the phenomenon of destructive climate change, the artists intend to use their art to counter the denial and despair in favor of encouraging actions that could make a difference.

Both artists create large-scale watercolor paintings with rich color saturation. They exhibit individual artworks with shared themes and, for the first time, paintings that are co-painted. Helen and Mary Kay collaboratively painted several works through back and forth exchange. An amazing synergy emerged from their shared feminist values, allowing effective co-operation and creative collaboration with wonderful results, modeling a process we will all need to make real and productive change for our shared future.

Klebesadel and Neumann invite you to engage with their paintings and witness the energy of flowers burning with power AND beauty. For information about booking our exhibition, please see our contact page.

PREVIOUS  EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS:
​
AUGUST 7, 2020
The Flowers are Burning…Oceans A Rising ”:Art, Climate Change & Injustice, and Interpersonal Neurobiology"
A webinar by the Global Association of Interpersonal Neurobiology (mindGAINS)

Mary Kay and Helen were interviewed to discuss their art collaboration, relationships and the interconnection between us all.

September 2017 - February 2018
New York Hall of Science,

Queens, NY


February 2017
Portage Center for the Arts
Portage, WI

March -May  2016
Center for the Visual Arts
Wausau, WI

July -September  2015
Overture Center for the Arts
Madison, WI
CONTACT

Helen Klebesadel
[email protected]
klebesadel.com



Mary Kay Neumann
[email protected]
https://www.mknart.com


© 2020 Helen R. Klebesadel & Mary Kay Neumann
  • HOME
  • The Exhibition & Gallery
    • Oceans A Rising Virtual Exhibition
    • The Flowers Are Burning Exhibition
  • What Needs Our Love
    • What is Climate Change?
    • What is Climate Justice?
    • The Human Species >
      • Gender and Climate Change
      • Race and Climate Injustice
      • Trauma and Climate Change
      • Relational Neuroscience and Climate Change Art
    • Pollinators
    • Bats
    • Birds
    • Amphibians and Reptiles
    • Our Oceans >
      • Coral Reefs
      • Sea Stars >
        • Sea Star Wasting Disease
  • Art/Science/Activism
    • Actions To Take
    • VOTE!
    • Other Artists and Projects
    • Art-Science Collaborative Opportunities
    • Citizen Science
    • Books, Journals, Readings
  • Community
    • Matters of the Heart
    • Grieving What is Lost
    • Spiritual Leaders on Climate Change
    • Organizations: Working together to help our Ecosystems
    • Audience Feedback
    • Our Appreciations
  • Contact
    • Arrange an Exhibition
    • Press >
      • New York Hall of Science Press
  • About